UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal – Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world.[1] Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annually to fulfill a mission to “care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future.”[2]
UJA-Federation allocates funding to social service organizations, healthcare organizations, non-governmental organizations, Jewish institutions, and community agencies in New York, Israel, and 70 countries.[3]
UJA-Federation, as it is known today, was created from the 1986 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, established in 1939, and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, a predecessor organization established in 1917.[4]
Both the Center for Jewish History and the American Jewish Historical Society, an affiliate of the Smithsonian, houses UJA-Federation's archives. Beginning in 1981, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York conducted an oral history project. It continued through the merger between Federation and the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York until 2004.[5] A collection of oral histories was published in 1995.[6] During the late 1980s, UJA-Federation participated in the Soviet Jewry Movement with its Passage to Freedom campaign to help Jewish Émigrés from the Soviet Union.[7]
To honor its centennial in 2017, the American Jewish Historical Society produced an exhibition exploring a timeline of UJA-Federation from 1917–2017, PBS produced a documentary for its Treasures of New York series, and a book, UJA-Federation of New York: The First Century, was published.[8][9][10]
In 2016, UJA-Federation's annual campaign raised $153.4 million. Including bequests, endowments, and capital and special gifts, the total amount raised in the year was $207.6 million.[11] In 2021, UJA-Federation's annual campaign raised $63.2 million. Including bequests, endowments, and capital and special gifts, the total amount raised in 2021 was $249.6 million. UJA-Federation's endowment was $1.2 billion as of 2021.[12]
Eric S. Goldstein assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2014, replacing John S. Ruskay, Executive Vice President Emeritus.[13] In July 2018, Rabbi Menachem Creditor assumed the position of Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar-in-Residence of UJA-Federation.[14] In 2021, UJA-Federation appointed former Israeli Minister of Labor, Welfare, and Social Services, Itzik Shmuli, as the Director-General of its Israel office in Jerusalem.[15] In 2023, New York State Assembly member Daniel Rosenthal joined UJA-Federation as vice president of Government Relations.[16] Linda Mirels was appointed president of UJA-Federation on July 1, 2023; Marc Rowan was appointed chair of the board.[17]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UJA-Federation allocated nearly $70 million in emergency grants.[18] In 2020–21, UJA-Federation conducted an in-depth examination of the social, economic, and emotional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the New York Jewish community, surveying 4,400 Jews in the New York City area.[19] The study found that nearly one in six adult Jewish New Yorkers experienced financial setbacks during the pandemic, and three-quarters of Jewish New Yorkers who said they have a substance abuse problem said it worsened during that period.[20]
As of July 2023, UJA-Federation has allocated more than $25 million to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21] With an established presence supporting Jews of post-Soviet states,[22] including the approximately 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine at the start of the war, UJA-Federation began crisis response efforts on February 24, 2022, the same day the war began.[23]
UJA-Federation has allocated grants to 78 unique organizations operating in Ukraine, Europe, Israel, and New York. Grant allocations focus on humanitarian aid ($7.7 Million), rescue efforts ($1.1 Million), refugee support ($13 Million), and other critical response areas.[21]
Following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the UJA-Federation created an "Israel Emergency Fund." As of December 2023, the UJA-Federation has allocated $156 million - $75 million from Wall Street donors alone[24] for humanitarian aid for Israelis, including support for the residents of southern Israel, the supply and equipping of hospitals, assistance with trauma support, support for Arab residents and Bedouins, and more.[25]
Berkman, Matthew. “Transforming Philanthropy: Finance and Institutional Evolution at the Jewish Federation of New York, 1917–86,” Jewish Social Studies 22#2 (2017): 146–195.
Berman, Lila Corwin. "How Americans Give: The Financialization of American Jewish Philanthropy" American Historical Review (2017) 122#5 pp 1459–1489.
Elazar, Daniel J. Community and Polity: The Organizational Dynamics of American Jewry (1995) see pp 211–18 for a listing of the community Jewish federations and the founding date.
Feldstein, Donald "The Jewish Federation: The First Hundred Years". in Norman Linzer, ed. A portrait of the American Jewish community (1998).
Liebman, Charles S. “Leadership and Decision-Making in a Jewish Federation: The New York Federation of Jewish Philanthropies,” in American Jewish Year Book (1979), 3–76.
More, Deborah Dash. “From Kehillah to Federation: The Communal Functions of Federated Philanthropy in New York City, 1917–1933,” American Jewish History 68#2 (1978): 131–146;
Nissim, Hanna Shaul Bar. "The Adaptation Process of Jewish Philanthropies to Changing Environments: The Case of the UJA-Federation of New York Since 1990." Contemporary Jewry 38.1 (2018): 79–105.
Wenger, Beth S. “Federation Men: The Masculine World of New York Jewish Philanthropy, 1880–1945,” American Jewish History 101# 3 (2017): 377–399.
