Philanthropic Giving During a Time of Crisis
/Balancing Expediency with Impactful Grantmaking Practices
On Saturday, October 7th, the world was shocked by news of the Hamas terrorist attack that now marks the bloodiest single day in Israeli history. As stewards of the Mayberg Foundation’s mission to proliferate Jewish wisdom and values in the contemporary world, a strong relationship with the State of Israel is crucial to our work; my colleagues and I knew that we would be called upon to respond to emerging needs on the ground.
Like many of our colleagues, we value planful and strategic decision making in times of peace — how would we balance the need to respond to a developing emergency with best practices in grantmaking, all to ensure the greatest possible impact? Seven months since that catastrophic day, I wanted to share my reflections on how we managed to balance the need to respond to evolving needs on the ground with an approach that also anticipated how needs would develop.
Determining a Giving Strategy
Our initial decision was to allocate funding in waves, rather than entirely upfront, allowing us to better incorporate ongoing learning into our decision-making. Mayberg Foundation staff and trustees agreed that emergency funds would be best deployed over time as staff continued to learn about the reality on the ground. Accordingly, our first round of disbursements largely addressed the immediate physical needs of displaced, injured, and traumatized Israelis.
An australian delegation visits leket, a mayberg foundation emergency grant recipient
Expanding Our Learning
Once our first grants had been made, we began to compile information from previous grantees, professional contacts and networks, Israeli and American media, think tanks, and Israeli national institutions. We also followed the information shared by Jewish Funders Network, which has proven to be an excellent aggregator during this time.
As we continued considering how we wanted to contribute, we began to develop strategic guiding principles. We began to think of four categories of needs:
Immediate physical concerns (i.e. medical and relocation needs)
Security services and equipment
Trauma, psychological, and spiritual support
Political advocacy and public discourse
We also started to see how different organizational infrastructures and methodologies — ranging from national institutions to umbrella networks, individual NGOs to grassroots volunteer initiatives — offered different kinds of services and delivered them at varying rates. As a result, we made the decision not to exclusively fund large and well-known institutions, but also to support small and medium-sized organizations that reached different populations, and for whom more modest grants would move the needle further.
Our next two rounds of gifts included donations across the categories we defined. We recognized that, while some of the grants we wanted to make reflected the foundation’s core mission – such as formal education and Israel education and advocacy – others were outside that mission, but vitally necessary due to the severe humanitarian and security needs. We gave to some non-profits that we knew well and some that we only learned of in the course of our research amidst the crisis.
Over a short period of time, we tried to shift to thinking about longer-term needs that would develop in Israel and for Jews in North America as a result of the war. Accordingly, we focused on trauma and the fight against antisemitism. As these were areas outside our prior knowledge base, we made some initial gifts and are continuing to learn more and consider what our strategy might be.
preparing for a colel chabad seder for displaced families in israel
Staying Nimble…and Humble
As staff continue to learn and consult with others, we expect that, in addition to the immediate security threats posed by Iranian proxies on Israel’s northern border, significant investments will need to be made by the Israeli government, Israeli NGOs, and Jewish philanthropy in the following areas on an ongoing basis:
Continued immediate physical needs serving vulnerable populations, especially in the event of intensified fighting along Israel’s northern border
Continued trauma, psychological, and spiritual support for displaced Israelis, frontline workers, and vulnerable populations, with a special emphasis on applied Jewish wisdom as a tool for resilience
Economic resilience as the Israeli economy struggles to keep up with evolving realities
National interest projects that serve Israel’s needs in both domestic and international arenas in concrete ways, including initiatives promoting Jewish unity and addressing discourses around Israel, Zionism, antisemitism, and the conflict
We acknowledge that these categories are broad, and welcome ongoing feedback as to their refinement. As Israel’s war evolves, we rely upon our partners, experts, and individuals to guide the most strategic allocation of our philanthropic dollars possible given the unfolding realities on the ground in Israel.
In times of peace, grantmakers spend their time cultivating relationships with partners on the ground and slowly developing expertise in areas of their foundation’s investment. These familiar areas, however, are simply too narrow to apply to moments of crisis. As a result, we recognize that staff must maintain their nimbleness by adopting a perspective of humility and continuous learning. In that spirit, I invite fellow program officers, grants managers, and philanthropic strategists to reach out and share what you have learned.