By Sol Lizerbram, M.D.
RANCHO SANTA FE, California — If I had to choose three words to describe the power behind Jewish National Fund and the donors who move us forward, imagination, innovation, and integrity would stand tall.
These three words most accurately illustrate how we achieved our extraordinary milestones this past year. Here are a few numbers to prove my point:
• Our One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade campaign surpassed the $570 million mark, halfway through our 10-year plan.
• Of the 1,300 people who attended our National Conference in Arizona in October, 250 were college students from 87 campuses, and 125 were members of JNFuture. Over 1/3 of our participants were under the age of 40!
• We launched the new Sababa Society to engage 10-14-year-olds, founded by Ziv Zusman, a tween from Atlanta, who is now a Presidential Advisor on our National Board of Directors! What other philanthropic organization can boast that?
• When news organizations neglected to cover the many months of terrorism the residents on the Gaza border endured, we brought three speakers from the region to the U.S. for a cross country tour. At 11 Town Hall Meetings over 14 days, they shared their story, inspiring communities and raising over $4 million.
Now, back to those three words: imagination, innovation, and integrity. What other organization could have imagined transforming Be’er Sheva from a town that people moved away from, to one of the fastest growing cities in Israel and the metropolitan capital of the Negev?
There we are building the new Jewish National Fund International Zionist Village, a one-of-a-kind institute that will connect our ancestral soil from the time of Abraham to the present day, where adults, college students, and teens can explore, learn, live, and be part of our Jewish experience, and the promising future that Israel holds.
We are also forging a partnership between the University of Arizona, Jewish National Fund, and the Arava Valley that will develop solutions to help communities around the world with energy, food development, security, water resources, and efficient development.
Our imagination and ability to turn it into innovation doesn’t stop there. We are working to change the narrative of the Upper Eastern Galilee to transform the region into the culinary capital of the world and draw 50,000 new residents to the region. Our plans to build a food technology and innovation center for incubators and research will serve as a platform for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to develop new business and growth opportunities— ensuring that local residents no longer need to move to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to succeed.
The forthcoming Jewish National Fund Institute of Culinary Arts will further reshape the region into a global culinary and hospitality center of excellence. The Institute will become the backbone for increased economic development, employment, tourism, housing, and more that is needed to ensure steady and continued growth for years to come.
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Integrity goes without question. It is proven every day in how we operate as a nonprofit and how we allocate your contributions. No one does it better and we have the highest charity ratings to prove it. Now, more than ever, I am very proud to be president of Jewish National Fund–USA. We are now at one of the greatest moments of impact—and this is thanks to you, your imagination, innovation, and integrity. Thank you for being part of the journey to date. Let’s continue to build dreams and a country together.
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Lizerbram, a San Diego County resident, is the U.S. president of the Jewish National Fund. This article is republished from JNF’s year-end report.