Nearly three years after the Oct. 7 terror attacks triggered a wave of emergency giving to Jewish causes, Jewish Federations of North America officials say that campaign has transformed into lasting growth in its donor base, bucking both broader trends and the organization’s own trajectory.

 

As Jewish philanthropy — and philanthropy in general —is defined by more and more money being given by fewer and fewer big donors, JFNA said that it saw a 2.7% increase in donors to local Jewish federations between 2023 and 2025, bringing the total to around 290,000 donors.

 

“If you work in Jewish communal fundraising, 2.7% is pretty big. When you’re talking about the overall number that we’re talking about, it’s a pretty incredible trend,” David Heller, JFNA’s former national campaign chair, told eJP.

 

Read the article in eJewishPhilanthropy.