Though she stands not much more than five-feet tall, Jody Kaufman Loewenstein intends to make a big impact on the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s 2002 community-wide fundraising campaign.
As the new campaign chair, Loewenstein probably brings more experience in communal activities to the job than any two other people combined.
During the 20 years she has lived in Milwaukee, few communal agencies have not benefited from her involvement. While married to Dr. Paul Loewenstein and raising three sons, she has made time to immerse herself thoroughly in her community.
In a recent interview, she said, “People have to become vested in the community in which they live. I live here and want to enhance my environment. Life is short, so it behooves us all to try to make a difference. I hope others will see the value of giving something back to the community. We can’t just be users, but contributors as well — at all levels.”
That will be her approach to spearheading the 2002 campaign, which is themed, “It Starts with You…”
“The campaign is about strengthening the Jewish community here and around the world,” Loewenstein said. “We are ‘family,’ and I view this effort as a ‘borderless campaign.’ It’s about the people behind the needs.”
Acknowledging that the campaign has been flat for several years, she admits that her chairmanship occurs during “challenging times. The recent terrorism in Israel has negatively impacted the Israeli economy because of the drop in tourism, and our local needs are at a crossroads. Either we accept the status quo, or welcome the challenge to move forward. I hope it will be the latter.”
Loewenstein perceives the campaign as an “enabler that allows the community to provide opportunities to those who either need or choose to use our services. The campaign also allows us to advocate for those who have no voice. That, I think, is what’s ‘Jewish’ about what we do.”
The campaign starts with the individual donor, she explained, and culminates with the commitment of the entire community. “Ultimately, community belongs to all of us, and how the individuals choose to support it results in our combined impact.”
Leveling the field
Loewenstein said she believes in federated giving. “Some agencies have a bigger field of support than others,” she explained, “so federated giving levels the playing field. The federation is a community-based organization and the agencies are service arms of the total concept of community.
“The centralized campaign — which levels the playing field — provides for each agency to make its individual contribution to the community under the federation’s umbrella.”
Continuing to stress the importance of supporting community, she said, “Every gift is the most important gift, and every donor is the most important donor. That’s how we build and strengthen community.”
Loewenstein grew up in Fair Lawn, N.J. While her parents were not particularly active in the Jewish community, she said they were ethical role models for the community concept.
“Family, community, tzedakah and Torah are the basis of how I live my life, which my parents instilled in me. They taught me to work hard, play hard and enjoy each other’s unique qualities — which is what makes a community. They believed ‘it’s not what you’ve got, but what you do with it,’” she said.
“Now,” she added, “it’s my own family that gives me my strength. It’s the way my husband and sons feel about community that drives me.”
And driven she is. Her goal is to expand the donor base by at least 500, broaden volunteer involvement and raise a minimum of $300,000 in new money to accommodate unmet local and overseas needs.
Increasing the fundraising effort will help the federation look at what it was not able to fund last year, she explained. “I think the goal is attainable. We’re at a transition where our seasoned givers must stand together with our younger donors — for the sake of our community here and abroad. Our donors are our greatest asset.”
Personally, Loewenstein said she does what she does because “I love being Jewish and am passionate about my community. One star alone doesn’t shine very brightly. But many stars together; that’s when you light up the sky. That’s the power of a community.”
Highlights of her community involvement include serving as president and campaign chair of MJF’s Women’s Division, vice president of the National Council of Jewish Women-Milwaukee Section and B’nai B’rith Women, and board member of Jewish Family Services, Children’s Lubavitch Living and Learning Center, Jewish Home and Care Center and the Task Force for Battered Women.
Nationally, she has been active in the United Jewish Communities as a member of its National Women’s Constituency and National Young Leadership Cabinet, for which she served as membership chair.
And, in whatever little spare time remains in her busy life, she loves riding her Harley!
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