While all donors want to know that the Milwaukee Jewish Federation is a responsible steward of their gifts, few are interested in understanding the precise details of how that stewardship is ensured.
Recently the federation’s board of directors established a task force to do just that.
The task force spent many months reviewing the MJF Principles of Affiliation, the rules that govern the relationship between the MJF and the 10 local agencies that receive allocations from its annual campaign.
The goal for the review was to strengthen relationships with and accountability of MJF’s agencies on behalf of its donors.
The governance task force proposed several changes, which were approved by the board of directors and have become active as of July 1. The principles had not been reviewed since 1993.
Key changes include stronger requirements for fiscal responsibility that are consistent for all agencies, updated requirements for insurance coverage and substantial consequences for agencies that fail to comply with the requirements.
In addition, each agency is now required to actively confirm its compliance by signing the Principles of Affiliation annually before the MJF will release the agency’s annual allocation.
Task force chair Marci Taxman led the process for reviewing the principles.
“We had a talented team of volunteers who devoted many hours to this process,” Taxman said. “Their work was informed by guidance and best practices obtained from United Way, other federations and similar organizations.”
The agencies themselves were also actively involved in the changes to the Principles of Affiliation.
“When we learned that the federation was undertaking this task, the agency directors came together and developed recommendations for how we thought the principles could be strengthened,” said Brian King, head of school at the Milwaukee Jewish Day School.
Ultimately, most of the changes presented by the constituent agencies were included verbatim in the revised Principles.
The 10 agencies are: BBYO-Wisconsin Region, Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Hillel Foundation-University of Wisconsin (Madison), Hillel Milwaukee, Jewish Beginnings Lubavitch Preschool, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Home & Care Center, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, Hillel Academy and Yeshiva Elementary School.
Revising how the MJF related to community agencies was a key mandate that came from Reimagining, the process for envisioning the future of the federation that took place in 2011.
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