5-Minute Interview--Mark Wilf & Victoria Agron

5-Minute Interview--Mark Wilf & Victoria Agron

Jan. 31, 2006

By Abny Santicola, associate editor, FundRaising Success

New York-based United Jewish Communities is the umbrella organization for 155 Jewish community federations across the nation. UJC's annual campaign enables it and the Jewish Federations of North America to build community and provide humanitarian and educational assistance to those in need.

Here, Mark Wilf, national campaign chair for UJC, and Victoria Agron, senior vice president for development at UJC, discuss the organization's annual campaign, the role of giving in the Jewish community, and how organizations can incorporate culture and giving in their appeals.

FundRaising Success: How important is the annual campaign to your organization's fundraising efforts?

Victoria Agron: Each year, UJC and the federation raise over $2 billion, and the annual campaign for unrestricted funds for 2005 will be approximately $880 million.

FS: What channels do you use?

VA: The giving in our system is individuals making these gifts, and they are solicited by volunteers. The real strength of our system is that it really is one person asking another person to help a third person, and so our most effective fundraising method is personal solicitation, face to face, one on one. I would say that the other very successful method that we use to raise funds is through personal experience on trips so donors can see for themselves how funds are utilized and what needs are yet unmet.

FS: What role does culture play in your annual fund campaign?

Mark Wilf: Not just from a physical fundraising standpoint but also from a value and principle standpoint, the annual campaign represents the core of our Jewish values and that is a concept that is very important philosophically.

FS: How do you tie the messaging of your appeal to emphasize that philosophy?

VA: We relate the cultural values of the Jewish people to the work that we do because they're intrinsic, and we use that in our marketing material. We use that also thematically in the names of different kinds of campaign efforts, and we also use that very much in terms of our volunteers ... who [go] out to communities and talk about values in a very personal way and tie that to responding generously through giving.

FS: What are some challenges your organization faces with your annual campaign?

MW: One of the challenges is the generation of donors that are now what we call the next generation -- a generation of donors that are coming into, in many cases, a great deal of wealth. Baby boomers and younger. And I think one of the major challenges is to connect ... the next generation to the good that we're doing and to get them involved.

FS: What is some advice you can pass on to nonprofits about annual campaigns?

MW: If what you're doing is right and it's good and you believe in it, then it's going to ultimately relate and be successful. As a campaign volunteer, it's important to be optimistic that what you are soliciting for or what type of funds you're trying to raise is doing something that is valuable and meaningful.

VA: I think it is that passion and the relationships that we build with our donors and from our donors to our organization that makes all the difference. We often say at UJC that it's all about the fact that people give to people through people. People are less interested in giving to organizations and institutions. They want to feel the direct connection that their dollars are making to people in need.

For more on this organization, visit http://www.ujc.org