Our annual Giving Day campaign was planned into the NCSY Israel schedule from the beginning of the year. This was going to be our second year running this crowdfunding campaign. But as coronavirus spread and halted the economy worldwide we reconsidered whether to move forward as originally planned. I spoke with NCSY Israel board members, other supporters, and fellow colleagues in Israel and abroad for advice. Some recommended canceling the campaign. “Now is a hard time to be asking for money” some said. “People are hurting.” “Many of our general donors may be without a source of income.” But there was another voice. Maybe people still care about our mission. Maybe there is a community of people who care about inspiring teen olim through passionate Judaism and religious Zionism and have the resources to contribute to the cause. Maybe people still care about the Jewish future.

So keeping in mind those cautionary comments we received, we decided to continue with the campaign. We set a modest reasonable fundraising goal of $25,000 and contacted our donor pool, parents of NCSY Israel teens, friends, and family. We were stunned by the response and support we received from our calls and emails. Within the first 9 hours of a 48-hour campaign we had reached our original goal. Apparently, people do still care. The Jewish future still matters.

Read the full article by clicking HERE.