By Andrew Adler
Community Editor
In one sense the Jewish Federation of Louisville’s 2024 annual campaign is unlike any other – how could that not be true, given the horrific events of October 7. Yet in another respect — and even more significantly — the initiative is continuing as it always has: stepping up to address the myriad needs of the Jewish community in Louisville, Israel, and various points in between.
Fittingly, the theme of this year’s campaign is “Here for Good.” Its double meaning is clear: generations of giving and support have fostered a definite sense of permanence. At the same time, contributions make it possible to do the good work that sustains and grows a community.
“I would frame the conversation this way,” says Federation president and CEO Sara Klein Wagner. “The annual campaign is critical to the Louisville Jewish community, and has been for the almost 90 years we’ve been around.”
Nothing demonstrates this as persuasively as what follows the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. Within days, Jewish federations of North America launched an unprecedented $500 million emergency campaign to aid Israel. So far JFNA has raised more than $659 million – with Louisville contributing upwards of $1.5 million to the overall effort. “That wouldn’t have been possible if the giving infrastructure wasn’t already in place,” Wagner says. “It’s allowed us to move nimbly and focus our energies where the needs were greatest.”
Meanwhile, there is a whole range of ongoing demands that must be met year in and year out. In this regard, “the annual campaign is more important than ever,” Wagner emphasizes.
“You need the annual campaign so we can plan ahead, budgeting for our future so we can expand programs and better serve people who’ve come to know us,” she says. “The one thing we don’t want to do is stand still.”
That impact imperative is making its mark. “I’m impressed that the Federation supports the gamut of ages from young childhood through elder care, an especially lonely and difficult stage of life for so many,” says Ranen Omer-Sherman, who directs the Jewish Studies program at the University of Louisville and is advisor to the campus’s branch of Hillel.
“At U of L, a public university with such a small Jewish demographic, support for Hillel is vital,” Omer-Sherman says. “And desperate Jewish communities in Ukraine, which one hopes are not forgotten in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, need the Federation’s international support more than ever.”
You’ll find similar sentiments at Jewish Family & Career Services.
“The funds we receive from the Federation are unrestricted, so we’re able to apply those as needed,” says JFCS CEO David L Finke.
“For example, since October 7 we started a new project where I’m helping (Federation Regional Security Advisor) Stuart Lowrey when he’s talking to preschools, and school directors, staff and parents about how to talk with your kids about physical and emotional safety.,” Finke says. “One of our larger programs is for older adults, and we have a partnership with the (Trager Family) JCC where we cross-refer back and forth, so (Federation) funding allows for that as well.”
A glance at the thriving weekday senior lunch program shows how successful that partnership has become.
“We have a very close relationship with Dara Cohen (the Trager Family JCC’s director of senior programs),” says Mauri Malka, Senior Director of Programs at JFCS. “Dara works with clients we sometimes refer to her, because we identified that they someone needs socialization through those group activities.”
Wagner can point to all that, and much more, to illustrate the breadth of Federation initiatives. But what would she say to someone who tells her, “Hey, I just gave to the emergency campaign – isn’t that enough?”
“I’d thank them for stepping up to help Israelis in trauma recover and rebuild from this tragedy,” she says. “I’d remind them that the annual campaign is entirely separate, and that when they support it, they’re helping make Louisville a better place to live for themselves and their families, and yes, continuing to support Israel.”
She might also remind them that unlike JFNA’s emergency campaign – which requires immediate payment in full – the Annual Campaign gives donors until the end of 2024 to fulfill their pledges.
It all comes down to being part of something that, in so many ways, genuinely matters. “So we ask people to continue to stretch for the Annual Campaign,” Wagner says, “and do what they can in their hearts and souls to help those who need us right now.”
To donate to the Federation’s 2024 Campaign, go online at https://jewishlouisville.org/federation/our-work/annual-campaign/
