The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) is a philanthropic coalition for157 Jewish federations and nearly 400 Jewish communities across the continent. ¹ The group came from a 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal and the Council of Jewish Federations. ²

JFNA established the Secure Community Network after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which grew from five employes in 2018 to 75 employees in 2023 to respond to antisemitism and violence. ³ JFNA gave $6 million in 2023 to the group Brothers and Sisters for Israel, which opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed changes to judicial selection in the country. ⁴

Background

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) claims to represent 157 Jewish federations and 400 network communities across the continent. ⁵

The JFNA says it has provided immigration and absorption services for Jewish identity programs, educational and vocational training, and relief programs around the world. It also focuses on caregiving, aging, philanthropy, disability, foreign policy, homeland security and health care. ⁶

The group lobbies in Washington, D.C. to secure public funds for Jewish hospitals, nursing homes, community centers, family and children’s service agencies, and vocational training programs. ⁷

The JFNA established the Secure Community Network after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to serve as a watchdog against antisemitism. In 2023, the New York Times reported the initiative had “grown exponentially over the past five years” to 75 employees stationed around the country. JFNA expanded the program in response to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 worshipers. ³

In 2021, the JFNA announced a $54 million LiveSecure initiative to provide security for its member Jewish communities. ⁸

As students were returning to university and college campuses in the fall of 2024 following demonstrations by pro-Palestinian activist groups during the spring semester, JFNA President Eric Fingerhut called for institutions to take extra security measures to protect Jewish students, noting the threats Jewish students faced earlier in the year. ⁹

History

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) was founded in November 1999 when two organizations—the United Jewish Appeal and the Council of Jewish Federations—merged. ² The United Jewish Appeal was founded in 1939 when several Jewish organizations merged fundraising campaigns to help European Jewish communities facing Nazi persecutions. ² The Council of Jewish Federations was founded in 1932. It was an umbrella organization of American and Canadian Jewish federations. ²

Following the 1999 merger of the UJA and CJF, the group was known as the United Jewish Communities (UJC). UJC changed its name to the Jewish Federations of North America in 2009. ²

Funding

The Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago gave $48,723,246 to the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA). ⁶

The UJA-Federation of New York gave $28,118,000 to the JFNA. ⁶

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland gave $16,362,762 to the JFNA. ⁶

Grantmaking

The Jewish Federations of North American (JFNA) secures and manages $16 billion in endowment assets. ⁷ It asserts that, combined with its grantees, it is collectively among the top 10 charities in North America. ¹⁰

The organization raises more than $900 million through the annual campaign and emergency campaigns. It distributes more than $2 billion from its foundations and endowments. ⁷

The organization distributes more than $3 billion per year for social services and educational needs. ⁵

As of July 2024, the JNFA raised $833 million in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel that it distributed to various nonprofits to provide humanitarian assistance. ¹¹

In 2023, the JFNA contributed $155,290,107 to United Israel Appeal. It contributed $47,873,503 to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. That year it also gave $6 million to the Secure Community Network. ⁶

The organization spent $320,000 on lobbying in 2024 and $750,000 in 2023, according to Open Secrets. ¹²

Activities

The Jewish Federations of North American (JFNA) says is leads a continental response to raising and distributing funds. It has provided relief to Jewish and non-Jewish victims of natural disasters and assistance to man-made disasters in Houston, Texas, as well as the Philippines, Haiti, and Japan. ¹⁰

The JJFNA partners with the government of Israel and other agencies to help vulnerable people in the country including immigrants and Holocaust survivors. ¹⁰ The JFNA has an office in Jerusalem that is its main contact point with the Israeli government. ¹³

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the JFNA provided emergency services and partnered with the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israel Trauma Coalition. ¹³

JFNA gave $6 million in 2023 to the group Brothers in Arms, later called Brothers and Sisters for Israel, which opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed changes to that country’s system of judicial appointments. ⁴

The JFNA also helped raise funds for humanitarian relief in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion. ⁶

Leadership

Eric D. Fingerhut is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA). A former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he represented Ohio’s 19th Congressional District from 1993 to 1994. He was an Ohio state senator from 1997 to 2006. In 2004, he was the Democratic Party nominee for that year’s Ohio U.S. Senate race, losing to then-U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH). Before working for the JFNA, he was the president and CEO of Hillel International from 2013 through 2019. He is the former chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents overseeing the state’s public universities and colleges from 2007 through 2011. ¹⁴

David Heller is the national campaign chair of the JFNA. He is the past chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. He was a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a former board president of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, a former president of the board of the Ohio Jewish Communities, and a former chair of the government relations committee at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. He is the CEO and co-founder of the NRP Group. ¹⁴

Julie Platt is the chair of the board of trustees for the JFNA and a former chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Platt was previously the general campaign chair. ¹⁴

David T. Bowman is the vice chair of the board of trustees at JFNA. He has previously been on the board of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Brown is a lawyer in Chicago. ¹⁴

Suzanne B. Grants is the treasurer of the board of trustees for the JFNA. She is a former national campaign chair of the JFNA. She previously held several positions with the Jewish Federation of Delaware. She is the former chair of the Delaware State Pension Fund. She has worked at investment firms such as Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies and Company. ¹⁴

Dena Boronkay Rashes is the secretary of the board of trustees of the JFNA. Rashes is a board member for the American Joint Distribution Committee. She is a member of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees and a board member of Hillel at Stanford. She is a former secretary of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. ¹⁴

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