Ḥeshbon → Where to start
You are deciding where to give
A gift passes through more hands than the envelope suggests, and what each hand keeps is on a public tax return. These pieces follow the money from the campaign letter to the programme it pays for.
Read these six first
Short, and each one answers a question you already have.
Giving · 8 min read
How much more charity do Jews give?
At matched income, Jewish-community ZIP codes report roughly four times the charitable contributions of their neighbors. IRS returns, mapped and measured.
4×the giving of matched-income neighbors
Giving · 10 min read
How many hands does a charitable dollar pass through before it feeds anyone?
$100 into a federation, followed through the tax returns of every organization that touched it, until it turns into a meal, a classroom seat or a bed.
$86.97of every $100 reaches an organization that runs a program
Giving · 7 min read
Should an Israel check go to the federation, or straight to the cause?
One $180 gift, two routes, priced stop by stop from Form 990. Two organizations open the first envelope. Four open the second.
$8.21separates the two envelopes at the door
Giving · 9 min read
What does it cost to keep a Jewish building secure?
Guards, cameras, doors and security staff across 143 communities, priced one building at a time and divided by the people they protect.
$853a year for a family of six, against $94 in 2016
School finance · 8 min read
Which Jewish communities prioritize their day schools?
A decade of federation grant lists for 35 communities, read line by line. Small towns treat the school as the budget; large ones treat it as a line in it.
4×more per Jewish resident in the smallest communities
Giving · 7 min read
Does a kollel ever pay for itself?
The recurring cost of a community kollel from public filings, why the budget scales with the town, and whether growth ever builds a cushion.
~$500ka year, the recurring cost of a kollelThen the rest of it
Longer, more technical, and worth it once the shape is familiar.
- When a federation raises less, where does the money go? Research brief 10 min read
- Does planting a kollel make a community grow? Research brief 9 min read
- Ten schools hold more than half the endowment. Does the aid follow the money? Essay 3 min read
- Which Jewish day schools are actually in financial trouble? Research brief 3 min read