JewishCharities.org is a secure site. For the protection of your tzedakah mitzvot, we have taken several precautionary measures. Jewish Charities offers you the choice of either remaining anonymous, or being known to your chosen recipient(s). It is your decision. JewishCharities.org offers you the opportunity to give in many ways. JewishCharities.org has a highly effective tracking system that will carefully monitor your donation once made. This is done through a specific tracking number, which your contribution will be assigned. You will also receive a conformation of your donation. At your request, JewishCharities.org will also provide you with a telephone number or email and a contact at your chosen charity(s) to further confirm your donation. Your donation is tax exempt.

In the coming months, please expect several other Jewish charities to become members of this site. At this point you will be able to donate directly to through this site. Below please find the answers to the questions that you may have once we begin accepting donations. Thank you for giving the Mitzvah of Tzedakah and your support of JewishCharities.org.
1. What is JewishCharities.Org?

2. How are my contributions utilized by JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities?

3. Why should I choose to make charitable contributions through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG when I may simply write a check to the charities I wish to support?

4. May I specify how I would like my gift to be used?

5. Do foreign humanitarian aid programs truly work?

6. Why should I support organizations that work overseas?

7. Is giving to impoverished people around the world a bad investment?

8. Would my contribution not be put to better use in the United States? Why should Americans care about foreign causes?

9. Who gives to JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG?

10. I can't afford to give a large amount, so why should I give?

11. How much of my gift spent on administrative costs?

12. Can I volunteer through the member charities of JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG?

13. How do I know my money is going to get to the institution that I choose?

14. How can I support JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG?

15. How can I receive more information?

1. What is JewishCharities.Org? [top]
JewishCharities.org (JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG) is an Internet based tzedakah house of the world's leading relief, endowments, development, and other Jewish charitable organizations.
Through raising awareness and funds, JEWISHCHARITES.ORG provides help to people in locations both nationally and abroad who suffer from hunger, poverty, and disease, or from the ravages of war, national disasters, and oppression. Through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG, you may also support local Jewish causes, or even your own synagogue.
JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG serves as a lifeline connecting compassionate individuals to the truly needy. The member charities consist of humanitarian relief and development programs, which work to alleviate poverty, increase education, provide health care, and strengthen lives within the Jewish community. In addition, educational institutions, synagogues, and other worthy causes are represented.

2. How are my contributions utilized through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities? [top]
JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities reach millions in need throughout the world. It is up to you which group(s) you wish to assist through your donation.

3. Why should I make charitable contributions through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG when I may simply write a check to the charities I wish to support? [top]
You may indeed write a check and mail it directly to a charity, but many of us wait to be asked before we give. You might respond to a mail solicitation, for example, but maybe not the first you receive. Perhaps it would take up to two to three mailings to get your attention. It requires a lot of money for organizations to develop, print, and distribute these mailings, so they choose to rely on JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG, in order to better utilize their received donations.

4. May I specify how I would like my gift to be used? [top]
Yes. Through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG you may choose to give to the member charities as a whole or to one or more specified agencies. Gifts, which are designated to the member charities as a whole, are divided equally among them. Gifts designated to specific member agencies are distributed directly to them.

5. Do humanitarian aid programs truly work? [top]
Yes. The international relief and community development work supported through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities is efficient, effective, and produces tangible results in the lives of people.

6. Why should I support organizations that work overseas? Doesn't the United States government do enough? [top]
Humanitarian foreign aid provided by the U.S. government amounts to less than 1% of the federal budget - only a fraction of what people assume is being spent. Among the top 21 industrialized nations, the United States is ranked last in terms of percentage of gross national product spent on humanitarian foreign aid.

7. Is giving to impoverished people around the world a bad investment? [top]
Absolutely not! The countries that received the most foreign aid in the 1960's - Brazil, Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey - today represent over $100 billion in trade with the United States. South Korea currently imports three times as much in U.S. goods as it received in U.S. aid during the entire decade of the 1960's.

JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities are guided by the belief that in order to escape extreme poverty and suffering, people need more than just a handout. People need assistance that will enable them to get past the crisis of starvation, disease, and poverty. Only then will it be possible for them to see a future that promises education, training, and a sustainable source of food.

8. Would my contribution not be put to better use in the United States? Why should Americans care? [top]
It is undeniable that the U.S. has its share of needy people within the Jewish community, but it is impossible for Americans to shut out the world's problems and not be effected. It is important that assistance is offered to both national and international Jewish organizations. Some examples of issues that are currently being addressed include:

The number of families applying for governmental assistance in 1998 in Jerusalem has risen nearly 50% in the last six years. The Jerusalem Social Services Department and other governmental agencies have, in some cases, attributed this to increasing difficulties for residents to meet their basic needs, increasing numbers of at-risk children, and rising incidents of domestic violence.
In 1998, it was also reported that 24% of the Israeli capital's children were living in poverty, which means little chance for many of these children to obtain substantial food, shelter, medical treatment, or education. Many of these children comprise of those coming from Orthodox families, where families many times have more children and lower incomes.
Also, many JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member agencies do provide direct services to within the United States, and have developed successful programs that are currently being implemented not only in international settings, but also throughout the North American Jewish community.

9. Who gives to JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG? [top]
Contributions to JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG are from both generous individuals and corporations.

10. I can't afford to give a large amount, so why should I give? [top]
A small donation can go a long way, particularly when added to thousands of other gifts contributed through JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG. Also, keep in mind how much farther your gift can go in order to help those in need around the world.

11. How much of my gift is spent on administrative costs? [top]
JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG spends over 94% of every dollar received to support programs. That means that fund raising and administrative costs are uncommonly low - only 6.1 cents of each dollar contributed.

JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG takes seriously the stewardship and accountability of your voluntary contributions. Member charities value your trust more today than ever, so you can be assured that the money you give is received by those you intend to help. This maximizes the effectiveness of the funds going to programs that work.

12. Can I volunteer through the member charities of JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG? [top]

JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charities rely on an active corps of volunteers to provide needed services, but please do not contact JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG concerning volunteer or internship programs available within our member agencies. JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG's primary concern is in effectively representing its member agencies in the workplace and in raising funds for those agencies. Therefore, JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG is not familiarized with its 50+ member agencies' possible volunteer or employment opportunities.

If you would like to volunteer or seek employment through a JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member charity, you may reach them through toll free numbers, e-mail, or web site addresses provided on the JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG member list. Many of our member's web sites include information on volunteer and career opportunities.

13. How do I know my money is going to get to the institution that I choose? [top]
Please see the How We Work section of this web site.

14. How can I support JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG? [top]
You can support JEWISHCHARITIES.ORG by giving online to the member organization(s) of your choice. Credit cards and U.S. checks are considered acceptable forms of payment by our member charities for donations.

15. How can I receive more information? [top]
Contact the JEWISH CHARITIES.ORG National Office via e-mail at info@JewishCharities.org
 
JACK LUMER F.A.Q. CONTACT HOW WE WORK CHARITIES