Speed Dating- Philanthropy Style
We have started to begin the final process of the Jewish Teen Foundation (JTF). This means that we are in the final stage of selecting our grantees in which we will be giving away generous donations to help fund them. While we are nowhere near selecting the organizations to which we will give, we are making very steady progress. At our last meeting, we completed the “Speed Dating” process which consisted of personally meeting and talking with eleven of the twelve prospective grantees. Some of these organizations include: Promises2Kids, Voices for Children, Casa de Amparo, Meir Panim, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and so many more in San Diego and in Israel. This year, “the Jewish Teen Foundation aims to invest in organizations that secure the essential needs of at-risk youth.” By the end of our meeting, we learned every one of these organizations goes above and beyond to truly secure the needs of at -risk youth. At the end of Speed Dating, we realized all twelve organizations are worthy of a grant; making our jobs even harder.
At this point in JTF, it is crucial to ask strategic questions to not only obtain more information about the organization, but to also be more selective in our grant making decisions. Each member of JTF developed their own strategic question in one of these four categories: Financial, Impact, Leadership, and Community Outreach. These areas told us how these organizations operated, received income, and if/how they worked toward a greater good in the community. We spent a large amount of time perfecting these questions in order to truly get something crucial out of the experience that we couldn’t obtain before.
When the time came to actually meet the representatives of the organizations, it was time to put our philanthropic knowledge to the test. Each meeting we had with a representative was time spent wisely. It was built off of strong discussions that mainly started off with receiving background information on the organization. This included what they did, their general audience, their organizations’ incredible growth over the years, and why they wanted our grant. Since this year we are focusing on the “untouched” infrastructure, they specifically told us about their new software, computers, or even a new building plan that they needed funding for. Every infrastructure grant presented to us was very well needed. Soon after, it was our turn to ask our strategic questions. In turn, we received detailed
answers to our questions, which led to deeper and more meaningful conversation.
Some organizations not only brought a Development Director but some even brought past clients. One example is Rosie, a former foster youth who shared with us her amazing experience with Voices for Children and her continuing bond with her former Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Not only did Rosie’s whole life change because of her CASA, but she was able to form an unbreakable and special bond with this person. Rosie’s story not only touched our hearts, but allowed us to see the great success of Voices for Children in and out of the courtroom. In addition, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) brought a former Big Brother and current Board of Director member, T.D. From this, we learned that once he aged out of mentoring he joined the board, showing a lasting impact BBBS had on him and in turn the impact he has had on the organization.
Speed Dating gave us greater insight into the operating world of many of these organizations, and also on how to use important skills in the philanthropic mindset. As a result, not only was Speed Dating beneficial for this process in JTF, but like most things this program has to offer, it is deeply beneficial to our futures. Whether we may be Philanthropists or working for an organization, this past meeting has taught us valuable information that will be of use in our current and future tzedakah.
