The 2009 Jewish Federation Annual Campaign has just surpassed the $3-million mark in commitments, announced Carol Lupo and Bob Schwartz, 2009 Annual Campaign cochairs. The campaign, which officially closes on Sept. 30, stands at $3,090,603 as of June 22.

According to Lupo, the dollar value of the commitments made this year is reasonably close to the same as those made last year. However, the speed at which Federation is securing 2009 pledges is running over several hundred thousand dollars behind last year at this time.

"With a few exceptions, our Annual Campaign is doing the same as, and in some cases better than, other federated campaigns around the country," Lupo said. "Fortunately, we have a fairly broad-based campaign, and we have not been decimated like many other communities by the loss of 'mega donors.' Still, there is more than $500,000 in non-renewed pledges from 2008, and we are very concerned about how we will secure these commitments and how we will finish at the end of our 2009 campaign."

A shortfall in this year's campaign seems likely, according to Joel Kaber, Federation CEO, and it is only one part of a possible significant decrease in funding that the Federation is projecting system-wide for the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years. Grants from supporting foundations to the Federation system are projected to drop as much as $1.5-$2 million for 2010, and projected revenues from other outside sources are also expected to be lower in the coming year.

"A combined shortfall in annual campaign contributions, coupled with projected decreases in foundation grants and other outside revenues, will significantly affect the ability of our agencies to meet the growing needs we are seeing," said Kaber. He added that the impact will not only put local services and programs at risk, but may also impact the support provided each year by Federation to its partners in Israel and around the world.

To help counteract the effect of the downturned economy on service delivery, Federation has taken a series of unprecedented steps to analyze and reduce its expenses over the past six months. Under the guidance of its Finance Committee and chair Ed Rivkin, a contingency task force has identified and implemented a number of actions to help relieve financial impacts across the entire Federation system. These initiatives include a current hiring freeze and a salary freeze for nearly all Federation and agency positions, examination of the cost of benefits, consolidation of operating expenses, and research into opportunities for synergies with other federations around the state.

"The contingency task force has been very proactive in looking at current and future expenses of Federation and its agencies, and identifying areas where steps can be taken today to reduce or eliminate expenses," said David Farber, Federation president. "We continue to work actively across the system to become more efficient in the use of our resources, so that the majority of dollars coming in are used to deliver vital programs and services."

While the 2009 Annual Campaign has had some successes to this point, the remaining three months of fundraising are crucial. "The last thing we want to face is being unable to serve the people who so desperately need our help," said Schwartz. "We need to do everything we can to ensure that our 2009 annual campaign secures as many commitments as possible."

Federation is asking every member of the community who has the financial capability to make either a first-time or additional commitment to the 2009 campaign. Commitments can be made online at www.jewishsouthjersey.org or by calling 751-9500, ext. 214. .