A Community Update

In last week’s Bulletin, I shared the news with you that our New Bedford Jewish Federation will soon become part of Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropy (CJP). A letter with the same message should have also arrived in your mailbox since.

I want to use this week’s Bulletin to share more details about what to expect after this process is completed on June 30th. Furthermore, I would like to invite you to a community meeting that we will host on June 8th where we will answer any and all further questions you may have.

The most frequent question you’ve asked so far is about what will happen to local programs based in New Bedford. Like before, we will continue to hold them: a memorial service at the monument in Buttonwood Park on Yom HaShoah, Kosher for Passover Food deliveries, PJ Library subscriptions, and speakers at the Whaling Museum, BCC, and many of the New Bedford venues we have used in the past. The only difference is that, as part of CJP, we will be able to enjoy the dozens of programs and opportunities that CJP offers as well.

Another common question was whether members of the New Bedford community would be able to apply for college, Jewish summer camp, and Israel travel scholarships. The answer to that is yes. The only difference is that the application will be processed at CJP, which has larger grant pools than we did.

Many of you also asked what would happen to the New Bedford endowment funds. Our five permanently restricted funds will not change and will continue to be used only according to the guidelines set by their donors.

Another topic of interest was whether, in joining a larger Federation, there would be someone looking out for New Bedford and making sure our transition is smooth. To guide this project, we formed a committee last year and the members of the committee will continue to work as liaisons for several years to come. CJP has assigned a senior team to work with us and they have also asked me to work with the New Bedford committee and their team for a period of up to one year. Our team includes Federation president Manya Bark, former president Ellen Hull, executive committee member Marsha Onufrak and board members Liz Ackerman and Ilana Offenberger. We are all thankful to them for their tireless work this past year and for the commitment they made going forward.

What will happen to our philanthropic allocations? The same organizations we have traditionally supported will continue to receive an allocation. More than that, there is a relationship manager at CJP assigned to our key recipients such as BCC’s Holocaust and Genocide Center, TI’s Ziskind School, the Jewish Life Center at UMass Dartmouth and key organizations we have supported in Israel.

Will New Bedford be included in CJP’s annual campaign? Of course. While your check will be mailed to a different address, the values and causes it will support remain the same.

As to what the process to reach this agreement with CJP was like: This started with the board’s decision all the way back in 2013 to scale back from full-time to part-time employees given the reality of our finances. I was then hired with the mandate to carry out this transition. The goal was to keep running the New Bedford Federation for five more years, all while preparing ways to transition the community to a more financially viable, permanent situation. The board and I explored several options for our community’s continuity over the years. Finally, in May 2025, a conversation I had with Boston’s CEO Mark Baker revealed the kind of excitement we were hoping for. Klal Israel, Tikkun Olam, continuity and strengthening relationships were clear and immediate common goals. After this exciting response, both our Federation’s executive committee and (shortly after) the full board voted to pursue this opportunity.

On April 13th, after months of detailed reviews, joint work between New Bedford and CJP leaders, and very thorough legal and financial consulting, we came to an agreed framework that will allow us to make the best decision for our community’s future - just as we had envisioned. When presented with the final framework, our board unanimously voted to join CJP.

In the coming weeks, we expect the state of Massachusetts to approve the completion of this process, which will make the transition official and pave the way for our next chapter. I hope this Bulletin answers questions for many who wondered but did not ask. As I mentioned, we have scheduled a community meeting at 7:00 PM on Monday, June 8th, at TI for any who want to ask and discuss some more. In the interval, I encourage you to email me any questions you have.

I have written more than 600 Bulletins for our community. I realize there are only a handful more to come, but as I conclude this one, I could not be happier with this outcome for our community. Shabbat Shalom.