2021 Annual Campaign Donate here
Edie & Paul Rosenblum Gift of Israel Program More
Jewish Pride New Orleans More

2021 Annual Campaign Donate here
Edie & Paul Rosenblum Gift of Israel Program More
Jewish Pride New Orleans More

Federation hiring a Chief Advancement Officer (CAO)

We're hiring! The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans (JFGNO) will be responsible for developing and overseeing the execution of a high-level strategic plan for fundraising. The CAO will lead the effort to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward annual campaign, major, and planned giving donors.

Learn more here.

CJMA Announcement

It is with bittersweet emotions that we share that Mithun Kamath is leaving the Federation and the Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs (CJMA). Mithun is taking the next, big step in his career and will serve as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. We couldn't be happier for him.

During his Federation tenure, Mithun has worked tirelessly on behalf of the organization and the Jewish community. Through the Jewish Community Relations Council and now the CJMA, he has made tangible impacts benefiting our Jewish organizations, the larger community, and the city as a whole. While he will be missed, we can think of no one more deserving of and better positioned to tackle the challenges of his new role at the DA's Office.

In his own words: "In late 2017, I had never even heard of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and certainly could not have imagined myself working at this organization! Looking back now, I am extremely proud of what the Federation has accomplished over the past three years in the areas of external relations and community outreach, governmental affairs, social action and legislative advocacy, and revenue generation. On my very first day on job, I literally reported for duty at the City Council chambers to witness the rescission of the Council's pro-BDS resolution, and I am departing having recently launched and served as the first Executive Director of the CJMA - quite a journey! I am grateful to the Board, in particular to lay leaders Bradley Bain and Ina Davis, and to my mentor Arnie Fielkow, for providing me with the opportunities that I've been given at the Federation and trusting in my ability to move the organization forward. And I will forever be indebted to the Jewish community of my hometown for accepting me so wholeheartedly as an honorary MOT!"

We have posted the CJMA Executive Director position (to include JCRC duties) and are now accepting applications. Our hope is to make this a quick transition, with the deadline for applications on January 31. If you know anyone who may be interested in the position, please encourage them to apply through the details posted in the linked position description.

Please join us in our congratulations and well wishes for Mithun.

Ina Davis & Bradley Bain
Co-Chairs, Advisory Council | Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs

Joshua S. Force
Chair, Board of Trustees | Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans

Arnie Fielkow
Chief Executive Officer | Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans

Statement on the January 6, 2021 extremist violence at the Capitol

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ Jewish Community Relations Council strongly condemns Wednesday’s violent insurrection at the United States Capitol. This act was a direct assault on our democratic process in its attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power following a presidential election.

We counsel members of Congress and other elected officials to speak out against Wednesday's violence and, especially in light of this week's Congressional certification, against any continuing rhetoric questioning the legitimacy of the election.

Ugly and tangible expressions of white nationalism, antisemitism, and hate – from Nazi symbols to Confederate flags – were broadcast globally to a horrified audience on January 6, 2021. This is not who we aspire to be as a country, and underscores a significant need to examine how easily bigotry and grievance can be weaponized.

We urge all Americans to stand together for the sake of our democracy against hate-fueled incitement and violence. We must work together to heal as a nation.

What are the consequences of hate?

The CJMA’s virtual symposium, held December 21, 2020, introduced participants from the Greater New Orleans area to the historical and ongoing persecution of the African-American, Uyghur, LGBTQ, Latinx, and Jewish communities. Experts from each community transported students across time and space: from the children’s crusade in Birmingham, to the ongoing atrocities against the Uyghurs in China, to the AIDS epidemic across America, to the Holocaust, and back to the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Check out our speaker segments here.

Speakers included:

Samantha Power | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 2013-2017
David Harris | CEO, AJC
Dr. Spencer Crew, Interim Director of Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sarah Holewinski | Washington Director, Human Rights Watch
Omer Kanat | President, World Uyghur Congress
U.S. Representative Elaine G. Luria | D-VA, 2nd District
Juan Escalante, DACA Recipient/Digital Campaigns Manager, FWD.us
Dr. Timothy Patrick McCarthy | Core Faculty, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University

2021 Annual Campaign

Since 1913, you and those who came before you have raised the dollars through the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign which have nourished our New Orleans Jewish community. Our donors have helped resettled immigrants who fled the threat of WWII, and then embraced the survivors with open arms. Your generosity helped build the State of Israel, opened our hearts to Russian refugees, and airlifted Ethiopians to safety. More recently you have protected the security of our Jewish community and tackled the impact of lack of engagement in Jewish life—but everything is different now.

We find ourselves facing a global pandemic—a historic moment that will define us for years to come.

Will we rise to meet the challenge? We have, and we will. Because now, it’s even more important.

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans was built for this moment: taking collective action to tackle our community’s most devastating and seemingly intractable challenges, because, as the Talmud mandates, Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh—all Jews are responsible for one another. Now more than ever, our goal is to safeguard Jewish New Orleans—specifically, here’s how your Jewish Federation responded in 2020:

We established a direct individual grant program for Jewish New Orleanians administered through Jewish Family Service (JFS) and funded by the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana.
We launched a Health Care Take Home Meal Program, which supported kosher businesses while providing 6,600 meals this past spring and summer to health care workers at five local hospitals.
We served as the central local organization facilitating the federal Paycheck Protection Program, with 16 agencies/synagogues joining our efforts. All were approved.
We joined with JFS to create a helpline program to assist our community with delivery of groceries/pharmacy items, medical transport, and emotional support. More than 60 volunteers signed up to help.
We led the statewide Jewish response to Hurricane Laura, raising more than $220,000 to assist those in need, and organized volunteer efforts.
And most importantly, we continue to assess and address the financial stabilization needs of our community partners.

As the connector for Jewish New Orleans, our mission is to sustain our Jewish agencies and organizations for the future of our community, and that’s never clearer than during times of crisis. Despite everything, our 2020 Annual Campaign raised $2.606 million—and an additional $700,000 in supplemental giving, an important form of Jewish fundraising.

While every dollar is critically important, the needs are even greater. That’s why we need your support for the 2021 Annual Campaign.

Did you know you can schedule your donation up to three months in the future? Or set up a monthly payment schedule?

Other ways to support the Federation

Transfer stock to the Federation’s Morgan Stanley Account (#575-060565-239). Contact Carla Marciniak at carla.marciniak@morganstanley.com or 504-587-9645 (please be sure that your name is on the stock transfer). Kindly contact the Federation office at 504-780-5600 to notify Federation what kind of stock and how many shares have been transferred.
Make a gift from your Jewish Endowment Foundation donor advised fund,and let Sherri Tarr you’ve done so by emailing sherritarr@jewishnola.com.
Donate from your IRA through a regular distribution.
Mail a check (payable to the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans) to 3747 W. Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, LA 70002.
Please consider leaving a legacy for the Jewish Federation – for more information on how to endow your gift, please contact Bobby Garon or Patti Lengsfield at the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana at 504-524-4559.

All new and increased gifts to the 2021 Annual Campaign will be boosted by the 25% Goldring/Woldenberg match.

The 2021 Annual Campaign is chaired by Mara Force & Joshua Rubenstein.

An Ally in Federation

After coming out, Idit and Asher didn't have spaces where they could be both gay and Jewish. So they built them. And with help from Federations, they've revolutionized what it means to be Jewish and gay in America.

Learn how.

Moving Mountains in Nepal

The future looked bright for Mira’s family. They were saving up and had even added a new room to their modest home. Then the twin earthquakes of 2015 destroyed all their progress. By helping her tap into her passion for sewing, Federation partner JDC helped Mira lift her family out of a tent city and back into their home. Now, their future looks bright once again.

Learn how.

Livnat and Federation: Revitalizing the Negev Through Creative Placemaking

With support from Federations’ Negev Now initiative, the emerging field of creative placemaking has helped these Israeli kids transform from victims of trauma to creative builders and designers of a better future.

Learn how.

Edie & Paul Rosenblum Gift of Israel

A trip to Israel is one of the most important formative experiences in your child's Jewish development - and the Edie and Paul Rosenblum Gift of Israel Program can unlock this experience. Together with the the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and area synagogues, your child's Israel experience is closer than you realize.

Learn more here.