On February 17-18 (Wednesday-Thursday), nearly 120 fundraisers, representing as many organizations and close to half a billion dollars in funding, joined together to update and hone their skills at Raising Donors and Donations, a seminar co-sponsored by H. LEINER & CO. and Bottom Line Marketing Group.   Held in the beautiful DoubleTree Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y., and sumptuously catered by L’Chaim Catering, the program featured eight lecture sessions on different approaches to fundraising,  in addition to a roundtable discussion and plentiful opportunities to network. 

Sessions were led by an all-star lineup of experts, including the event’s organizers:  Rabbi Herschel Leiner, President of H. LEINER & CO., and Mr. Yitzchok Saftlas, President of Bottom Line Marketing Group.  Also presenting were Mr. Jonathan Gassman, CAP, CFP, CPA, of Gassman and Golodny, Planning Concepts, Inc., and Mr. Howard Tzvi Friedman, Founding Partner of Lanx Management, LLC and Chairman of the Board of AIPAC.  Conference attendees were also privileged to enjoy the participation of Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, publisher and editor of Yated Ne’eman; Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Toras Chaim at South Shore; Rabbi Aron Hersh Freund, Executive Director of UTA, Satmar; and Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo Rothberg, Executive Director of Yeshiva Ohr Hameir of Peekskill.

 The seminar attendees themselves hailed from locations as diverse as Los Angeles, Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago, and Boston—a few even made the trip from Eretz Yisrael—and from every gradation of the Orthodox spectrum.  Many attendees echoed a comment made by Rabbi Yossi Mentz of Yeshivat Yavneh in Los Angeles, “It was so uplifting to see the camaraderie from this cross-section of Orthodox Jewry—the Achdus resonated throughout the event.  These devoted men and women gathered together with the lofty goal of guaranteeing the financial stability of our Mosdos, and that in itself is a Meleches Hakodesh.”

 Rav Baruch Yehuda Gradon, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Merkaz HaTorah, flew in from Los Angeles specifically for the purpose of addressing the crowd, commencing the program with inspiring Divrei Chizuk.  Rabbi Gradon reinforced the message that the hard, often thankless work of fundraising is a holy and essential task despite the personal challenges to self and family. He also emphasized that every fundraiser should do his best to embody the high moral principles represented by his institution, a responsibility that entails avoiding any compromise of those principles.

Rabbi Herschel Leiner, who has been in the field for over twenty five years and has personally raised over a hundred million dollars in the past 10 years alone for various Mosdos and organizations, was the seminar’s co-organizer and presented on Wednesday following Rabbi Gradon’s Divrei Chizuk.  It was Rabbi Leiner who first had the vision to create conferences in order to offer fundraisers the benefit of his own experience and knowledge, as well as the expertise of other professionals in the field.  “We’re here to understand and help our fellow fundraisers,” he says. “We want them to be as successful as possible.”  

 His first seminar, entitled “Fundraising I & II:  The Anatomy of an Encounter—Opening, Presentation, Negotiating, Closing,” stressed that fundraisers need professional-level skills.  “Solicitation is a science,” he says.  “Doing our Histadlus properly in fundraising means learning how to hone our skills in presentation, negotiation and closing the deal. When approaching people and carrying out a constructive meeting utilizing our talents and perfected skills we perfect our fundraising ability,” Rabbi Leiner told the audience.  He emphasized the necessity of being well informed and focused about both the prospective donor and the organization one represents, in order to be able to connect to the donor and present a clear, convincing portrayal of the organization. 

            In the session entitled, “Donor Profiling—It’s Legal!”   Rabbi Leiner drew participants’ attention to the importance of the importance of a donor profile system and diversifying an organization’s donor list.  “Those institutions that were only dependent on large donors are struggling today,” he said.  “But those who acknowledged a broad mix of donors emerged stronger.  Building up donors is as important as building up donations.”  The fundraiser-donor relationship is a personal one, he said, in which each partner participates in strengthening Klal Yisrael.  In his two seminar sessions, Rabbi Leiner managed to passionately transmit a portion of his life experience in fundraising into his presentations.

“Everybody wants to give,” declared presenter Jonathan Gassman in the program’s second session, entitled “Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way.”  Mr. Gassman should know: as a wealth management consultant, his job is to represent and advise donors on how best to allocate their funds.  “As a fundraiser, you have to be donor-centered.  You have to help the donor understand why he wants to give to you.

“The most important skills are not the technical skills, but the people skills and, the communication skills.  It goes without saying that if you don’t ask for funding, you won’t get it. Not only that, if you don’t ask for it, rest assured that somebody else will.”

            Mr. Gassman’s specialty, as his lecture made clear, is assuring the long-term financial futures of Torah Mosdos by securing bequests from donors, otherwise known as “planned giving.”  Even people who are uncertain about their current financial status are often willing to promise a piece of whatever remains after 120 years.  “Many people see planned giving as a way to leave a legacy, to be Mekadesh Shem Shamayim,” said Mr. Gassman.  “You have to see your fundraising as a way of helping people realize these goals.”

Wednesday evening’s session, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Tips to Remain on the ‘Radar Screen’ of Your Donors,” presented by seminar co-host Yitzchok Saftlas of Bottom Line Marketing Group, drove home the vital necessity of keeping the day-to-day work of our Mosdos and organizations on the ‘radar screens’ of donors.  Mr. Saftlas provided his listeners with a host of practical examples of accomplishing this through newsletters, brochures, advertisements and other types of media, to maintain a continual presence in the public awareness – a must in today’s fast-paced world. Yitzchok, who began his career at ArtScroll/Mesorah 20 years ago, has 2 decades of experience, producing effective and successful marketing materials for non-profit, corporate and political clients.

            The advances of computer technology have opened up exponential new possibilities for networking with donors and generating money for organizations. The second session by Mr. Saftlas, entitled “Net Gains on the ‘Net: Unleashing the Power of Online Fundraising,” showed participants how computer-based marketing techniques can be applied to help organizations establish an online presence, use it to communicate and reach out to donors via e-mail lists and online campaigns.

            Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz was the guest speaker at Wednesday night’s dinner. He regaled the crowd with fascinating tales of the days when he himself worked as a fundraiser for both Torah Umesorah and the Philadelphia Yeshiva. Rabbi Lipschutz shared personal experiences from when he accompanied the Philadelphia Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Elya Svei, zt”l, on fundraising trips. He then offered insights into how to withstand the many nisayonos that are faced while carrying out this difficult but vital work.

            A particular highlight was the Wednesday night roundtable session, moderated jointly by Rabbi Aron Hersh Freund and Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo Rothberg.  Titled the “Fundraisers Roundtable,” this session offered an opportunity for fundraisers on the front-lines to put their heads together and brainstorm solutions to tough problems and obstacles, exchange advice, and share their stories of both triumphs and setbacks.  It provided a unique opportunity for networking, advice, and the ability for everyone to gain from the combined talent and experience from all assembled.

Thursday morning’s davening was graced by an unexpected simcha.  One of the attendees, a representative of one of the Bobover mosdos, was given an Aliyah in honor of the birth of a baby girl.  His wife had given birth just a few hours prior to the beginning of the seminar!  It is perhaps typical of the Mesirus Nefesh of both fundraisers and their families that the new father nevertheless attended the seminar.

The morning sessions on Thursday was opened by Mr. Howard Tzvi Friedman. His session was titled, “Stepping Out of your Fundraising Comfort Zone: How to Develop and Maintain Fundraising Relationships with Federations, Foundations and Jewry at Large.”  Enlivening his discourse with personal anecdotes culled from years of high level work in the public sector, Mr. Friedman spoke of the importance of building fruitful relationships with large federations and foundations, as well establishing a base of personal contacts.   He offered valuable practical advice and tips, and his listeners walked away with new insights into how to interact more effectively with large foundations.

During lunch on Thursday, the participants were treated to words of Chizuk by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky.  Coming from the vantage point of a Rosh Yeshiva whose father mentored him to be on the front lines of fundraising, Rabbi Kamenetzky stressed the critical role fundraisers play in supporting our Mosdos.  His audience was enthralled as he recounted humorous stories from his personal experiences, as well as memories of learning in the presence of his grandfather, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky zt”l.   

The immeasurable value of the seminar was reflected in the glowing testimonials that Rabbi Leiner and Yitzchok Saftlas received following the 2 day conference. “All I can say is that every minute was educational and inspiring,” raved R’ Tuvye Neuman of the Yeshiva at IDT.  Rabbi Aron Eisenberg of Chesed of New Square commented, “It was an absolute delight, every minute of it.”  Rabbi Zev Rivkin of the Passaic Community Kollel noted, “All the presenters were super, very knowledgeable. Thanks for hosting such a wonderful Asifah!”  

            Those who missed the fundraising seminar will be delighted to know that,   B’ezras Hashem, another fundraising seminar is being planned for this summer.  Questions, ideas and requests for further information may be directed to Rabbi Herschel Leiner at hl@HLeiner.comor Yitzchok Saftlas at ys@BottomLineMG.com. 

The event’s organizers are eager to express their gratitude for the tremendous work their attendees are doing for the community. “The Chinuch, Chesed and Kiruv of Jewish North America depend on them,” points out Rabbi Leiner.  “They’re out there working for the betterment of Klal Yisrael.  We’re here to do whatever we can to help them succeed and thrive in the all-important work they do.  It means a better future for all of us!