Op-Eds
Op-Ed: Stop Keeping Out Non-Jews
By Gary Tobin
JTA
March 3, 2008
San Francisco (JTA) -- A study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows that Americans are switching religions more than ever. As many as one of every two adults does not practice the religion in which they were born or raised. ...more
Philanthropy Forum: Federations Need to Adapt
By Gary Tobin
JTA
November 6, 2007
San Francisco (JTA) — North American federations could and should be doing much better than they are. They matter. They are important. They embody the ideas of community, common cause and the ability to respond to collective concerns. ...more
Save the Chastising of Jews Who Give to Non-Jewish Causes
JTA
Gary Tobin
October 22, 2007
Jewish foundations are giving away billions of dollars. A recent study conducted by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research found that 80% of the dollars they gave away ...more
If U.S. Jews Are among Donor Elite,
Why Aren't Jewish Causes Getting More?
JTA
Gary Tobin
September 19, 2006
Roland Stanton's $100 million gift to Yeshiva University is the largest ever
to a U.S. Jewish institution. Yet as Stanton himself said, "There are plenty
of people who could do it." ...more
Buffetting Megawealth: A Lesson in Philanthropy
National Review Online
Gary Tobin
July 6, 2006
What philanthropists can learn from Warren Buffett: Being wealthy doesn't necessarily mean you know how to give it away. ...more
Is There Disdain For Evangelicals In the Classroom? Survey, Bias Allegation Spur Debate
By Alan Cooperman
The Washington Post
May 5, 2007
The Institute's just released study The Religious Beliefs & Behavior of College Faculty is discussed by Alan Cooperman, the staff writer who covers religion for the Washington Post, in the Saturday, May 5th edition. Our research shows 53%of non-Evangelical university faculty hold cool or unfavorable views of Evangelical Christians and one-third of all faculty also hold unfavorable views of Mormons. "This survey shows a disturbing level of prejudice or intolerance among U.S. Faculty towards tens of millions of Evangelical Christians," said Gary Tobin president of IJCR....more
Student Groups Ready for Debate After Anti-Semitism Lecture
By Brandy Trapp
The South End
March 28, 2007
Institute for Jewish & Community Research associate Aryeh Weinberg and staff director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Kenneth Marcus, ease tensions at Wayne State University hopefully making way for civil debate among student groups with an historically contentious relationship. “’Clearly the debate is poisoned now,’ Weinberg told the audience. He said what could have been an ‘intelligent’ debate on Middle East conflicts had been reduced to name-calling and personal insults. Weinberg said people lose their voices when healthy debate goes sour.” ...more
Intermarriage Studies May Be Right; Community's Fearful Response Isn't
We keep producing studies that prove that children of intermarried families are less likely to be Jewish than children from two born Jews.
There's nothing wrong with the research; my studies show the same thing. However, our responses to the findings, which come from fear and suspicion, are troubling. ...more
On Campus, a Culture of Conformity
It is a well-known fact that professors lean to the left. According to a recently released study by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, professors are more likely to identify as liberals than as conservatives by a ratio of 3-to-1. In the social sciences and humanities the figure is 5-to-1. ...more
Five Ways to Make Your Federation Better
Federations are one of the great success stories in American philanthropy. They attract thousands of volunteers and contributors, raise hundreds of millions of dollars, manage billions of dollars in a wide array of endowments and philanthropic funds, and mount special campaigns and emergency operations that raise hundreds of millions more. If the federation system vanished tomorrow, it would immediately, out of necessity, be reinvented. ...more
If U.S. Jews Are among Donor Elite,
Why Aren't Jewish Causes Getting More?
Roland Stanton's $100 million gift to Yeshiva University is the largest ever
to a U.S. Jewish institution. Yet as Stanton himself said, “There are plenty
of people who could do it.” ...more
A Word of Warning About Giving
As recent college graduates leave their campuses, they can be sure
of one thing: Their former campuses will keep tabs on them, and send them fundraising solicitations. At
first, the expectation for dollars will be small. But as time goes on, the old alma mater will get bolder,
and ask for major gifts. ....more
A Disavowal of Absolutely No Value
Northwestern University President Henry Bienen has upbraided tenured engineering professor Arthur Butz for his repugnant embrace of Holocaust denial. For that, the academic community and the American public should be grateful. Leadership in America's universities on basic moral issues is sometimes slow and sometimes absent, especially when it comes to calling anti-Semitic speech by its real name. ...more
In order to restore accountability, campuses need oversight
Each spring, well-rehearsed university graduation ceremonies fill the halls of ivy and public venues. The ancient robes, the stirring music, speakers' calls to high-minded purposes feed the public's perception of universities as special institutions deserving of respect, the sacrifices of students and parents, and above all, an ample supply of taxpayer and philanthropic dollars.....more
American Jews Grow in Diversity
charlotte.com
Gary Tobin
November 28, 2005
American Jews are often stereotyped as a monolithic people of European origin. Jews are in fact as diverse as any demographic group in America -- and perhaps the most diverse demographic group. ...more
American Jews Embrace Demographic Diversity
Knight Ridder Newspapers
DuluthNewsTribune.com
Gary Tobin
September 30, 2005
On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Jews across America will pause to consider how to improve themselves and their communities in the year to come. No doubt, many will contemplate how the country reacted to the terrible destruction wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A disproportionate number of the victims were poor and black, rekindling a national dialogue on race and class. Yet Americans poured millions of dollars into the affected areas, moving beyond racial stereotypes and boundaries. ...more
An Exceptional Nation: American Philanthropy is Different Because America Is Different
Philanthropy Roundtable
Alexander C. Karp, Gary A. Tobin, and Aryeh Weinberg
November/December 2004
Is it a coincidence one of the world's freest, most entrepreneurial, and most religious nations is also the world's most philanthropic nation? Americans donate like no other people, whether you look at total donations, per capita giving, size of gifts, or types of giving. And as our wealth increases, so does our generosity...more
Family Philanthropy's Mad Hatter
Foundation News & Commentary
Gary A. Tobin
January/February 2004
Few professional roles are more complicated—and less defined—than the family foundation professional. The explosion in the number of foundations has greatly expanded the profession, but few in the field have formal training...more
Getting Megagifts to the Neediest Causes
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Gary Tobin
May 1, 2003
Big gifts from wealthy donors and foundations are made
primarily to a small group of very large charities, with
the result that many causes -- and almost all small and
regional groups -- are cut off from a substantial source
of funds, according to a new study...more
American Jews Stand Up to Be Counted
Gary Tobin
The Forward
October 4, 2002
Counting Jews, whether for demographic research or for communal
policy planning, is a difficult task. Ours is a highly dispersed community.
Once you leave the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast, locating
Jewish respondents is a needle-in-a-haystack endeavor...more |
