In an effort to create more donor excitement for its annual campaign, the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County has established separate campaign “cabinets” in the eastern and western regions of the county.

The two cabinets will be better equipped to familiarize the Jewish population in each area with information on where and how the philanthropy spends the money it raises, according to executive director Howard Gases.

“Donors and potential donors have every right to know the programs that we support and how the federation allocates its funds,” Gases said. “We hope this new approach will provide that information and attract donors who, until now, have been unsure of what we do.”

The change reflects what planners call an “outcomes-based” approach to fund-raising, marketing the federation by highlighting the specific agencies and causes it funds. Last year the umbrella philanthropy raised $2.5 million, which it allocated among local social service agencies, schools, and JCCs, as well as a host of humanitarian services in Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

The new approach contrasts with that of a previous era in Jewish philanthropy, when giving to the federation umbrella was seen as part of a web of obligations for Jewish donors. According to a 2001 study by San Francisco-based researcher Gary Tobin, younger Jewish donors are more likely to “pick and choose” which philanthropies they want to support and seek a personal affinity or connection when doing so.

“Donors and potential donors here feel the same as those in western Monmouth; they want to know exactly how and where their donations are spent,” said Andrew Krantz, who with fellow Ocean Township resident Albert Bloomfield is cochairing the eastern outreach program. “Their priorities revolve around outcomes, and they want community needs to be clearly identified before allocations are made.”

The outcomes-based approach also applies to any grant money received by the federation, he added.

“The Jewish community wants to know more about the types of grants the federation applies for and how the grant money will be allocated if the federation is successful in obtaining a grant,” Krantz said. “This information will help clarify the grant process for them and whether or not the grant allocation can lead or has led to a successful outcome.” By taking such an approach, community members “can then see for themselves how the money was spent and whether it was linked to a project they consider important. As a result, donors and potential donors will have a clearer picture of how the federation operates and how responsive it is to their interests.”

The move also reflects an ongoing migration of Jewish families from the New York City area to western Monmouth County, said Eli Kramer of Manalapan. He and Eric Abraham, also a Manalapan resident, serve as chairs of the western county campaign cabinet.

“Because these families have not been entrenched in Monmouth County as long as their counterparts in the eastern part, they are sometimes less aware of the federation’s local and international outreach,” Kramer said. “By directing our efforts toward this part of the Jewish community, we hope to draw them into the federation family.”

The two campaign cabinets were established last summer as a result of federation meetings that discussed conducting campaign efforts on a more geographical basis, Gases said.

The new direction has been applauded by members of the eastern and western cabinets.

“It will provide more focus and a chance for members of the Jewish community in this part of the county to get to know more about the federation,” said Kramer.

Kramer said the western county cabinet has established a five-year time frame to implement two major goals: increasing the number of those who give donations, and increasing the magnitude of those donations.

“We’re trying to build bridges to the Jewish community in this part of the county by creating social events that appeal to them and culminate in donations,” said Kramer.

For example, a fine wine and Scotch tasting that took place in January attracted approximately 200 attendees, 60 percent of whom had never been federation donors, according to Kramer.

During the evening, Abraham conducted an educational component that explained the federation’s mission and purpose. This will also take place at upcoming events, such as a Faces of Aliyah program at Kramer’s home on March 8. The event will also take place on March 7 at the home of Norm and Nina Konvitz in Ocean Township.

“It’s a challenge to understand what the federation does with the money it raises,” said Abraham. “Jews are charitable people who look after their own. But sometimes, members of the Jewish community are not fully aware of the number of vulnerable Jews that still exist here and abroad. It’s our intention to share that information and assure them that federation money is spent in accordance with the mission of the agency.”

Much like the western cabinet, the eastern outreach program is planning events that will appeal to the local Jewish community. For example, an Israeli fine wine event on March 15 at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal will enable those who attend to taste and purchase Israeli wines for the Sabbath and the Passover holiday. During the evening, attendees will learn about the workings of the federation and how agency funds are distributed.

“We want to convey the fact that the federation is a one-stop place for all things Jewish,” Krantz said. “It supports social causes that are of interest to the Jewish community, provides financial help to members of the Jewish community here and overseas, and is a service provider of many types of social support. Whenever there is an incident of anti-Semitism, everyone turns to the federation for help in combating the prejudice.”

The new geographic concentration will enable the federation to develop closer relationships with donors, according to Bloomfield.

“We can develop a better sense of what it will take to make the annual campaign successful,” he said. “You can focus more closely on different age groups and the different levels of giving.

Building closer relationships with donors and potential donors will enable the federation to learn more about community interests, said Janet Light, the agency’s assistant director of financial resource development.

“We’ll also have a better opportunity to gather information about the approaches of other federations and we’ll see what worked well and what was less effective,” she said.

Although many social events will now take place on a geographical basis, the efforts to attract donors are still a part of the federation’s overall annual campaign, said Andrea Alexander, director of the federation’s Manalapan office.

Since the Manalapan office opened its doors in April 2003, approximately 800 people have been added to the federation’s database, largely due to the agency’s increased exposure, said Alexander.

“We were able to prove through our actions that the federation has a structure in place that enables it to respond quickly to emergency situations, such as Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami, and the crisis in northern Israel last year,” she added. “These responses illustrated what we do and how we do it so effectively.”