Appealing for appeal respect
COMMUNAL organisations have called into question the effectiveness of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria's (JCCV) campaign calendar. Despite paying a large annual sum for the exclusive right to fundraise during certain weeks of the year, groups say this schedule is not being enforced.
COMMUNAL organisations have called into question the effectiveness of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s (JCCV) campaign calendar.
Despite paying a large annual sum for the exclusive right to fundraise during certain weeks of the year, groups say this schedule is not being enforced.
Magen David Adom (MDA) has accused a number of community not-for-profits of failing to respect its exclusive appeal period, which falls for a week at the end of August and another at the start of October.
A JCCV affiliate, the Australian arm of the Israeli ambulance service — like other organisations — pays to guarantee a sole fundraising window. However, it claims some bodies have not respected its two-week block.
“It’s upsetting when organisations trying to do the right thing lose out,” MDA Victoria president Glynis Lipson said.
Lipson said her main concern was that MDA volunteers doing phone appeals were being met with rebuke.
“It’s upsetting when our young volunteers make the phone calls and are told, ‘can’t you get your act together, you’re the third call or letter I’ve had today and no, I won’t donate’,” she said.
The two organisations at question were Mount Scopus Memorial College and Jewish Care.
Mount Scopus Foundation executive director Marilyn Simon ran the school’s appeal a few weeks ago. It was the first time the school opted not to reserve an exclusive appeal period.
“In principle, we were very careful not to choose a week that fell within somebody’s paid period,” she explained, admitting that some follow-up calls were made in the weeks after the major day.
“It was with a heavy heart that Scopus chose not to be part of the allocated appeal period this year, but we considered it was offering us no protection.”
Simon said that in the week leading up to Rosh Hashanah, despite being an MDA period, she herself had received letters from as many as four other organisations appealing for funds.
Jewish Care chief executive Bill Appleby confirmed a mail-out had taken place, but said it was “a minor mail-out to a select segment of our donor database only and does not relate in any way to our major annual appeal”.
JCCV executive director Geoffrey Zygier said that while a “comprehensive punitive system” is in place to prevent situations such as this, non-JCCV organisations are not bound by the rules.
“The system generally works very well and we make every effort to address any glitches that arise. From our perspective, problems are largely caused by some organisations that abuse the system, and by others that choose not to be part of it,” he said.
DALIA SABLE
PHOTO: Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: AJN file
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