About the Jewish Federation’s
Allocations Process

The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati funds programs and services in five areas:

1. Senior Adults
2. Youth & Family
3. Jewish Life and Learning
4. National Agencies
5. Israel and Overseas

The allocations process begins with the work of three local allocations councils:

1. Council on Jewish Life and Learning
2. Senior Adult Council
3. Youth & Family Council

The Planning and Allocations Committee reviews national, Israel and overseas allocations.

Council members make site visits to local agencies and organizations providing services within each area and subsequently participate in an intensive process of evaluating the programs and their impact and the outcomes they provide for our community.  Council members understand the crucial nature of their work and go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that every dollar is directed to support the greatest human and Jewish communal needs. Council members evaluate each program using a standardized program evaluation tool that allows councils to be objective and thorough. Council members submit recommendations to the Planning and Allocations Committee for final review before asking approval of the Board of Trustees.

There are four program funding priorities:

1. Level 1: These are vital service programs. Any cut of funding to these programs will have an immediate detrimental impact on members of the Jewish community.
   
   
2. Level 2: Cutting these programs will have a detrimental impact on the future of the Cincinnati Jewish community.
   
   
3. Level 3: These programs are valuable to the community, but in times of limited resources they can be reduced or suspended without significant harm to the community.
   
   
4. Level 4: These are duplicative programs. (No programs currently are assigned this level.)

The 2011 Application and Application Process

Following the 2010 allocations process, the Jewish Federation met with several agency executives and members of the councils to redesign the application with the hope that it would provide the critical data needed to evaluate the programs.

There are three parts to the new application:

Part I: Agency Profile – This portion of the application should be completed ONE TIME ONLY by the top paid professional or agency executive.  (Click here for Part I)

Part II: Program Profile – This portion should be completed by the paid professional who is primarily responsible for implementing the program. If this is not possible, then we suggest the form be completed by the agency exec or another paid professional in the organization. (Click here for Part II) (Please note: This is not to be completed by those agencies applying for camp or school scholarships.)

Part III: Scholarships – This should be completed by those agencies requesting scholarship dollars. (Click here for Part III)

SEED Application – For local congregations only. (Click here for SEED Application)

Community Study – Please click here to refer to the 2008 Cincinnati Community Study.  You may want to reference the study when answering questions on the application.

Key Benchmarks for Strong Programs

• Alignment – contributing to the goals and the mission of the Cincinnati Jewish Community and your agency
• Impact – demonstrating a measurable change and improvement in lives of members of the Jewish Community
• Accountability – providing data that shows quality programs are being delivered effectively and efficiently to the Jewish Community. High quality programs will submit proposals that demonstrate these elements.

Allocations Process Timeline

May 15, 2010  Funding request and all required paperwork are submitted to the Federation. (Applications received after this date will not be considered.)

May–July, 2010  Council representatives make site visits to all agency programs.

June–July, 2010  Councils meet with agency executives.

July–August, 2010  Councils review funding requests.

August–Sept. 2010  Planning and Allocations Committee reviews recommendations for allocations and then makes final recommendations.

Sept.-Oct., 2010  Allocations recommendations are presented to the Federation Board of Trustees for final approval.

October 2010  Agencies are made aware of funding decisions.