What is it that Federation does?
The Jewish Federation of the North Shore opened it doors in 1938, and for seventy years the principle has remained the same – individual commitment to the greater good of the community.

For seventy years this Federation has been working to build a vibrant Jewish community and to raise the funds necessary to help Jews and Jewish agencies on the North Shore, in Israel and around the world - wherever there is need. Federation supports a framework that sustains our local and global Jewish community.

The Jewish community on the North Shore is the thread that binds the vital institutions built by our forward thinking predecessors. Because of the investment of these mavericks, ours is a robust Jewish community that attracts young families who want to live fulfilling Jewish lives. We can boast ten synagogues, two Jewish community centers, an excellent day school, a community Jewish newspaper, a family service agency, a Holocaust educational center, historical society and mikvah. The Jewish Federation of the North Shore impacts all by convening the leadership of these institutions to work, in the spirit of cooperation, for the good of the entire community.

Federation also works to create a link to Israel. Not only does our annual Community Campaign support services and programs in Israel, but by offering singles, couples and families guided trips to Israel, we inspire people to see our history come alive and to become aware of the essential need to support our Jewish homeland. Through our overseas partners – the American Jewish Joint distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel – donors to the Community Campaign know that their philanthropy is providing rescue and relief for Jews wherever they live.

Of the core competencies of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, none is greater or more important than our ability to raise the funds needed to sustain and enhance Jewish life around the corner and around the world. Today the annual campaign impacts eight local agencies and a network of others providing assistance and education to Jewish communities throughout the globe. The centralized campaign gives donors the opportunity to live generously – to demonstrate care for the community without limitation. One gift to the Community Campaign is a statement of commitment to the North Shore and every Jew in it, as well as our family in Israel, the former Soviet Union and Jews everywhere. A gift says we care about people, not politics or religious practices.

Federation offers several ways to give – donations, bequests, donor advised funds, tributes and more. Please call Executive Director Liz Donnenfeld at 781-631-8330 or email ldonnenfeld@jfns.org to discuss what’s best for you, visit our Giving Page, or click here to donate now.