Tufts Hillel, along with many of its affiliates in the United States, has fared well and kept programming levels stable despite the economic downturn.
Thanks to its bolstered efforts to maintain fundraising, the center's worst fears about the recession have not been realized.
Although there is currently no specific data detailing the exact losses the center has incurred due to the economic downturn, Tufts Hillel, which focuses on providing services for members of Tufts' Jewish community, has managed to avoid cutting its programming and has succeeded in meeting this year's fundraising goals thus far, according to Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, Tufts Hillel's executive director.
"We haven't made any changes in our programming this year and we're working hard to do well in our fundraising," Summit told the Daily.
In January, Lenny Goldstein, associate director and chief financial officer of Tufts Hillel, estimated that the center's operating budget might decrease by 15 percent this year due to the fallout from the recession.
Tufts Hillel combines its endowment with that of the university's, the latter of which took a 25 percent dip over the past year, in part due to Tufts' $20 million loss in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Summit said that it was too early to confirm or deny Goldstein's estimate, and that the exact impact of the endowment loss on Tufts Hillel remains unclear. Still, he said, the center has seemed to weather Tufts' financial losses soundly.
Summit attributes the organization's ability to mitigate the effects of the downturn to increased fundraising efforts.
"Hillel has had a very active semester and we are working hard to make sure that our fundraising stays on target," Summit said in a follow-up e-mail. "So far, we have seen strong support this year but we are very actively working on our fundraising in this challenging time so that we can maintain the same level of programming."
A global organization with centers at over 500 colleges, Hillel has noticed a similar situation for a majority of its regional affiliates in the United States.
Jeff Rubin, associate vice president of communications for Hillel's international parent organization, told the Daily that Hillel in the United States has survived the economic downturn well, but has witnessed decreases in philanthropic donations.
"I think, like every organization in the country, Hillel has suffered a decline in philanthropic giving," Rubin said. "We've taken some prudent steps to trim our payrolls and cut back on certain programs to enable us to weather this storm."
According to Rubin, the organization lost about $20,000 due to the Madoff scheme, but it considered this minor. "Hillel in the United States did not lose very much money in the Madoff scandal compared to what other organizations suffered," he said.
At George Washington University's (GW) Hillel, programming and staff levels have remained the same despite the recession, according to GW Hillel Executive Director Robert Fishman. "We didn't have to make any great sacrifices at our Hillel," Fishman told the Daily.
GW Hillel lost around 10 percent of its endowment in the Madoff scandal, but managed to find alternative funding for programming through grants and by conducting joint programming with other organizations. This, Fishman said, "has helped a great deal."
Fishman was optimistic about the state of both GW Hillel and the Hillel organization at large. "We're holding our own during this economic crisis," he said.
Hillel's offices abroad have not been as fortunate, as centers in Israel and the former Soviet Union have been harder hit by the downturn. The Hillel parent organization as a whole lost over $600,000 as a result of the Madoff scandal, Rubin told the Daily in January.
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This article was modified from its originally published version for purposes of clarity on 12/3/09.
