Nurturing the Future: How Strategic Philanthropy Drives Enrollment Success

As student and family demographics change, Jewish day schools face new challenges in maintaining and growing enrollment. These challenges, intensified by the ongoing effects of Covid, include rising costs, the need for robust mental health support, and the increasing demand for financial aid among lower- and middle-income families seeking a Jewish education.

To address these challenges, schools must rely on strategic fundraising to secure the necessary resources and grow access. In this article, we explore how to position individual major donor efforts to effectively support enrollment management and ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of Jewish day schools.

Connection-Making

Effective fundraising goes beyond securing donations to the annual fund or asking folks to attend and contribute to a gala event, which are inherently transactional in nature. Rather, it is about connecting donor passions and identities with both the school’s current needs as well as the vision of the school for the future. Individual philanthropists are nearly always driven by a desire to solve problems that resonate with their personal experiences and values.

For many alumni and community members, Judaism and/or Jewish day schools have played a pivotal role in their own lives. Those people with capacity and philanthropic interest want to ensure that future generations can access the same transformative and life-changing impact that comes with a Jewish day school. Enrollment challenges are low-hanging fruit on the tree of complex problems for those who want to make a significant impact through philanthropy.

Before diving into a fundraising conversation, it's essential to gather insights into what drives a school’s major donors in order to build a partnership with sustenance and meaning. This involves more than just surface-level knowledge; it requires deep engagement and intentional creative questioning to listen for the personal experiences and values that shaped their life and hence, their giving.

Here are examples drawn from three schools of working with donors to tap into their passions in different ways that all benefitted enrollment. These gifts exemplify the power of meaningful donor relationships to drive impactful change and growth within Jewish education.

Sowing Seeds on the Rooftop: A Vision Realized at Sinai Akiba

At Sinai Akiba Academy (SAA), where Lauren serves as head of school, Jacki and Jeff Karsh made a transformative contribution to create the first of its kind vibrant rooftop garden and learning space. Their gift was rooted in the shared vision they cultivated with school leadership over the course of a year of thoughtful engagement. By aligning their philanthropic commitment and deep admiration for the school’s leadership to Jewish education with the school’s needs, they made possible a dynamic educational environment.

Daycare to Day School: Building a Legacy for the Community

Torah Academy of Boston was impacted by rising costs of living in the region. Many parents of young children were forced to return to work and had difficulty affording to stay in the area. To address this, the Academy purchased a home to convert into a daycare, the renovations and operations of which are nearly entirely funded by donors.

Jason suggests that this initiative not only helped families stay but also created a pipeline of future students for the school and ensured the continued presence of Jewish education in its historically Jewish neighborhood for years to come. With opportunities to invest in the continuation of a historic Jewish community, to keep the promise of Jewish education, this ended up being a tremendous opportunity for several mid-level and larger donors to view Torah Academy as a fit philanthropically, not just for obligatory giving, but also deeply connected to their passions and personal missions.

From Crisis to Continuity: The Emergency Assistance Fund

Another New England Jewish day school secured significant six-figure support from a donor family who, before Covid, had struggled to connect beyond a general appreciation for Jewish education. After building a relationship with the family over three years through thoughtful engagement and deep questioning, it became clear that their passion lay in providing acute emergency assistance to those in greatest need, more so than in supporting Jewish education directly.

Following the pandemic, families receiving need-based scholarships encountered new challenges that threatened their ability to remain enrolled—challenges beyond what academic scholarships typically covered. These included access to healthy food, transportation and purchasing essential supplies. When fundraising staff presented this expanded view of the school’s needs, the donor family was inspired to establish an Emergency Assistance Fund endowment, administered by the school to offer additional financial support to students at the greatest risk.

After supporting this initiative, Jason reflected that this fund not only provided a way to maintain enrollment for students facing these challenges but also offered a unique opportunity to engage donors who are passionate about acute-level assistance. By aligning the school’s needs with the donor’s philanthropic priorities, the partnership created a win-win situation for the school, its students and the donor family, positioning the day school alongside other charities within the donor’s giving portfolio.

Journey to Israel: Experiential Learning at Sinai Akiba

Another opportunity to grow enrollment at SAA has come in the form of philanthropy that enables Jewish experiential learning. Several relationships with philanthropists that have been cultivated and sustained over years have involved learning about their commitment to and love for Israel. The school recognized both the value of taking students to Israel during their senior year, as well as enabling students to attend the culminating trip who otherwise wouldn't be able to financially access it. This philanthropic commitment to support students’ Israel education and this capstone trip has led to a hallmark program that encourages students to stay throughout their senior year and acts as an incentive for new families to join SAA in middle school, knowing that finances will not impede their child’s experiential Jewish learning experience.

Tailoring the Vision: Listening to Donors for Lasting Impact

By asking, listening and understanding each donor’s personality, personal motivation and the vision they carry, an individual responsible for raising funds will tailor messaging to specifically resonate with what matters most to them.

In another case, we learned that an SAA donor’s core interest is increasing access to Jewish day school for middle- to low-income families, for whom it would not otherwise be possible. As SAA sought to increase middle school enrollment, the donor came forward to fund several tuitions for merit scholars, which are based on Jewish core values, to attend SAA tuition-free for their whole middle school journey. This is a perfect example of aligning donor passion with school needs.

Tachlis: Crafting a Narrative That Moves Donors to Act

To position fundraising around enrollment management effectively, it’s essential to craft a clear narrative that guides donors in understanding the school’s needs and how they can help. This narrative involves several key steps.

Defining the problem. Start by clearly outlining the challenges the school faces in maintaining and increasing enrollment. These might include the increasing costs of education and offering dual curricula, mental health needs and the resources needed to address them, the diverse learning needs of today’s students, and properly staffing and resourcing each child’s learning journey. By clearly presenting and understanding the complexities of these issues, donors can understand the urgency and significance of their support.

Positioning the school as ready to help. After explaining the problem, highlight why the school is uniquely positioned to address it. Emphasize the staff and faculty, programs and initiatives the school has already developed to tackle these challenges. This step is about building credibility, showing that the school is ready to make a real impact, but only needs philanthropic support to do so.

Building a donor community. Donors are more likely to give when they feel part of a collective effort, and let’s face it—no donor wants to go first. It’s important to share stories of how other donors have already contributed to initiatives that may be different but resonate with the same impact area and highlight the collective impact they’ve made. This not only reassures potential donors that they’re not alone, reducing perceived risk, but also creates a sense of collective care and shared purpose.

Presenting the solution. Finally, focus on a specific program or initiative that the donor can support. Clearly explain how their contribution will directly impact the school’s ability to address enrollment challenges, whether through funding scholarships, infrastructure, academic and mental health programs, or other critical resources. This is an opportune time to revisit some of the connection points between this solution and the passion about which they spoke.

Marathon Running

Building strong relationships with donors takes time and careful qualification. This process involves understanding the donor’s motivations, gathering insights during initial meetings, and using that information to tailor the approach and collective vision-building. Rushing this process or relying solely on quick interactions like emails or Zoom calls can weaken fundraising efforts and undermine trust in a relationship. Instead, take the time to properly understand donors, help them navigate the nuances of the problem, and guide them toward a solution that aligns with their values. This work does not solely benefit the school and the students in the here and now, but will ensure that a legacy of generosity and community support is carried forward to future generations.

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