Dear PEF Donors –
While there are hostages still in captivity and the current crisis continues, please accept this update regarding PEF’s operations during this critical period and our future plans.
Since October 7th PEF has provided close to 12,000 grants totaling $454 million in donor advised and recommended grants to 1,240 amutot (not-for profits organizations) in Israel. This represents a 60% increase over prior non-crisis years in dollar amounts granted and an increase of 22% in the number of amutot supported in Israel.
PEF wants to acknowledge your generosity and recognize you as a member of a select group of donors who utilize our direct-giving platform to donate funds to PEF accompanied by your recommendations of beneficiary charities dear to your philanthropic goals in Israel.
PEF grants have funded every sector of the Israeli population throughout the entire land of Israel, regardless of race, religious orientation or politics. During these challenging times, we have supported every aspect of relief: including support to relocated communities, support for soldiers and their families, trauma relief, food/agriculture relief, support for small businesses and support for the Bedouin and the Druze. PEF also supports volunteer organizations that have emerged in light of an overwhelmed government as well as supplemental support for Israeli not-for-profits understaffed due to the military call-up and whose donations and budget allocations were uncertain.
Our donors are well aware that rebuilding kibbutzim and cities as well as repairing the psychological damage to young and old will be long-term and extensive.
For 103 years PEF has provided a direct, transparent and seamless way for US taxpayers to make recommended donations to approved Israeli amutot at no cost to the donor or grantee.
During these daunting days our grantee charities have benefited from their pre-existing relationships with PEF where we maintain records and banking information enabling us to transfer tax deductible contributions received by PEF directly into the shekel checking account of approved charities. A week after the war began, we introduced an online widget to facilitate electronic ACH and credit card giving to PEF directly from the PEF page of each of our 1,200+ approved charities.
Typically, our overhead accounts for less than 2% of our grants. But since we did not increase our staff or otherwise increase overhead in the last 17 months, our overhead as a percentage of grants is less than 1% of distributed grants, totaling $1.6M/year.
We are managed by volunteers such as myself, who pay their own travel expenses associated with their volunteer work for PEF. But we do pay our tireless staff of 5 and our rent, primarily from a small percentage that we charge the $180M in endowment funds that we administer.
In the current year we are replacing a legacy software system with a state-of-the-art accounting, grants and fund management system and multiple relationship management systems which will enable us to more efficiently interact with our donors, fund holders and recipient charities. Our legal and accounting expenses continue to grow as we navigate an increasingly complex and challenging regulatory and politicized environment.
Some of you have asked how you can support our efforts. Thankfully, a select few of you have sent unsolicited donations to help cover our overhead.
While it is a privilege to help you support charities in Israel, you are of course welcome to show your appreciation and partner with us by including PEF in your annual giving.
I’d be delighted to discuss your thoughts and answer questions, with a voice or zoom call. You can schedule a time with me here: https://calendly.com/geoffrey-stern
As we celebrate the 77th year of the establishment of the State of Israel and pray for the speedy release of our hostages, I remain.
Your partner,
Geoffrey Stern
President