JUF totals $80m in '07

ANOTHER RECORD YEAR

SPECIAL TO THE CHICAGO JEWISH STAR

The Jewish United Fund/-Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago has had another record-setting year of fund-raising.

Last week's announcement put the 2007 campaign total at $80,049,972, up some $3 million from 2006 (also a record year).

An additional $2.6 million was raised in 2007 for the supplemental Israel Emergency Campaign, designated for the humanitarian needs created by the 2006 Lebanon war, and the continuing missile attacks from Gaza.

Funds raised for the main annual campaign provide social welfare, education and relief services in the Chicago area, in Israel and elsewhere. The campaign added more than 5,000 new donors.

David Sherman, who chaired the 2007 campaign, said the Chicago community demonstrated "overwhelming generosity" in contributing to the campaign. On a per-capita basis, the JUF campaign total put Chicago at the top of the largest cities in the Jewish Federation system.

The entire system, under the umbrella United Jewish Communities, broke fundraising records in 2007, with campaign and endowment totals of over $2.4 billion.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranks JF/JUF at 144 on its list of the 400 largest charities in the country, and rates it as the most cost-effective social welfare agency in Illinois, with expenses at 6.5% of total income for 2007.

It is the fourth largest philanthropy in Illinois.