Jewish charities struggle on funds

Communal welfare organisations are facing a further squeeze on their funding from local authorities, increasing the pressure to raise more from donors to maintain services.

Jewish Care chairman Stephen Zimmerman told a breakfast meeting of its business group this week that the charity was still battling with Barnet Council over funding.

“This year Jewish Care is currently not going to receive any increase in the amount given by our largest local authority and we are even fighting to achieve the status quo.”

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Amnesty Gaza report has 'systematic bias'

Amnesty International’s Middle East director has denied the charity has an anti-Israel agenda and said it works equally to protect citizens of the Jewish state and their Palestinian neighbours.

The organisation’s latest report on Israel and the Palestinians examines attempts to rebuild life in Gaza following last year’s conflict.

Published on Monday to coincide with the first anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Suffocating: The Gaza Strip Under Israeli Blockade calls on Israeli authorities to allow fuel, food, building materials and other essential goods into Gaza unrestricted.

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Gaza: charities on new offensive

Sixteen charities, including Oxfam and Amnesty International, have criticised the international community for not doing enough to end the Gaza blockade in a report published a year on from Operation Cast Lead.

The report, Failing Gaza, published this week, claims there has been a “failure” of the international community to do all it can to lift the blockade and calls for “concerted action”.

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Charities miss out on cash

Charities are missing out by not claiming extra tax relief through Gift Aid on cash donations, according to the Charity Commission.

It says that each £10 could attract an extra £2.50 through Gift Aid — with an additional 30p that can be reclaimed from the Inland Revenue until April 2011.

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Givers happily take the bait

Although Jews are supposed to give at least one-tenth of their income to charity, Institute of Jewish Policy Research figures suggest that 20-to-30-somethings are less likely to do so than their parents.

To counteract this, the Charities Advisory Trust, headed by Dame Hilary Blume, ran an event in Mayfair to inspire young professionals to become philanthropists.

Called Happy Givers — because giving promotes a sense of well-being — it featured representatives of four charities who tried to persuade the 40-strong crowd to part with their cash.

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