The Federation’s Search for a New Leader

Wanted: Visionary leader and strong community-builder with a knack for reinventing century-old organizations. Tasks include directing a $50 million annual fundraising campaign, leading 20 social service agencies through a major change in how they are supported by the organization and strengthening relationships with well-heeled donors across a vast territory. Must have charisma, a strong Jewish identity and nonprofit experience.

That’s not the verbatim job listing for the position of president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, but those are the criteria around which The Federation is building its search for a new professional leader — six months after John Fishel announced he would be stepping aside after nearly 18 years as head of the umbrella organization.

“We’ve got 10 or 15 very worthy applicants who are worth sorting through by the search committee. We are right on schedule,” Federation board of directors chair Stanley Gold said. “Half are local, half are national. I’d say 20 percent are from the federation system and about 80 percent are from the nonprofit world.”

Although no one is talking on the record, multiple sources say people who have been approached include Robin Kramer, chief of staff for L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; David Lehrer, president of Community Advocates and former head of the local branch of the Anti-Defamation League; Jay Sanderson, CEO of the Jewish Television Network; and David Suissa, a marketing consultant and columnist for The Journal.

Another name in the mix is that of Jack Weiss, the former L.A. city councilman who in May lost his bid to become city attorney. Weiss is a seasoned fundraiser with a strong Jewish identity and an outspoken commitment to Israel. He’s also currently unemployed.

But whether these names are on the working list is unknown.

Gold said last week that he had yet to share the list of serious candidates even with the search committee, and those mentioned above either aren’t talking or couldn’t be reached for comment. But speculation abounds.

To assist in the national search, The Federation hired Development Resource Group, a nonprofit headhunting firm based in New York. The firm’s president, David Edell, first flew to Los Angeles to meet with The Federation’s staff and volunteers and then returned last week to speak with the search committee.

Over the next few months, Edell and his staff will measure the caliber of each candidate against the job description, and from there the search committee will thin the field. Edell said there has been a strong response to early queries.

Gold, whose two-year chairmanship ends Dec. 31 and who has been intent on redirecting The Federation before he leaves, said the search was not leaning toward a federation veteran or a Jewish nonprofit wiz or a business stud. What matters, he said, is that the person has a “broad view of Jewish life,” the voice to inspire new Federation supporters and the ability to help reinvent the 98-year-old organization.

“There continues to need to be change at The Federation for it to be relevant. We’ve taken a step in that direction, but we need to continue on that path,” Gold said. “It’s not that we’re not relevant to some people — we’re very relevant — but we need to broaden that to a wider group of Jews within our community.”

The next Federation president will face a tattered economy that has resulted in dramatically reduced funding to the social service agencies it helps support, along with a substantial spike in requests for assistance. And he or she also will have to work with The Federation board to determine just what the future Federation should look like.

The Federation is no longer the main funder of most its agencies — Jewish Family Service, Jewish Free Loan Association and Jewish Vocational Service among them — which now, instead of receiving unrestricted and guaranteed funding, compete with other Jewish nonprofits in the community for program-specific dollars. Many of these agencies’ rent, subsidized for space located inside Federation headquarters, is also increasing; this year agencies pay 25 percent of market rate to remain in the building; they will pay 50 percent in 2010 and 75 percent in 2011.

In the process, the role of The Federation is evolving, and many questions will greet any new leader. “Should Federation be only fundraising? Should it be providing programs? Should The Federation act as the primary planning body, as a coordinating organization?” asked Rabbi Elliot Dorff, rector at American Jewish University and a member of The Federation’s board, on which he co-chairs the committee on the vulnerable. “I would hope that the new CEO would be able to think in these kinds of philosophical terms as to exactly what is the mission of Federation now.”

If running The Federation is a big job providing some big opportunities, it also comes with a big salary.

In 2007, the most recent year for which the L.A. Federation’s 990 tax forms are available, Fishel earned $416,000 in annual salary and benefits; in that same year, he also received a onetime payout of $690,000 as deferred compensation from his housing allowance, which had accumulated during the previous 15 years.

The salary and benefits package for the incoming CEO are not yet known. Chief executives at other major Jewish federations provide some guidance: South Palm Beach, Fla., pays $419,000 for its leader, and Philadelphia $434,000, for example.

“We will pay whatever is necessary to get the right person,” Gold said. “If we get the right person, we haven’t paid enough, and if we get the wrong person, we’ve paid way too much.”