Decision on new entity head nears as federations debate name change

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (JTA) — They’re calling it “Newco,” but not for long. Over the next few weeks, federations are being asked to review four potential names for the entity born of the merger of the Council of Jewish Federations, the United Jewish Appeal and the United Israel Appeal. In the meantime, the search for the new entity’s top volunteer and professional leaders is nearing a conclusion, paving the way for the full transformation to come. The nominating and search committees are meeting this week to discuss their well-guarded short lists of candidates for the chair of the 120-member board of trustees, the chair of the 25-member executive committee and the chief professional officer. Philanthropist Charles Bronfman is said to be the front-runner for chairman of the board, and an announcement is expected within a matter of weeks, if not days. The merger is expected to be ratified at the quarterly meetings of the federations this April in Washington. The new entity is designed to give Jewish community federations the major decision-making power for allocating the millions of dollars raised each year for domestic and overseas needs. But some community representatives reportedly expressed concern at last week’s CJF executive committee meeting in Miami that the federations are not clearly represented in any of the four names for the new entity now under consideration. “United Jewish Communities” led the pack in a market research survey of possible names. The other contenders were “United Jewish Alliance,” “United Jewish Action” and simply “United Jewish Appeal.” Apparently, the market research survey of 403 individuals found that the term “federations” did not resonate with the younger Jews “Newco” is hoping to attract in its next incarnation. At the Florida meeting, CJF executive committee members approved in principle documents specifying the terms of the merger, which has been over five years in the making. Now the 280-page “Newco” documents have been sent to the federations for feedback and approval. The United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Washington spearheaded the approval process, signing off on the documents sight unseen in their final form. For the next three weeks, leaders from CJF, UJA and UIA are making a series of six regional presentations to brief federations on the vision and organizational plans for the merger. The first stop on what some participants are calling the “road show” was the Southeast Florida region, which includes four federations and a regional office. Following the presentation there, Jeffrey Klein, the executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, praised the effort to bring the future owners of “Newco” into the planning process. “Anything that stimulates discussion and elicits input is productive,” he said.