Long Term Funding

JCA’s commitment to long-term funding is an investment in the future of our community. In 2019, we launched JCA Generations – a program to recognise and acknowledge the generosity of those who have passed and left a bequest to JCA in their wills as well as those who have committed to do so in the future. The idea is quite simple – the more people in our community who commit to leaving a legacy gift to JCA – or one of our 23 member organisations – the more successful we will be in ensuring the sustainability of our local Jewish community, the viability of our institutions, and the vibrancy of Jewish life in NSW and the ACT for our children, our grandchildren and the generations to follow them. For detailed information about Long Term Funding, please visit www.jca.org.au/programs

Graham Einfeld remembers being aware, as a young boy, of his mother’s involvement with multiple charities. “She certainly influenced me,” he recalls. “I remember she used to write up a little cash journal every so often which she used to give to her accountant. It was a guinea here, two guineas there, and five guineas there – she gave money to a lot of different charities.” He remembers her being very involved as President of the NSW division of the National Council of Jewish Women in the early 1950s and subsequently joining the Board of The Wolper Jewish Hospital.

Graham’s uncle, Syd, was one of the founders of JewishCare, then known as the Australian Jewish Welfare Society as well as many other Jewish and non-Jewish causes, and his uncle, John, was very involved in NAJEX, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and Moriah College.

In the early 1960s, his own involvement began with the Jewish Amateur Sports Association where he was President of the Squash Club, NSW Treasurer and manager of carnival teams. “It was my introduction to Jewish communal activity,” he recalls. In 1974 he was asked by his uncle, John, to join the Board of Moriah College and later became the Honorary Treasurer, a position he held for almost 15 years. Graham also joined the Board of Wolper Jewish Hospital, where he served as Treasurer and President, and served on JCA’s Executive as Treasurer.

“Community is an integral part of our family,” he said. “Giving back – it was my motivation and has given me a deep understanding of the workings of our community.” Today, he sees a strong local Jewish community but he has concerns for the long-term, not least of which is the rising threat of antisemitism. In addition to safeguarding our physical security, part of the solution for sustaining our community, he believes, is in how we engage with younger members – he’s a strong supporter of Jewish day schools and the Youth 2 Israel (Y2i) program.

Graham’s sons have been involved with AUJS, the JCA Planning Committee, the Hakoah Board and Maccabi. He counsels that instilling active participation in the community “comes from the home” and that, “It often follows that if parents are doing it, then the kids will want to do it as well.”

To help ensure the future of the local community for his young grandchildren, Graham has joined the JCA Generations program by making a commitment to JCA in his will. “It’s something that I feel everybody should consider,” he said “and I think everybody should give money on an annual basis as well, if they are able to.”

As Graham points out, while he is a donor, he also sees himself, like many others in the community, as a receiver. “I’ve had family members at the Wolper Hospital, kids and grandkids who went to Moriah, a mother-in-law at the Montefiore, and we all benefit from the work done for us by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, CSG and the Sydney Jewish Museum.” Clearly, both giving and receiving run in the family.

Graham Einfeld the Einfeld family has celebrated 110 Seders in Australia. Through the generations, the family name has been closely associated with many of the organisations that are the bedrock of the local Jewish community, stretching back to the establishment of JewishCare over 85 years ago and to JCA’s founding in 1967. Graham Einfeld is part of that family tradition. Now, he’s looking ahead to ensure the community is sustainable for future generations. COMMUNITY RUNS IN THE FAMILY