OUTREACH &
ENGAGEMENT
A One-Year Update for the
Donor Society Program
A Brief Recap
It’s been a year since ZOA began to
implement its national donor appreciation
program, or Donor Society structure. We
are pleased to report that it’s already a huge
success!
The ZOA’s New York Metro team launched
the program in the New York area last fall.
In November 2018, we began rolling out
our new Donor Societies to the ZOA regions
across the country, with our talented regional
directors at the helm.
The structure is half outreach and half
engagement, half parlor meetings and half
Donor Society events. The goal is to offer
perks and recognition to our members around
the country, as well as consistent, quality programming
in regions in which the ZOA has
full-time staff.
The significance of this program is twofold:
First, it provides added benefits for
you, the ZOA community. Second, a Donor
Society structure allows ZOA to create a
system for long-term, high-level fundraising,
which helps us continue to do our multifaceted,
essential work, and keep you on top
of important ZOA issues that concern us all.
National Director of Outreach &
Engagement Talya Messeri manages the ZOA
regions. Over the past year, she has been
working with the regional directors to build
out calendars for their geographic areas, which
have been a combination of parlor meetings,
Donor Society events and, in some cases,
larger-scale community events to identify
new potential ZOA members. In these cases,
the events are preceded by Donor Society
VIP receptions for individuals who give at
Society levels. Donor Society members are
thus afforded a more intimate environment
in which to discuss critical issues with the
presenter.
Today, Jews in America and throughout
the world are dealing with a tumultuous
and difficult climate. As multiple individuals
have told us in their praise for the new ZOA
model, the consistent programming allows
Donor Society members to connect with a
community of individuals with whom they
can truly “let their hair down.”
The Donor Society Structure
– Additions and Changes
There are five ZOA Donor Societies, as
outlined below:
DONOR SOCIETY GIVING LEVEL
National Leadership
$25,000+
Society
Jabotinsky Society $10,000 - $24,000
Brandeis Society $5,000 - $9,999
Menachem Begin
$2,500 - $4,999
Society
Herzl Society $1,000 - $2,499
Supporters who give at these levels are
offered increasing numbers of events and privileges,
some of which have included insider
call-in briefings and in-person events with
prominent speakers, such as ZOA experts,
high-level American and Israeli government
officials, journalists, authors, and political
advisors. These events will increase in number
and availability across the country over the
coming years.
In addition, every year, Donor Society
members at specified levels are invited to
a pre-Gala reception on the night before
the ZOA’s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award
Dinner, and to an exclusive reception on the
night before the ZOA’s Capitol Hill Advocacy
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