As the year is coming to an end and I reflect on the goals that need to be set for next year, I worry that I have not done enough.

What?  What year is closing?  It is not December with carolers singing and advertisers plummeting us with hopes of getting us to buy something. It is also not September (or near September) when, as Jews, we get to celebrate another New Year, a Rosh Hashanah.

So why do I contemplate now and why do I worry?

The year that is ending is our Federations 2015 Annual Community Campaign Year.  And while there are many more months in the calendar year, we can only allocate funds to our partners and affiliates who serve so many based on the pledges we receive from the community now.  Since we work on fiscal years that run from July 1 to June 30, it is important for our partners and affiliates to know how much support they will receive from the Community Campaign to prepare for their needs in a timely manner.

And what I do know is that there will not be enough!  There is never enough. Every year we review and evaluate the results of the past year based on goals and expected outcomes, and then identify needs for next year.  Over a hundred caring Atlantans who are younger and older, live in Buckhead, North Fulton, East Cobb, In Town, and elsewhere in Greater Atlanta, and complete the spectrum of wealthy to those of modest means, meet and agonize about how to prioritize a pool of funding that is simply not enough to meet the validated needs of our community and our global Jewish family.

Did I do enough?  Did I meet with enough people, current supporters and others, to better explain the needs and how impactful their support is?  With the opportunity to better understand all that we do and how their contributions are leveraged to help thousands of people every day and hundreds of thousands every year, I’m sure more people would want to help.

And did I do enough to give our great professional team and enormously committed lay leaders and volunteers the support, tools, training and resources they needed to tell our story?  Did I? I am worried that I did not. 

So I worry.  Worry about what I could have done and worry about how to do more next year.  I know that there will be those in our community who will be challenged to get medical care, housing, and to have their basic human needs fulfilled because they don’t have enough money.  I know that too many of our kids will not be given an opportunity to build their Jewish identity and our Jewish future because the cost of day school, Jewish summer camp, or a trip to Israel is too expensive.  I know that even though we have made great progress in identifying and beginning to help individuals with disabilities and their families to be wholly inclusive in our Jewish community, we still have so much to do.

And I worry that addressing the big challenges of a rapidly aging community, less engagement from young adults in Jewish life, the challenges of interfaith families, the delegitimization of Israel, and the impact of Israel and Jewish life on young families will be delayed and impacted for want of needing more resources.

I am counseled to celebrate all that we do and all that we have accomplished.  And those accomplishments are numerous and deserving of recognition. Yet as another Annual Campaign year is ending, I want to make sure that our celebration of success does not deter us from continuing to address all the needs that will have to wait for yet another day just because we couldn’t do more.

I am grateful to everyone we have reached who shares their generosity for those in need and building a strong Jewish community. I will continue to worry about reaching more people before the end of this Campaign year and as we enter the next one.