Marketing idea for Keren Olam HaTorah 2.0

Many of the crowdfunding campaigns in the US today leverage “matching funds” to encourage others to donate. What if the new campaign in mid-June for Yeshivos and Kollelim in Israel would highlight the $351 million pledged by the government of Israel for these same institutions? This would be a much more positive tone than last year’s negative campaign, which the organizers marketed as “support Torah in Israel because the government is evil.”.

This would have several advantages

1. Demonstrate Hakaras hatov for a huge donation

2. Encourage the Chareidi community in chutz Laaretz to outdo the Israeli government

3. Encourage future giving (Last year’s message was if you give less in the future, we will call you a rasha”)

4. Develop a better understanding between the chareidi community and our secular brethren

While we are at it we could parenthetically mention the other funding the government of Israel has budgeted for this year

$16.5 million for yeshivas for chutznikim (our kids)
$20.7 million for chareidi girls seminaries
$24 million for kiruv
$7.7 million to prevent chareidim from dropping out of yeshiva
$2.2 to help arrange military exemptions
$792 to promote taharas hamishpacha

I am not insinuating that the gedolim who came last year encouraged the negative campaign. My understanding is that the campaign organizers led the marketing campaign and the gedolim came to show how great it is to support Torah learning