A Fundraiser’s Life Story Aligns With a Charity’s Work

Mania Boyder’s itinerant early life gives her a deep empathy for the people served by American Jewish World Service, an organization that promotes human rights and fights poverty.

Born in Cairo to a Russian father and an Italian-Lebanese mother, Ms. Boyder, who has just taken over as the charity’s top fundraiser, comes from a family that has endured its fair share of tumult.

In the early-20th century, her father’s family escaped violent Russian riots directed primarily at Jews. They intended to settle in Palestine, but job opportunities led them to Cairo. Soon after that they were forced out once again.

In 1956, when Ms. Boyder was an infant, the Suez Crisis exploded and pushed thousands of Jews to leave Egypt.

After some of their relatives were jailed and had their bank accounts frozen, Ms. Boyder’s parents fled the country with her and her brother. They had hoped to move to the United States, but they were denied access because of immigration quotas so they moved to Paris.

Ms. Boyder’s parents worked to save money to meet American immigration requirements while she and her brother were cared for by another family. Ultimately, Ms. Boyder’s family arrived in New York when Ms. Boyder was four.

An Unexpected Career

Ms. Boyder planned to get a graduate degree in social work, taking a job first as a counselor at the Boys & Girls Club of East Harlem.

Then one day, the charity’s executive director walked into her office and told her that the club’s support from the state had been cut. He asked her to join the charity’s fundraising staff.

Ms. Boyder laughs while recalling that she told him she did not know what fundraising was. That did not deter him from pressing her to take the job.

“You’re a natural,” he told her. “This is what you should do with your life.”

Now, 30 years into her career, Ms. Boyder has no regrets about giving fundraising a try back then and where it led her. She has honed her skills at an array of groups, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Orbis International.

“You’re working with people’s passion,” she says. “I’ve seen over and over again that people really want to help.”

Seeking Bigger Gifts

Ms. Boyder’s main goal for the organization is to increase the number of big gifts it attracts and expand its pool of donors. Last year the group raised $50.1-million.

She wants to make supporters aware of the full scope of American Jewish World Service’s humanitarian mission, emphasizing that beneficiaries of its work include people of a variety of faiths.

Among the programs she intends to highlight: the charity’s work in defending the rights of gays, lesbians, and other sexual minorities in Uganda and protecting maternal health in Guatemala.

As she takes on her new role, Ms. Boyder says it feels inevitable that she landed at the nonprofit.

“The American Jewish World Service puts it all together for me. The Jewish side, the persecution side, and the mission,” she says. “It found me and I found it. It’s coming home.”