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Tom Beck knew full well that many Jewish agencies -- some who had invested with financier Bernard Madoff -- earned far more interest on their money over the past few years than he did. But that was just fine by him.

Beck, executive director of the Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey, religiously continued plowing hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and donations into lower-interest CDs and money-market accounts. His payouts were modest, but guaranteed, and there was no risk. Even on occasions when donations came in the form of stock certificates, he would sell them as quickly as that afternoon to convert the volatile paper into cash.

"We just keep the money invested very conservatively," said Beck, whose annual budget is roughly $4.4 million. "It's been traditional with the agency. We always feel there's a top and then comes the bottom. It's just best... to keep [funding] safe and secure."

Conservative mantras espoused by Beck and others appear to have insulated New Jersey's Jewish support infrastructure from the tidal wave of losses wrapped up in the Madoff scandal. The wealthy investor has been charged with fraud; federal authorities say he confessed to running a $50 billion pyramid scheme, where money from new clients was used to pay off old investors in a cycle that continued for decades until its collapse in early December.

That's not to say Madoff's operation hasn't had a profound impact on the tight-knit community of influential Jews in New Jersey and neighboring New York City. Yeshiva University lost $110 million. Hadassah lost roughly $90 million, maybe more, one New Jersey official said. The Lautenberg Foundation, the namesake charity of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), lost nearly $13 million. And state Sen. Loretta Weinberg of Bergen County revealed she lost a $1.3 million nest egg to the alleged scam fronted by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. She did not invest directly with Madoff, but instead used a Los Angeles money manager, who himself is now tallying losses in the scandal.

And yet, for now, a canvass of roughly three dozen New Jersey Jewish agencies -- from federations to JCCs and Hadassah chapters -- shows that none of them directly invested with Madoff, thereby escaping the massive losses faced by others.

"Nearly all of the thousands of Jewish organizations in America did not invest with this guy," Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, and a scholar of Jewish philanthropy, told The Jewish State. "It's just as important to remember that thousands of Jewish organizations are doing a good job and are fiscally sound as it is to remember that some number of them got hurt and burned."

Still, some philanthropic experts suggest donations to Jewish causes will plummet 20 percent to 30 percent in the coming years because Madoff's alleged scheme wiped out a generation of wealth. Others argue that the scandal, while visceral and tribal, pales in comparison to the national economic crisis and its impact on Garden State charities.

Jacob Toporek, executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, told The Jewish State he was not aware of any direct losses from the 12 federations he represents. But those same agency heads are worried about Madoff-related losses suffered by their donors.

"Those large gifts that federations are depending on, counting on," Toporek said, "there will either be less or there won't be any."

Identifying those donors, though, will be a painful and mostly private process. Tzedakah is often an anonymous rite. Some of the high net-worth individuals that have lost millions have stepped forward to acknowledge it. Others remain quiet, and federation leaders aren't pressing for details.

"Someone's gift and contribution is not a community informational thing," Toporek said. "It's very private and it's always been that way."

One public example of how a donor's woes will weigh on New Jersey Jews is the predicament of the Lautenberg Foundation, which reportedly lost $12.8 million invested with Madoff. Shelley Labiner, chief marketing officer of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest N.J., said the Lautenberg family has given roughly $1 million to MetroWest in the past three years.

Labiner wouldn't go into details about how programs might be affected, but acknowledged every dollar in donations lost is one the agency tries to make up elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, there are people in our community who are victims of this alleged activity," Labiner said. "Clearly, their situations will impact moving forward."

Stanley Stone, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, said fallout from his donors could keep his agency from reaching its $5 million fundraising goal for 2009. The tally was already kept flat from 2008, an ode to the state's crumbling economic straits before the Madoff bombshell.

"We've made a commitment to our partner agencies -- both locally and overseas -- we're going to do everything possible to live up to the allocation we've promised them," Stone said. "But I don't know what can be for the future."

Howard Gases, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, said he was thankful that several federations banded together in early December to hold a Super Sunday fundraiser. The Monmouth County federation raised $350,000, roughly the same as last year. The Central Jersey foundation raised $600,000, Stone said, a 20 percent uptick from last year.

The infusion of money in an already sour economy -- and just a week before the Madoff scandal came to light -- means those charities may have a little breathing room as they assess what their next move may be.

Similar support exists for Hadassah chapters and New Jersey's 16 Jewish community centers. Miriam Rinn, spokeswoman for the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America, said the umbrella agency lost $6.5 million to Madoff. She quickly added, "Our loss should have no effect on JCCs. They're not getting money from us, and we are committed to providing the same core services."

Carolyn Metz and Leah Silver, co-presidents of the Raritan Valley chapter of Hadassah, said their national executives are providing the same assurances. Metz said she's been told accountants, lawyers and financial advisors are still reviewing the exact tally of Hadassah's losses, but are also looking at investment policies to determine how to prevent a similar swindle in the future.

Regardless of the final tally, Metz said she is confident Hadassah -- from the international level to programs across the state -- will pick up any slack. She said her chapter, one of the state's largest, has 750 members -- roughly 60 of whom are active -- who understand what their money buys.

"The Raritan Valley chapter remains committed to our Zionist mission," Metz said.

Tobin, a leading philanthropic voice and an oft-quoted one in the days since the Madoff scandal broke, is similarly confident. He said while Madoff is an emotional scapegoat for the financial crisis, his alleged actions are not a death knell. Several charities have folded because of massive losses sustained -- the Chais Family and Picower foundations, to name two -- but nearly all will survive.

"Our volunteers and our donors care about the entire Jewish community," added Gerrie Bamira, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County. "Look at when the New Brunswick cemetery was so terribly desecrated... when the tsunami happened, when there's war in Israel -- the community responds."