A mega-merger between three of the largest Jewish charities will take advantage of the tradition of general community giving while preparing for the directed giving wave of the future, the Associated Press reports.

The United Jewish Communities -- formed from the United Jewish Appeal, the Council of Jewish Federations and the United Israel Appeal -- plans to establish a branch that will shift the fundraising focus from impersonal annual campaigns to personalized involvement with specific causes, AP reports.

The group also expects to continue to be a major force in fundraising, with goals of bringing in $800 million for the general fund and $1 billion for endowments over the next year, Joel Tauber, chairman of the group's executive committee, told the AP.

The new group will be headed by Canadian billionaire Charles Bronfman, co-chairman of Seagram Co., who also sees a positive future in the group's consolidation and new focus on individualized giving, AP reports.

"There's been a quantum leap in wealth, and I think people are saying ... 'I want to have some joy out of the money I'm giving and see where it's going, what it's doing,'" Bronfman told the AP. "One used to give to the symphony orchestra. Now you can have the 'Joe Blow violinist' ... that can be in your name. ... I think people like that idea."

However, those involved with the new group warn that directed giving sometimes has a bad side, as donors focus on more glamorous projects and ignore more necessary projects.

"It's not always romantic," says David Altshuler, the head of the new directed giving branch, referring to needed giving. "Just think about group health, or care for the elderly."

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