It was another record-setting year for the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, with a total take of $31.2 million for the 2006-2007 campaign.

That’s up $6.6 million from the previous year, a significant gain by any measure. Some $5.3 million of the total was raised for the JCF’s Israel Emergency Fund, launched at the outset of last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah. Another $400,000 is earmarked as special-purpose restricted gifts. The annual unrestricted campaign hit $25.5 million.

“This shows me the capacity and commitment of the community,” said John Pritzker, the federation president. “It shows you what you can do with some organization and elbow grease.”

The achievement was remarkable, Pritzker said, considering the federation ran the campaign without benefit of a CEO or director of development for much of the year. “Everybody took more cards; everybody pitched in.”

The number of donors held steady at 10,500, but enough of them gave more to push the total collections much higher.

The Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay has not closed the books on this year’s campaign, but hopes to do better than the previous year.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco federation has begun working on its 2008 campaign, which will be led by Roberta Zucker Catalinotto, the new chief development officer, and co-campaign chairs Carole and Norman Traeger. Jim Koshland just completed a two-year term in that role.

“We had more people than ever before asking, more solicitors from the leadership side, and we had a few significant increases,” said Zucker Catalinotto. “It lays the groundwork for a great campaign in the coming year and shows the potential in the community is now being realized.”

Last year, the JCF disbursed more than $18 million to 60 agencies providing social services, as well as educational and cultural programs in the U.S. and Israel. The JCF’s Jewish Community Endowment Fund provided more than $203 million in a variety of grants and projects.