by Helen Chernikof The resignations of the top executives at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society come just weeks before the release of a survey showing that an “overwhelming majority” of almost 450 Jewish executives have no succession plan prepared in the event of their departure. The Jewish community must do more formal succession planning and leadership development, said leadership expert and executive coach Steven Noble, who conducted the survey and wrote the accompanying report. Both will be made public on June 5 under the auspices of the Jewish Communal Service Association at its annual meeting in Baltimore. “This is really a call for change,” said Noble, a former director of the Jewish Federations of North America’s … Continue Reading
Jewish Organizations Should Focus on Building Great Organizational Cultures
by David Bernstein A young professional who works for a large Jewish organization recently confided in me that “my boss reads books on organizational culture but never does anything to improve our culture.” That’s probably a step up from many organizational leaders who are hardly aware of the concept of organizational culture and thus do not seek to improve it. Organizational leaders can build great cultures, but they must spend significant time, resources and effort doing it. When they do, the investment pays off in spades. Organizational culture is often misunderstood as a touchy feely concept that has little bearing on the real world. Yet when we think of many of the best companies around today, such as Google, Starbucks, or Zappos, these are places, generally speaking, with great … Continue Reading
The 2012 N.Y. 36 Under 36
Social change often bubbles up from below, far from the corridors of power. And particularly in the Jewish community, weighed down as it is with slow-moving institutions headed (generally) by men in their 60s, the burden of innovation falls on the young. For five years now, The Jewish Week has been highlighting some of the young people who are driving change in the community with their “36 Under 36” section. This time around, they’ve noticed that the 36ers are broadening the definition of Jewish community. They’re building bridges with other communities - be it an interfaith group of Muslims and Jews, a group of YU students who conduct science experiments for public school children in Washington Heights, or the NYU club that connects students with Israeli tech companies. And five years on, … Continue Reading
Mega Gift Will See Mann Auditorium Name Change
Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium, home to the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, is the recipient of a $10m. gift from philanthropist Charles Bronfman. The gift will allow for renovation of the historic building, the construction of a new concert hall and other smaller projects. Bronfman's gift will also entail a name change, with the Mann Auditorium - named after Frederic Mann - set to become the Bronfman Auditorium. The Mann family has agreed to the change and Frederic Mann will be appropriately memorialized in the newly renovated space. In speaking of the gift Jeffrey Solomon, President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies told eJP,"Charles Bronfman's gift to the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra reflects and continues his multifaceted approach and commitment to supporting … Continue Reading
Charles Bronfman Prize Names 2012 Recipient
New York May 22, 2012 - Eric Greitens, the visionary founder of an organization challenging post-9/11 veterans to build lives of purpose, strengthening individuals and communities while changing the national conversation about returning service members, is the 2012 recipient of The Charles Bronfman Prize. Each year, The Charles Bronfman Prize - and an accompanying $100,000 award - goes to a young humanitarian whose work is informed and fueled by Jewish values and has broad, global impact that can change lives. Greitens, 38, founded St. Louis-based The Mission Continues in 2007, inspired by his humanitarian aid work in the most impoverished and unstable corners of the globe and as a Navy SEAL on the front line in the battle against terrorism. The Mission Continues reflects his vision to … Continue Reading
New Study Finds Non-reporting of Fundraising Expense Widespread
from Nonprofit Newswire: New Study Finds Non-reporting of Fundraising Expense Widespread: But Some States Much Worse Than Others A new study using the most recent IRS data available through GuideStar and performed by the Scripps Howard News Service has found that 15,389 nonprofit groups, or 41 percent of all United States nonprofits with annual budgets of $1 million or more, represent on their 990s that they spend exactly nothing on fundraising. While there are some situations in which this might actually be the truth, Scripps Howard followed up with further investigation and interviews which revealed that a number of the organizations reporting zero fundraising costs do spend money to raise money but simply do not report it. In an article by Scripps Howard’s Thomas Hargrove, one woman … Continue Reading
New Beit Hatfutsot Exhibition Honors Overseas Volunteers in War of Independence
May 21, 2012 - Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, will host a groundbreaking exhibition celebrating the contribution of Jewish volunteers from around the world in Israel's War of Independence in 1948. This riveting exhibition will open to the public on June 1, 2012. In November 1947, following Britain's decision to submit the question of Palestine to the UN, the War of Independence broke out. The establishment of a professional army was one of the goals facing David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the board of the Jewish Agency and architect of the state-in-the-making. However, there were not enough soldiers among the Jewish community of the necessary caliber. The ‘Haganah’ helped Ben-Gurion recruit Jews with military experience and capabilities from around the world. These were known … Continue Reading
Rabbi Ethan Tucker on What is a Jew?
Rabbi Ethan Tucker at the recent ELI Talks in New York City: “Anyone who accepts the notion that you can convert into Judaism has somewhat, to some degree, abandoned the idea that Judaism is about ethnicity alone... But perhaps more striking is that for all of the infighting in the Jewish community regarding who is a Jew, I am not yet aware of anyone in any denomination or community or framework who disputes the idea that someone born to two Jews is assumed to be a Jew, [even though] birth alone tells you nothing about a person’s religion or about their commitments. Given that we live in a world where both of those assumptions hold, you can see that we don’t live in a world that in fact [fully] separates these two categories [of ethnicity and religion].” … Continue Reading
Israeli Government Approves Establishment of Einstein Museum
New York, NY, May 21, 2012 - The Government of Israel unanimously approved yesterday the establishment of the Albert Einstein museum in Jerusalem that will reveal items from the legacy of the father of the theory of relativity. The idea for the museum, which will be built on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, was originally initiated by President Shimon Peres. In his will, Albert Einstein left the Hebrew University his personal papers and the intellectual copyright to them, as well as the right to use his image. The government decision took place a week after the Limmud FSU Conference in Princeton, New Jersey, where the accomplishments of Professor Albert Einstein, who lived and taught at Princeton University, were emphasized. The conference brought together over 650 young … Continue Reading
Funders and Apes: Seven Steps for Constructive Failure
by Andrés Spokoiny Friday, I wrote a bit about how funders, like all humans, are programmed by millions of years of evolution to hate failure. But our DNA hasn’t kept pace with the changing times. If our brains were adapted to the modern world instead of the prehistoric reality of the first apes with opposable thumbs, we would have created different neurological and chemical reactions to failure. We would have realized that in these times our survival depends on embracing productive failure. Until that realization occurs, we need to trick our brains into interpreting failure differently. For philanthropists and funders, embracing failure means creating a culture change. In complex endeavors, failure is a given. Here are seven strategies to help capitalize on the inevitable. Remain … Continue Reading
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