Facilitating a Holy Space for Conversations

by Yonatan Gordis Once upon a time, the Jewish people were grouped into tribes, some of whom had very specialized service roles. The priests, descendents of Aharon, were conduits for those seeking to connect with the Divine, with ritual, and with others who were living in a similar culture and community. Ultimately, they facilitated Jewish conversations so that the three systems of Jewish life (human-to-self; human-to-human (community); and human-to-Divine) could flourish. However, with the shifting of time and countless systems (ritual, prayer, language, community and more), the specialized roles of the priests have all but disappeared. One of the key competencies that the Center for Leadership Initiatives (CLI) seeks to bring to the Jewish community is the facilitation and convening of meaningful... Continue Reading

The 2010 ROI Community Summit

from the ROI Community Website: 2010 ROI Summit In celebration of ROI’s 5th anniversary, the ROI team led by Lynn Schusterman has decided to change things up a little this year: The 2010 ROI Summit will be a gathering for current members of the ROI Community.  In other words, if you have participated in a past ROI Summit or Regional Gathering, or were a Charlie Award recipient, you are eligible to apply for participation in this special 5th anniversary ROI Summit. Why are we doing this? As the program turns five years old, we are trying to strengthen our ROI Community, which has expanded every year. Expansion is good, as it widens the network. But what ROI 2010 will provide is an opportunity to go deeper as it grows wider – enabling us to work together with you on a strategy that will... Continue Reading

Leadership: The Risk and The Reward

by Laura Freeman Every day, there are opportunities to “lead.” It could be in the work place, at home, or while volunteering in the community. The chance to make a difference, chart new territory and galvanize a team beckons us to the front of the line. However, for all the excitement and promise, passion and reward, leading is a risky business that keeps most of us on the sidelines. Why take the risk? Real leadership – the type that challenges the status quo, questions long standing policy, views circumstances through a different lens and ultimately expects people and organizations to operate differently, makes many people feel uncomfortable. We inherently don’t like change; we consciously avoid it and can overtly resent the change agent. As a result, “real leaders” can at times... Continue Reading

Do You Work in Israel’s Nonprofit Community?

An open invitation from the Israel Association of Professional Fundraisers Shalom Friends and Colleagues, As you recall, about a year ago we began the process of creating a professional organization for fundraisers, consultants and resource development staff in Israel. The initiative began as a result of various reports in the media that dealt a severe blow to the image of professional fundraisers. It hit home with many of us since the profession is seen as an ‘orphan’ or ’stepchild’ and isn’t given the proper recognition by the public, despite our sizable contribution to Israeli society in general, and the philanthropic sector in particular. In Israel, as opposed to many countries in the world, fundraisers have no professional organization representing them. The Non-Profit... Continue Reading

The Birth of NewCAJE

Going to its Grassroots, NewCAJE Launches as an Innovative, Pluralistic Network of Jewish Educators An intergenerational group of Jewish educators has issued a call to the grassroots membership of the Jewish educational community to re-establish the pluralistic network that was CAJE under the name NewCAJE – New Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education. A letter from Rabbi Cherie Koller-Fox, a founder of CAJE, endorsed by seven other past CAJE presidents, went out this week to former members inviting them to become charter members of NewCAJE and outlining a series of steps to make the organization viable. The letter was accompanied by an endorsement from some forty young leaders – Jewish educators, rabbis, and communal workers in their twenties and thirties – pledging their support... Continue Reading

Innovation, Management and Leadership

Jews have been debating leadership since Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Now, as established institutions begin to make room for innovative startups in Jewish life, discussions of leadership become more complicated and confusing, starting with what the word itself means. A leader is sometimes thought of as anyone who is highly placed in an organization. A major donor may be called a “lay leader,” suggesting that leadership amounts to having power or influence. A consulting firm that focuses on nonprofits, The Bridgespan Group, issued a report called “The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit,” which reported that nonprofits “will need to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior managers” over the next decade. They use “leader” to mean “manager.” A news story... Continue Reading

Trust, Transparency and Ethical Conduct

When it comes to issues of trust, transparency, and ethical conduct, the question for UJA-Federation of New York has never been “Have we done enough?” Instead, they push to answer tougher questions: What more can we do to raise the standard? How can we be more transparent? What measures do we need to take to avoid conflicts of interest? Every decision and every investment needs to be made with full transparency. At the recent General Assembly in Washington, D.C., John Ruskay, UJAFed NY’s executive vice president and CEO, spoke on a panel titled “Betrayal, Redemption, and Reward in a Post-Madoff World.” As the panel touched on many of our core themes, John has graciously made his remarks available to us: For me, this session comes down to the question in the forum description: “How can... Continue Reading

Mutual Learning: The Hallmark of a Strong Professional-Volunteer Relationship

Professionals in non-profit organizations have a variety of relationships that they develop and maintain in the context of their work. This includes their working relationships with colleagues and clients in their own organization, as well as with those people they meet from other agencies and in the community in general. One of the most challenging of all is the connection between the professionals in the organization and the volunteer leadership who serve on the board of directors and the various committees. For the CEO of the non-profit the relationships with the chairperson of the board, the chairpersons of committees, the members of committees, and other volunteer leaders are crucial to the success of the position. Often the professional feels the need to know a great deal about almost all the... Continue Reading

The Imperative of Collaboration

An excerpt from the Summer/Fall 2009 issue of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service, published by the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America: The Imperative of Collaboration: Partnering Together in Tough Times by Sally Weber and Michelle Krotinger Wolf Working in close collaboration with other Jewish agencies and organizations to achieve mutual programmatic goals has taken on new urgency with increased client demand and reduced financial resources. This trend is expected to continue, and ongoing economic pressures may require many Jewish nonprofits, synagogues, and schools to scale back their social services offerings unless they can successfully work together with other existing organizations. Many new and innovative programs that require adding staff with specific expertise can no... Continue Reading

What Do We Need From Our Leaders?

This essay was written by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld for the Samuel Bronfman Foundation “Why Be Jewish?” Conference, in May 2009. With the opening of the Federations of North America GA 2009 later today in Washington, D.C., and the introduction of the organizations’ new CEO and the organizations’ new incoming Board Chair, this essay is a reminder to all of us of not only what we need, and expect, from our leaders, but of the strength we as a community derive from those who lead us. What Do We Need from Our Leaders? Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld Let me begin by stating the obvious. When we speak of leaders, we are speaking about human beings. This is a self-evident but elusive fact of life; we know it and yet we consistently expect or imagine our leaders to be superhuman, and we are disappointed... Continue Reading

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