American Jewish University’s School of Nonprofit Management is partnering with the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and the Rabbinical Assembly to create the Rabbinic Management Institute (RMI), a visionary program for Conservative rabbis. The curriculum is designed to give rabbis the opportunity to engage in deep, applied, educational and professional development in nonprofit management, focusing on issues crucial to the daily work of rabbis in the twenty-first century, such as marketing and public relations, fund development, nonprofit law, budget and finance of nonprofit organizations, strategic planning and negotiation and conflict resolution. The one-year Institute will begin Sunday, February 6 through February 8, 2011 and will end with another three-day seminar in February 2012, both in … Continue Reading
How to Market Yourself in the Nonprofit Sector
by The Bridgespan Group Despite signs that the economy is improving, the nonprofit job market remains extremely competitive. In this buyers’ market, simply being a talented candidate is oftentimes not enough to land a senior leadership role, so job seekers need to get out and sell themselves to prospective nonprofit employers. The idea of coming up with a personal marketing plan may be intimidating, but the following six steps will help nonprofit job seekers put their best foot forward during a nonprofit job search. Throughout this article, you’ll find links to other Bridgestar articles that offer more in-depth information about each topic covered in the six steps, as well as advice from individuals with experience in the areas of self-assessment, resume and cover-letter writing, … Continue Reading
An MBA with a Twist
from about.com: A Guide to Nonprofit-Focused Graduate Degree Programs Ten million people, or about 7% of the U.S. workforce, are employed by the nonprofit sector. Are you one of these people? Do you want to be? Whether you’re looking for a career boost or an opportunity to break into the nonprofit world, a master’s degree focused on the public sector can help you get there. As the realization that passion doesn’t automatically lead to success comes to more and more non-profit managers, public sector organizations have changed their business model to run themselves more and more like their for-profit counterparts. No one has made this quite as clear as Warren Buffett, who made a global statement about the importance of business know-how in the public sector with his multi-billion … Continue Reading
The New Generation of Nonprofit Leaders
from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Are nonprofit groups doing enough to engage and sustain young workers who are ready to assume leadership roles? Members of the Washington chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network say opportunities are expanding, but they also have concerns about their futures in the nonprofit world. … Continue Reading
CLI: Cultivating Excellence
Back in December we wrote that the Center for Leadership Initiatives (CLI) was named the 2009 Leadership Formation Award recipient by the Harvard Club of Israel, the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Israel (HBSAAI), the Penn Club of Israel and the Wharton Club of Israel. But for many, the question was "who/what is CLI?" Perhaps this new video can help shed some light. Based in Vancouver, BC and Jerusalem, CLI was founded in 2006 by Lynn Schusterman and is part of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network, which also includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Schusterman Foundation-Israel. … Continue Reading
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 … 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 … 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 for … Continue Reading
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