by Yoni Sarason I want to thank Joel Frankel, whose recent article, Can Birthright Israel Alone Reverse Young Adults’ Declining Support of Local Jewish Communities?, has reignited the conversation around Taglit-Birthright Israel, follow up, and local models of engagement. When I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, I didn’t feel that I had an outlet or a source for the type of Jewish community or relationships I wanted to be a part of, but I knew it was important to me. Co-founding the St. Louis Moishe House, and later Next Dor STL gave me an opportunity to start building those relationships, hosting Shabbat and holiday celebrations, and creating experiences that were meaningful to me, and to the friends and community I found. Not everyone graduates college with the same … Continue Reading
Want to Know What Makes Millennials Tick? Hint: Ask One
by Blair Feehan Millennials have the capacity and energy to light up the nonprofits they get involved with, but are totally underutilized as volunteers and under-engaged as donors. Is your nonprofit tapping into us? We’re a different breed than what you may be used to, and it may require a whole new set of strategies for your organization: scary, I know, but very do-able. The biggest question to ask when you start thinking about attracting young donors: are you really ready to attract young donors? We’re much more likely to get involved because of our friends instead of your mission. For a while, I happened to be the only 20-something I knew carrying a torch for circus in Seattle, but after bringing my friends to events like Circus Open Mic and SANCA (School for Acrobatics and New Circus … Continue Reading
What Would Rambam Think About DonorsChoose.org?
In today’s world, the opportunity to engage in the work of social change is, literally, at our fingertips. But, does this newfound accessibility make us better donors? Adene Sacks and Dawne Bear Novicoff talk about our role as donors in an age of interconnectedness and independence: These days, it happens all the time. A 13-year old girl, preparing for her bat-mitzvah, sits down with her parents to talk about the mitzvah of giving tzedakah (charity or justice) for the occasion. The family turns to the internet and identifies a worthy project where they will ask friends and relatives to donate. With a few keyboard strokes, this family is able to express support for a project of their choice and provide funding for an individual who may live 10,000 miles away. In today’s world, the … Continue Reading
New Group Moving Jewish Family Education to the Forefront
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Fourth-grade students at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY recently gathered for one of a series of Havdalah programs, splitting into groups and discussing the blessings and ritual objects and even making some of their own. Not particularly unusual on its face. But what made it more notable was the fact that it occurred beyond the synagogue walls, in someone’s home, and most importantly, that parents participated as well. “We try to give parents the knowledge too, so that they can be educated,” said Lisa Schwartz, Principal of the religious school at Temple Israel Center. “We are making Jewish education intergenerational, reinforcing it beyond the classroom, and strengthening the family Jewishly. This is very empowering, and critical for Jewish … Continue Reading
From Innovation to Sustainability: A New Conversation
by David Cygielman Just a few years ago, being innovative was key to a new organization’s success. But, as time has gone on, debate has hatched over what can truly be defined as innovative and unfortunately, it has become clear that even with initial funding, it is difficult to keep an “innovative” program afloat. There have been a huge variety of conversations and articles dedicated to the conversation of innovation, both sharing its importance and questioning its long-term impact. However, recently much of the innovation buzz and discussion has dissipated, but fear not, it is has been replaced by our new friend, organizational sustainability! So, what is sustainability? I grew up thinking that sustainability referred to recycling and using products over and over again. In the Jewish … Continue Reading
Retaining Day School Teachers Involves More than Networks and Workplace Happiness
by Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz Recently, Hal M. Lewis, posted on eJewish Philanthropy an article about the need to place the issue of workplace happiness at the top of the Jewish Community’s efforts to retain quality personnel. He argues that non-financial factors, having to do with the quality of the work experience are critical in retaining personnel in the non-profit world. In responding to Lewis’s article, Deborah Fishman argues that in the context of Day School education, networks are the way to retain quality teachers. In one area, namely day school teaching there is research that points to not one factor, such as work place happiness or networks, but a compilation of factors that lead to retention of quality personnel. Understanding how these factors come together enables concrete and … Continue Reading
Can Birthright Israel Alone Reverse Young Adults’ Declining Support of Local Jewish Communities?
by Joel Frankel In my experience, it is rare to hear someone say something negative about Taglit-Birthright Israel (“Birthright”). How could they? It is an amazing program that sends hundreds of thousands of Jewish young adults to Israel each year for free. More importantly, beyond just physically sending people to visit Israel, the trips they fund have a significant psychological impact on the participants. Studies have found that almost 75% of all Birthright participants call their trip a life changing experience!(1) Around for just over a decade, Birthright is shaping an entire generation’s relationship with the State of Israel. Our parents’ generation has an inherently emotional connection to the State of Israel. After our grandparents witnessed the creation of a Jewish state as a … Continue Reading
Super Sunday … Again?
by Sherri W. Morr With many federations gearing up for Super Sunday planning, it’s interesting to note that Super Sunday is close to being 40 years old. It was a terrific idea back in the late 70s but perhaps its run its course, time to move on, or to reshape it in such a way that it is not recognizable and therefore recruits volunteers without having to beg or bribe them, and of course returns to being the event that brings in dollars from donors other than those over $5000. Given Federations are trying to redefine themselves to becoming more relevant, perhaps Super Sunday could be an ambassadorial program that raises money, and creates good will and relevancy. In spite of the technology of social networking, here is a time for people to speak to people. The point, now in 2012 is to make it … Continue Reading
On the Influence of Camp
by Ramie Arian “That felt a lot like camp!” said the woman next to me at the conclusion of the Friday evening service during the recent Biennial of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). Judging from her tone, she approved. Indeed, it had felt “a lot like camp,” I thought, though on first reflection, it was not quite clear why. Tefillah (worship) at camp is generally a relatively casual affair: with worshippers dressed in shorts or jeans, prayers offered by leaders - probably campers and counselors - who are lacking in formal skills, leading a congregation of up to a few hundred participants, mostly children. The music of the service is guided by songleaders who make up in enthusiasm for what they lack in training and polish. Often, the tefillah takes place in an outdoor setting of … Continue Reading
YU Students Talk Tachlis about Social Justice
by Abigail Pickus Tucked away in an office in South Tel Aviv, a group of unlikely bedfellows engaged in some weighty conversation. Stav Shafir, one of the most prominent leaders of the social protest movement that shook up Israel this past summer, and a group of Stern College for Women students of Yeshiva University in New York, talked tachlis about social justice. “This wasn’t a protest just about housing - housing was the symbol for all of our social services,” explained the 26-year-old Shafir as she delved into the issues that prompted hundreds of thousands of Israelis of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities to demonstrate for a more just society. This encounter was just one stop on a multi-tiered, eight-day winter break Israel trip for Yeshiva University undergraduates run by the … Continue Reading
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