By Leanne Gale and Rebecca Krevat As college students, we were the definition of plugged-in Jewish leaders; one of us created a Jewish feminist organization, and the other served as president of the Reform Jewish Community at her campus Hillel. We were also deeply committed to social justice, as Jews and as human beings. But neither of us were strangers to the growing distance between young people and the establishment Jewish community. We’ve watched our communal leaders sponsor surveys and initiatives to engage young adults for as long as we can remember. This is why we were pleased to experience, through the National Council of Jewish Women, a moment in which we were genuinely engaged and our voices elevated. Instead of building a program “for” millennials, NCJW decided to make space for us … [Read more...]
For Millennials Inclusion Goes Beyond Checking Traditional Boxes
Diversity is no longer about race, gender, and ethnicity, instead millennials are demanding that leaders foster inclusive cultures by building teams made up of people with the diverse opinions, experiences, and backgrounds necessary to achieve desired outcomes. There is a growing generational gap in how diversity and inclusion is defined in today's workplaces, according to "The Radical Transformation of Diversity and Inclusion: The Millennial Influence" a new study by Deloitte and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. The research shows that Millennials see inclusion as vital to business success and believe cognitive diversity is critical to engagement, empowerment, business growth and competitiveness. In contrast other generations tend to view it through the traditional lenses of demography, … [Read more...]
A 5-Point Plan to Build Your Local Engager Network
By Dan Fast and Adam Pollack Since 2012, we have witnessed the growth of local networks for Jewish engagement professionals - "engagers” who are responsible for Jewish millennial engagement and programming - in cities across the country, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Philadelphia, and more. These networks serve as local engager hubs, complementing a national network such as the NEXTwork. They also uniquely further engagement efforts by: Increasing trust, mutual respect, and transparency among local engagers; Accelerating knowledge, skill-sharing, collaborations, and connectional intelligence - a term coined by business/leadership consultants Erica Dhawan and Saj-nicole Joni that emphasizes “driving innovation and breakthrough results by harnessing the power of [our] … [Read more...]
Metro Minyan: What a Next-Generation Shabbat Could Be
By Rabbi Aaron Miller Washington Hebrew Congregation has been passionate about young Jewish professionals for decades, and 2239, our community for Jews between the ages of 22 and 39, was one of the first of its kind. 2239’s flagship Shabbat initiative, Metro Minyan, began one Friday night in 2011 with twelve Reform Jews crammed into a one-bedroom metro-accessible apartment, and now three years later, 180-250+ young Jewish professionals come together for each Metro Minyan to create one of the largest and most energetic Shabbat communities in the country. Metro Minyan is successful because it is much more than a Shabbat service - it has evolved into a Shabbat experience. Metro Minyan begins with Shot of Torah, where people grab a drink (hence the “shot”) and gather for a spirited conversation … [Read more...]
Get it Together: Young Adults and the Future of Your Organization
By Dottie Bennett I recently attended a gathering in DC hosted by Moishe House, a pluralistic, international organization that enables young adults in their 20s to provide meaningful Jewish experiences for their peers. The evening included a passionate conversation about the future of the Jewish community and this got me thinking... In order for our communities to continue from strength to strength, our methods of inclusion for this next generation of leaders and critical members of our communities must keep up with ever-evolving and changing trends. As we have heard many times before, members of the millennial generation (those in their 20s and early 30s) are choosing different methods to connect with the Jewish community and many of our community’s existing organizations are not prepared … [Read more...]
Time to “Makeup” A New Young Leadership Model
Developing a Next Generation of Donors Means Building a Community of DIYers By Erik Levis To get a sense of how big Jewish fundraising organizations can better galvanize the next generation of Jewish leaders and donors, try looking at what’s happening in - of all places - the cosmetics industry. Cosmetics? Hold on, I’ll get to that in a moment. First, when we talk about the “next generation” in the Jewish community, we have to frame the conversation within the context of larger cultural trends. And that means, for example, marrying research from the 2013 Pew report on Jewish Americans and the 2014 Millennial Impact Report. What we discover is that American Jews aren’t living in a vacuum in the U.S. Those born after the late 70s are continuing to trend away from traditional labels … [Read more...]
Following the Breadcrumbs: Three Insights on Jewish Millennials
By Justin Korda I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: every year that we embark on the exciting process of choosing the next cohort of ROI Community members, it becomes increasingly difficult to choose just 120 out of the hundreds of phenomenal applications we receive. This year has been no different; in fact, the sentiment is even stronger: more than ever before, in 2015 we received applications from hundreds of overwhelmingly talented, inspiringly passionate and highly qualified individuals, who work day in and day out to make the Jewish world, and the world at large, a better place. It goes without saying that we were - and continue to be - humbled and honored by the enthusiasm of so many to join our Community. Beyond that, though, we quickly realized that what we had at our … [Read more...]
A Parable of Three Houses: A Guiding Principle for Engaging and Inspiring Millennials
The institutions that will sustain themselves and the Jewish world at-large will be those that invite and challenge young Jews to thrust themselves into the process of building our collective house. By Andrew Fretwell I would like to share with you a parable inspired by “The Home We Build Together,” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks*. Once, there were three families who lived in separate beautiful houses, and each house had been passed down from generation to generation. The family who owned the first home hired a contractor on retainer to make repairs, as needed. The family who owned the second home made repairs on their own, but ensured efficiency on repairs by only allowing the work to happen while their children were out of the house. The family who owned the third house also made repairs on … [Read more...]
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