by Gabrielle Carlin and Andy Ashwal Much has been written about the future of the Jewish people hood; specifically, today’s leaders are concerned with the erosion of the next generation’s involvement in the traditional philanthropic Jewish community. Summarily, the concerns range from a lack of a sense of collective responsibility on the part of Americans Jews under the age of 35 to despair that today’s young Jews are increasingly disconnected from the State of Israel. Such is not the case. We have truly been misdiagnosed as a generation more concerned with ourselves than our people hood. Having only heard today’s leaders speak about tomorrow’s generation, it is time for us - the generation under scrutiny - to weigh in. As the Campaign Executive for Jewish National Fund’s JNFuture … Continue Reading
36 Under 36: Visionaries for a New Era
The New York Jewish Week has released its third annual “36 Under 36” list, highlighting new innovators in the New York area who are reshaping Jewish life here and abroad. Of course, New York being New York, many of the names are connected to initiatives with national and international reach. This year’s list recognizes young Jewish adults under the age of 36 who are leading the charge when it comes to blending Torah with environmentalism, innovating Jewish education, and working to make the world a more just, secure place. “At a time when so much concern is being voiced about a younger generation disenfranchised with Jewish life, it’s heartening and inspiring to discover young men and women in our community who are leading the way with passion and innovation,” noted Jewish Week … Continue Reading
The World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency Struggle to Find Meaning
Filed under Jewish Philanthropy, Opinion, Philanthropy in Israel, The American Jewish Scene, The Blog
Nowhere are the fissures of the Jewish world more apparent than in early summer Jerusalem. For here, on the one-hand, we see the energy accompanying the first wave of Birthright Israel, teen youth program, and 20-something summer visitors - arriving by the tens of thousands - to experience all that Israel has to offer. And at the other end, the [mostly] greying and powerful professional and lay leaders of the world's largest and most visible Jewish organizations on their annual summer pilgrimage. Unfortunately, rarely do the two meet, let alone sit and speak with each other. This is the beginning of a particularly busy two weeks with the opening this afternoon of the World Zionist Congress, followed next week by the Assembly, and the Board of Governors meetings of the Jewish Agency for Israel … Continue Reading
Retaining the Next Generation
A new generation entering the field of philanthropy brings new blood, new energy and new ideas. While it may feel hard to make room at the table for leaders with fewer years of experience, members of Generations X and Y have a greater understanding of today’s global and connected world; their know-how and skills can benefit a foundation’s grantmaking and communications. from The Huffington Post: Who's in Charge Here? Retaining the Next Generation in Philanthropy Baby boomers are hanging on, and next generation leaders are waiting - and waiting - their turn. According to Trading Power, produced in partnership with the Council on Foundations, Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies' 21/64, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy and Resource Generation, this is the first time in … Continue Reading
The Challenge of Connecting With Younger Jews
from The Fundermentalist: What do the chairs of Hillel and the Jewish Federations of North America have in common? ... According to Kathy Manning, who took over as the JFNA's chairperson back in the fall, the federations are looking at four components of the challenge of connecting with younger Jews: Jews now are on the move. While it might have been a given in the past that Jews would either stay where they were or move to one of the major U.S. cities that have major Jewish populations like New York, now it seems more and more of them are moving west and south, to communities that do not have great Jewish infrastructure. Young people these days also have far more choices than they ever did, and they are "less frightened" about their survival than their grandparents might have … Continue Reading
Engaging the Next Generation of Donors
Seven weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, donors have contributed more than $895-million to support relief efforts. And now, new research on text-to-gift conducted by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies on US charitable donors has been released. The data, gathered a week following the earthquake, indicates that mobile philanthropy, while not universally accepted is gaining traction with younger generations, and that the efforts around Haiti could be the tipping point for greater adoption. The mobile philanthropy results are part of a larger study that will be released in the coming weeks on the contrasting charitable habits of Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers and Matures to provide the sector with insights on cultivating the next generation of American donors. "The data … Continue Reading
Who Decides When You’re Ready to Lead
from Rosetta Thurman: The Normative Problem With the Term 'Next Generation Leaders' Having a cadre of bright young leaders in the nonprofit sector is great, but typecasting us as the ‘next generation’ can also indicate that we need someone from up on high to deem us “ready” to lead when our time comes. Using the term can make it seem as if young people will lead after all the Baby Boomers are gone, however we all know that’s not gonna happen anytime soon. Baby Boomers are staying in their jobs longer as a result of the economic downturn, and many are taking on “encore careers” as nonprofit leaders. So it’s up to us, the young nonprofit leaders, to redefine who gets to say when we’re ready to lead. It can’t be our bosses, our mentors, or some older and wiser colleague. It is … Continue Reading
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