When Barry Finestone published his courageous op-ed urging the Jewish communal sector to care for its professionals, he named the crisis clearly: Our educators, clergy, social workers and organizational leaders — the people who hold up Jewish life — are running on fumes. His practical solutions, from temporary staff to peer support networks, signal a refreshing shift in philanthropic priorities.

I want to add another solution to his list, one that might feel less intuitive at first glance but is no less essential if we want our people to thrive: organizational systems, processes and tools that leverage technology and automation.

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Why systems matter for people

When our institutions lack human-centered processes and systems, people leave. And when people leave, knowledge leaves with them. In a field built on relationships, that loss is devastating. Without clear systems, trust erodes, collaboration falters and burnout accelerates.

Workplace culture emerges not just from value statements or team retreats but from the everyday experience of work. Smooth processes and reliable tools, especially those around communication, are what allow culture to express itself as respect, clarity and care.

Nonprofits may not compete with the private sector on salaries, but that has never been our greatest strength. Our strength is in our humanness, in building purpose-driven workplaces that treat people like people. One of the best ways to do that is to relieve them of the constant drag of unnecessary, repetitive and demoralizing administrative work.

Consider these statistics:

• Organizations lose 20-30% of revenue every year due to inefficiencies. (IDC)
• Executives spend 16 hours a week on administrative work. (ServiceNow)
• Employees spend more than four hours on email and nearly two hours simply searching for and gathering information every day. (MIT Sloan, McKinsey)
• 78% of business leaders believe automation could save 360 hours a year, and 90% say it improves work quality and efficiency. (WorkMarket)

For nonprofits already operating on razor-thin margins of time, energy and budget, this workload weighs even heavier.

Infrastructure, not afterthought

Every organization needs a platform that functions as its single source of truth: a repository that documents decisions, processes and program details. Saving these details isn’t just about posterity; it saves employees time and organizations money.

GitLab, one of the world’s largest all-remote companies, explains it this way: “By explicitly documenting everything from our big?picture strategies to daily workflows, we streamline onboarding, empower team members to align with our mission and values, and ensure we’re all on the same page.” The authors of the 2022 book Running Remote, Liam Martin and Rob Rawson, echo this: Organizations that thrive are those that treat documentation as infrastructure, not as an afterthought.

Without these systems, every departure or vacation can feel like a catastrophe. With them, great work — and great teamwork — becomes possible.

Once we establish systems, we can take the next step: automation. Today, entire categories of tasks can be lifted off our plates: 

• Automate responses to frequently asked questions via email. 
• Send progress updates automatically to Slack, email, spreadsheets and dashboards, eliminating redundant status meetings. 
• Generate email marketing drafts directly from project management tools through content creation workflows. 
• Search data and past communications in seconds with AI-assisted knowledge tools.

These practices are already common in the broader business world, fueling its accelerated pace of progress. Bringing them into Jewish nonprofits would free staff at every level to focus on mission-driven work.

When people hear “AI,” they often imagine soulless copywriting or job replacement. But when used wisely, AI is another support tool to help us make complex decisions, design project structures and communicate effectively. It can help us surface data, draft first versions of communications and organize processes that might otherwise be scattered across inboxes and sticky notes.

In a sector defined by human connection, AI can be a support system that frees people to do the work only they can do: build relationships, shape culture, teach and lead.

Systems build cultures of care

Investing in systems and technology is a critical part of investing in people. Strong systems promote transparency, reduce errors and save time. Most importantly, they create the foundation for a healthy organizational culture, one in which people feel empowered rather than depleted, supported rather than isolated.

Burnout is often attributed to overwhelming workloads, but it is also fueled by the mental toll of chasing small details that should be handled by bulletproof systems. When the daily grind becomes smoother, staff feel more competent, capable and calm. And when systems reinforce culture, they provide not only efficiency but also dignity and belonging.

Will these systems take time to set up and customize? Yes. But the return is exponential. Thousands of dollars in staff time can be saved every month by investing a fraction of that in tools and platforms. Many offer nonprofit discounts, and some even provide free licenses.

This is one of the rare opportunities in our field where a relatively small investment in infrastructure pays off not just in efficiency but in the well-being of our people.

A call to action

Finestone is right: If we don’t protect and replenish the people who sustain Jewish life, we risk losing the very infrastructure that holds our community together. But replenishing people doesn’t just mean spa days and gratitude (though those matter too). It means reimagining the way we structure their work.

If philanthropy wants to make a transformative difference, it must fund not only wellness initiatives but also systems initiatives. That means supporting nonprofits in building the technological and process infrastructure that takes the weight of inefficiency off people’s shoulders.

In doing so, we can create workplaces where Jewish professionals can show up whole, grounded and focused on the sacred work they are called to do. Our people are only as good, as strong and as resilient as the systems — and the cultures — they operate within.

Elisheva Thompson is the owner and principal consultant of culture/shift, helping Jewish nonprofits transform their marketing, systems and culture while cultivating the knowledge and practices that allow them to thrive long-term.