By Amy Asin An executive committee can play a crucial role in the strategic leadership of a congregation. Regrettably, many congregational executive committees - rather than fulfilling their true purpose - serve only to preprocess board decisions, leading to a disengaged board. We have seen a trend among congregations that realize this diminished role is ineffective but lacking an understanding of the true value of the executive committee, are … [Read more...] about What Should Be the Role of the Executive Committee?
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Applied Jewish Wisdom from Sukkot
By Bradley Caro Cook, Ed.D.
Many Jewish organizations, both innovative and legacy, express difficulty recruiting new lay leaders who are outside of their current circles of engagement or those that follow the natural progression of Jewish pathways. Many organizations wish to engage a new crop of lay leaders who have mid to no Jewish background and low to no current engagement, but they lack the resources and … [Read more...] about Want to Exponentially Increase your New Lay Leader Engagement?
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Drafting Policies for Our Organizations:
Staying true to our own values
By Rabbi David M. Rosenberg
JWI’s Clergy Task Force to End Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community
In recent months, a lot of necessary attention has been focused on prominent individuals in numerous fields who have used their power to sexually abuse others. We have also learned about how organizations have been perverted into examples of what The New York Times called a “complicity machine,” enabling abuse, protecting abusers, and punishing … [Read more...] about Drafting Policies for Our Organizations:
Staying true to our own values
When the Call Comes, Will Your Congregation Be Ready?
By Rachael Burgess “Do you have any resources about how to deal with guests, calls and emails from people who are interested in becoming a member or are curious about our congregation?” As part of my work on behalf of the Reconstructionist movement, I often field questions from congregations related to marketing and communications. It’s a smart question. In an age when people avoid religious institutions, an email or phone call from a … [Read more...] about When the Call Comes, Will Your Congregation Be Ready?
Board Members or Members Who Are Bored: Are Lay Leaders Really An Asset to the Nonprofit Organization?
The board is responsible for the governance of the organization and is accountable for its financial stability as well as the quality of services delivered to the community. [eJP note: Being a board member is hard work; a board chair, even more so. In looking at some of our most high profile organizations - in both Israel and the US - we find chairs who have abdicated all responsibility to the professional staff and board members, most of … [Read more...] about Board Members or Members Who Are Bored: Are Lay Leaders Really An Asset to the Nonprofit Organization?