By Gil Preuss
Recently, two articles addressed changes in the American Jewish landscape.
In “’The Establishment’ Has No Clothes: The New Jewish ‘Influence Economy’,” Yehuda Kurtzer argues that power within the Jewish community has shifted. Rather than remain concentrated within the confines of the “Jewish establishment,” power or, rather, influence now rests with new organizations, private family foundations, and various social forces.
Andrés Spokoiny countered in “Power, Influence, and the Limits of Maps: A Response to Yehuda Kurtzer,” that these days power resides almost entirely among individuals and that charting a singular map would deny the fluidity with which influence flows in the community.
Differences aside, both Kurtzer and Spokoiny are exploring the redistribution of power and influence in the American Jewish landscape. The question I have is not where does power lie, but rather, how can we leverage a broader set of influencers to create more effective change in our community?
Many of us agree that the Jewish community’s transition from a centralized power structure to something much more decentralized is a good thing. Rather than be led by the few, we now have new and diverse voices shaping the direction of Jewish life.
There are, however, some dangers when it comes to fragmentation. As we are seeing in American politics, the more we splinter, the more likely we are to find ourselves in silos and echo chambers and the harder it becomes to step outside of our tight networks and join in collective action.
As we embrace the democratization of influence in the Jewish community, we must ask ourselves: How can we also strengthen the impulse to turn toward each other? How do we build the platforms, mechanisms, and broad networks that will help us build the necessary social capital and come together to create positive and lasting change?
At The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, we join others in considering the role central organizations can play in answering these questions. In particular, we find ourselves striving to be an ongoing champion for community even as we celebrate the evolution and expansion of influence. Dubbed “Federation 2.0”, we are experimenting, learning, and reimagining our role in building stronger community alongside our incredible partners across the region.
Already, we are learning that joint, effective action requires four key factors:
- Talented and connected leaders;
- Strong trusting relationships (among individuals and among organizations);
- A compelling, shared vision; and
- Sufficient resources to bring that vision to life.
Our goal in the immediate and long-term is to use our position within the community to contribute toward each of these factors and help grow our community’s capacity for action.
For instance, when we looked at the landscape of next-gen engagement efforts (those programs meant to engage young adults, young couples, and families with young children in Jewish life), we saw many innovative yet siloed efforts underway. Many organizations had similar goals of engaging young Jews. And yet, many saw themselves as serving a particular niche within the next-gen community rather than acting as part of a cohesive whole. We saw missed opportunities for organizations to benefit from each other’s strengths and work towards a larger collective outcome.
In response, we have set about laying the groundwork for a sense of shared purpose among individuals and organizations, greater leadership capacity and collaboration, stronger relationships and networks, and critical resources to support our common goals.
We began this process by listening to our constituencies and integrating shared hopes into a vision for the community – one that calls on us to be inclusive, creative, and bold in pursuing change. With this in mind, we have been focusing on expanding our partnerships and convening likeminded leaders to get to know one another, share insights and resources, and explore opportunities for strategic partnerships.
We are already seeing promising results. Organizations are collaborating with those who serve similar and related populations; spearheading efforts to tackle goals that no one institution could achieve alone; and coming together to leverage the collective impact of their work.
Of course, none of this work would be possible if we did not also shift our approach to fundraising and fund distribution. In addition to our general appeal, we asked for contributions to help us tackle three strategic, community-wide priority areas. We believed that by directing significant resources to a few key goals, we would be more effective at driving change. Jewish community members in Greater Washington agreed, helping us to raise close to $2 million in incremental funds towards these goals.
We believe, however, that our work in Greater Washington has to be about more than just the outcomes – given the landscape both Kurtzer and Spokoiny describe, we must also focus on community building as a way to strengthen Jewish life. In the face of many complex questions, we have made it a point to bring community members together for meaningful discussion. Our goal is to strengthen platforms that support diverse perspectives and are bolstered by the participation of everyone in our community.
For our part, Federation’s work to help create the context for community and the mechanisms for change has only just begun. We will continue to move forward with humility and curiosity. We are also eager to draw on the data and insights at our disposal to help inform our thinking and create a shared language and vision for our community in Greater Washington. After all, our goals go beyond the work of any one group or organization.
Indeed, the Jewish future will be determined by how well we work together and leverage our individual strengths to the benefit of all. We are at a point where we must actively choose to maintain our communal ties. Rather than forgo a sense of cohesion, I urge us all to tend to the forces that will help us reach out and collectively work toward a vibrant future.
At a time when fragmentation is changing our local, national, and global realities, the Jewish community can be a model for how to celebrate our diversity while also ensuring that our community remains bonded. We can nurture a sense of belonging and belief in our limitless possibility and bring to bear the full potential of the topography of influence.
Gil Preuss is CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
I find your analysis and ideas to be pragmatic and realistic. How all the different segments come together is key and how long the blending process takes is also important to its success. Another issue relates to communities that have conversion foundations formed when Jewish hospitals merged with or were sold to other entities. These foundations with significant assets play a major role, depending on their mission, and could be seen as more important than the Federation.
Excellent post!
“Joint effective action” will also necessitate a comprehensive effort to engage in deep-dive impact assessment. How have resources been expend? and the impact of these resources. To be sure, more and more young and inspiring philanthropic leadership are now looking at ROI’s as never before. Folks want to know – “are we really making a difference?” and, if we are, how? And finally, the need to minimize, if not eliminate “duplication of effort” in the fundraising arena.
Wow that’s a lot of jargon.
The voices around a new landscape strategically discuss the metrics of a new decentralized paradigm to mobilize and analyze a comprehensive platform to engage in a deep-dive of consideration…..I’m exhausted just typing all this. Is this how all white dudes in Federation talk to impress each other?
It was with both sadness and bemusement that I read the various articles, responses, and comments stemming from Yehuda Kurtzer’s initial article to Gil Pruess’ latest response. I am still one of those old fashioned persons who still see value for the long run of a properly balanced and coordinated central community agency. In the late 1980s, as Assistant Executive Vice President of the UJAF of Greater Washington, I wrote a memo to leadership suggesting a reworking of the planning and campaign structures to work better in tandem. The plan included among other things a triennial cycle of goal setting and campaigning based on agency input, open community forums, demographic studies, surveys, ongoing feedback, PR, and education through outreach. The goal was to better achieve community needs by creating a greater sense of community ownership and responsibility, in effect, community building through coordinated planning and campaign efforts. It was probably too prescient and was ignored. A shame. What prompted it has come back to bite us. Hard.
Thank you for your post, Chaim.
I recall vividly how you were one of the few professionals who provided our community with a clear, planful and bold vision – anchored in demographic, sociological and communal trends
Guess you were just ahead of your time, my friend. Indeed a shame.
Can the author please elaborate on the following: “we asked for contributions to help us tackle three strategic, community-wide priority areas.” What were the three areas? Thank you!
Thanks so much for the question. As part of our Strategic Planning Process, we identified the following three focus areas as strategic priorities:
1. Engaging the next generation of Jews in Jewish life, including young adults, new couples, and families with young children.
2. Expanding the reach of Jewish life in the rapidly growing community of Northern Virginia.
3. Offering more formal and informal adult Jewish learning opportunities.
In each case, the area of focus cuts across the community and will have a significant impact in our efforts to build a vibrant and connected Jewish community. The need to address each of these priority areas was also raised in the 2017 Greater Washington Jewish Community Demographic Study funded by The Morningstar Foundation, as well as in ongoing conversations with community members.
As we look forward, we will broaden the range of issues for focus but with a similar approach.