• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Managing Your Nonprofit / Manners and the Nonprofit Org

Manners and the Nonprofit Org

April 19, 2015 By eJP

please-and-thank-youBy Steffi Aronson Karp

Is this you? Is this your organization?

Your mission statement says you do good things: you raise funds for wonderful causes and you have many happy members – sounds like a lot of us. But wait! There’s more! You grow, and need a new employee, or two. You really grow, and raise funds for lovely office space, or a building. Two employees become four; four become ten, or 30, or 40. You add a Human Resources department. And now, there’s even more: you advertise for the next worker or workers. You’re swamped! But it is good swamped, because resumes come pouring in. Life is good – but what about those applicants?

Have you acknowledged their applications? Did you reach out to each applicant with an email or letter? If not you, then did you empower someone else to reach out? You, your workers and your organization may be thriving – but what kind of organization are you really when resumes go unnoticed – especially in this difficult economy? What is the message you send to the next generation about their choice to serve the Jewish community?

I recently attended a Shabbos dinner where a new college grad to the area, one with amazing experience in the Jewish community, applied to a local tzedaka before coming to town with her fiancé. She made multiple phone calls regarding the status of her application. She never heard back. Eight months, and one decent for-profit job later, she received a phone call asking if she could come in for an interview during a workday. What on Earth did they think she had done all that time? Who can afford to twiddle thumbs for 2/3 of a year, waiting for an opportunity to discuss the possibility of a possible position? We lost a good one. She would have been a wonderful asset in the Jewish nonprofit world. She’s not the only member of her generation to share such a story.

What about the applicants who only hear that their resume arrived because they know someone, who knows someone else, who happened to meet someone who sits on the hiring committee?

Running the volunteer-driven LimmudBoston conference means that I often have the privilege of meeting well-qualified workers who have time to help us while seeking paid positions. Our volunticipants can choose to offer their time and expertise with any of many nonprofits. It is our job to make sure that they feel warmly welcomed. We love our volunteers! We feed them well and help them feel connected.

To say the least, it is unprofessional to forget basic manners. As the founder and president of one of the newer tzedakas on the block, I know that “please” and “thank you” matter. We truly appreciate each person’s contribution – of time or money or advice.

It’s a shame to lose an entire generation because one person, or an entire organization, is too busy to say thanks. It is a costly shame to lose volunteers to the art museum or any other non-Jewish organization because the volunteers do not feel welcomed and appreciated. How are things at your organization?

Steffi Aronson Karp is Founder & President of LimmudBoston.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Managing Your Nonprofit, The Blog Tagged With: volunteer leadership

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Ann Oppenheimer says

    April 20, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    This is a pervasive problem throughout the not-for-profit world, not just in the world of Jewish organizations. If everyone who applies provides an email address and/or mobile phone number, it is a simple matter to say “thank you for submitting your application” without quickly. We expect that our hires will treat our customers/clients/volunteers well, but if we do not model the behavior why do we expect they will exhibit it?

  2. Susan Berger says

    April 20, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    I’ve had this experience numerous times. I think though this is a simply a symptom of a larger societal problem.

  3. Louis Rieser says

    April 20, 2015 at 11:22 pm

    Thank you for sharing a story that is dramatic in its simplicity. If we can just remember that our ethics teach us to put derekh eretz, manners, first, and to treat each other with compassion, the community can grow from strength to strength.

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • Breaking: Birthright Israel & Onward Israel Seek to Join Forces to Strengthen Jewish Diaspora Ties with Israel
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • The Blessings in 2020’s Losses

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved