Jews have been making major gifts to critical Jewish needs way before Flying Horses. It's been consistent; major gift fundraising has not disappeared, or taken a back seat or a lull, perhaps ever. As long as there were issues, Jews in trouble, or Jews lacking resources, Jews have always responded to the requests.
As Jewish agencies, you are a part of a community. The point is you are not flying off the ledge landing into a sea of names. You are part of a community of people who care regardless of whether you are working for Jewish Day Schools or the Jewish Family Service. You know that to sustain Jewish continuity our agencies and organizations not only have to survive, they have to strive for excellence. That can only happen with quality major gift staff and leadership.
Read the entire article to learn exactly what flying horses and major gift fundraising have in common.
Flying Horses and Major Gift Fundraising, February 28, 2012, eJP, by Sherri W. Morr
As Jewish agencies, you are a part of a community. The point is you are not flying off the ledge landing into a sea of names. You are part of a community of people who care regardless of whether you are working for Jewish Day Schools or the Jewish Family Service. You know that to sustain Jewish continuity our agencies and organizations not only have to survive, they have to strive for excellence. That can only happen with quality major gift staff and leadership.
Read the entire article to learn exactly what flying horses and major gift fundraising have in common.
Flying Horses and Major Gift Fundraising, February 28, 2012, eJP, by Sherri W. Morr
Back in 1950, with the ashes from the massacre of Eastern European Jewry still smoldering and a fledgling State of Israel taking its first tentative steps, an American Jewish rabbi wrote a very prescient article.
"What kind of American Jewish community do we desire, and how shall we plan to achieve it?" asked Robert Gordis in a Commentary Magazine essay titled, Creating an Organic Community:A Blueprint to Assure American Jewry's Future.
Over 60 years have passed since Gordis wrote those words and though the core question remains the same, the landscape has markedly changed. If in the 50s the common enemy was assimilation, and in the 80s and 90s it was intermarriage and an American society that "welcomed us to death," the 21st century's main offenders are more about what is absent than what is present; namely, the way Israel, community and tradition no longer play central roles for the next generation of young Jews.
Yet, when it comes to the future, everything hinges upon engaging this NextGen, a notoriously fickle and capricious bunch. Learn more about engaging NextGen in this article.
The Next Generation: What Jewish Organizations are Doing to Cultivate 20-and-30-Somethings, February 12, 2012, eJP, by Abigail Pickus
"What kind of American Jewish community do we desire, and how shall we plan to achieve it?" asked Robert Gordis in a Commentary Magazine essay titled, Creating an Organic Community:A Blueprint to Assure American Jewry's Future.
Over 60 years have passed since Gordis wrote those words and though the core question remains the same, the landscape has markedly changed. If in the 50s the common enemy was assimilation, and in the 80s and 90s it was intermarriage and an American society that "welcomed us to death," the 21st century's main offenders are more about what is absent than what is present; namely, the way Israel, community and tradition no longer play central roles for the next generation of young Jews.
Yet, when it comes to the future, everything hinges upon engaging this NextGen, a notoriously fickle and capricious bunch. Learn more about engaging NextGen in this article.
The Next Generation: What Jewish Organizations are Doing to Cultivate 20-and-30-Somethings, February 12, 2012, eJP, by Abigail Pickus
As described in the book Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, to govern comprehensively, boards work in three modes: fiduciary, strategic, and generative. To use a metaphor in which an organization is a boat, boards can make two distinct types of contributions: steering and rowing.
When steering, the board collectively: board source
Sets the direction of the organization;
Determines which values and logic will guide it; and
Ensures the organization's resources are used prudently to advance its work.
When rowing, board members individually or collectively expand the organization's resources by, among other things:
Offering pro bono professional services or expertise to management;
Volunteering as front-line service providers;
Advocating for or championing the organization and its mission in the community; and
Helping to raise funds to sustain the organization's work.
It can be useful to distinguish steering and rowing, which you can learn more about in the remainder of this article.
Distinguishing a Board's Steering and Rowing Work, January 30, 2012, Nonprofit Quarterly, Board Source, by William Ryan
When steering, the board collectively: board source
Sets the direction of the organization;
Determines which values and logic will guide it; and
Ensures the organization's resources are used prudently to advance its work.
When rowing, board members individually or collectively expand the organization's resources by, among other things:
Offering pro bono professional services or expertise to management;
Volunteering as front-line service providers;
Advocating for or championing the organization and its mission in the community; and
Helping to raise funds to sustain the organization's work.
It can be useful to distinguish steering and rowing, which you can learn more about in the remainder of this article.
Distinguishing a Board's Steering and Rowing Work, January 30, 2012, Nonprofit Quarterly, Board Source, by William Ryan
