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Leadership

Expanding Capacity, Maturing the Field: Darim Online and See3 Communications Together.
September 13, 2012
Blog Post


Jewish organizations, big and small, are prioritizing digital communications and embracing new models of leadership and organizational development. While this may seem like an obvious statement to some, for those of us who have been banging the digital drum for some time, it truly feels like we’ve finally reached a critical tipping point. The question no longer is “should we?”, it’s “how do we?”

The hunger for training, coaching, models to emulate, and savvy staff to power the work has skyrocketed.
Social Media Policy Workbook for Jewish Organizations
July 20, 2012
Article

Some organizations jump into social media with great excitement. Others with great trepidation. What we know is that the rules of engagement in social media are in many ways fundamentally different than those of other communication tools we’ve used in the past.  A good social media policy provides clear guidelines as to how staff should represent themselves and the organization when posting and interacting with the community, freeing them up to think more strategically. A social media policy is also likely to help leadership feel more comfortable with the less formal nature of social media by letting them establish boundaries for its use.
Jewish Day School Social Media Academy 2012-13
July 10, 2012
Article

The Jewish Day School Social Media Academy is an intensive program designed to help Jewish Day Schools advance their strategic use of social media in areas such as communication, marketing, community building, alumni relations and development.  

The full Academy runs throughout the 2012-13 academic year, and includes live events, online training via webinar, and private coaching and consulting for each school. We've selected a cohort of 20 schools to matriculate through an intensive training, coaching and project-based curriculum during the 2012-13 academic year. 
Network Mapping at jU Chicago
March 22, 2013
Blog Post

The Community Building Internship at jU Chicago is premised on the idea that small communities are, as sociologist Jonathan Woocher has written, “a consistent source of meaning, a focal point for relationships, and a powerful contributor to a sense of self-worth.” By empowering a cohort of students to create small communities organized around a theme, activity, or shared interest, we are able to create the kind of specialized Jewish opportunities that have the power to engage more Jewish students on a deeper, more meaningful level.
Designing for Social: Nefesh b’Nefesh New Contests
March 14, 2013
Blog Post

Marketing is one thing.  Designing intentionally for social engagement is another thing all together.   This is a story of a very fun creative process that has resulting in two contests announced this week.
Surprisingly Easy to Quit My Synagogue
March 13, 2013
Blog Post

This blog is crossed posted from Living Lomed.

I belonged to a synagogue for twenty years. This year we made the decision not to rejoin. The reason? I was feeling less connected to a place that was putting control over choice. Concretely: Leadership would not permit the Shabbat morning prayer class I had attended for the past eight years to continue on a weekly basis. We could hold the class twice a month, but not every week.
Connecting: An Explicit Goal of Program Directors
January 09, 2013
Blog Post

Guest post by Laura Intfen, Member Services Coordinator at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, KS
11 Ways to Reach the Unengaged
January 02, 2013
Blog Post

All of us in Jewish life are wondering how to reach the unengaged--and particularly young adults. At NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation, we work with both mainstream and grassroots organizations, including many synagogues, to help them find new ways to connect with Birthright Israel alumni and their friends. While I do this work professionally, I’m also part of the demographic we’re trying to reach. Here, I’m offering eleven ways that synagogues can connect to the unengaged:
Three Legs of the Connected Congregation Stool
December 14, 2012
Blog Post

Connected Congregations are synagogues that function as communities in the deepest sense of the word.  They are not about the building, the events, the rabbi.  At least not alone. They are about a group of individuals and families with shared values, practice and goals, who feel a sense of sacred obligation to one another.  It FEELS GOOD to be part of a community like this.

As we've been researching connected congregations, working in networks, being a network weaver, and organizational change, we've learned that becoming a connected congregation is more than a new way of developing programs.  It's more than helping people get to know each other better (and deeper) -- though that's important too.
The Former Congregant
December 10, 2012
Blog Post

Originally published on Jewish Connectivity
Determining Your Communal DNA
November 30, 2012
Blog Post

What is a synagogue? A congregation? A community?

We are more than a nonprofit organization, or a local center, or a collection of people who share certain practices or get together for holidays. It feels significant to me that words like “congregation” and “community” are grammatically singular but inherently refer to a multiplicity. The duality of meaning here is so critical for how we lead, congregate, and self-identify.
Blowing up the Bima: Reinventing the Rabbi – Congregant Relationship
October 26, 2012
Blog Post

Part of the Connected Congregations series.
Case Study: The Networked Nonprofit: A Prequel (Temple Beth Abraham)
October 25, 2012
Article

Editor's note: Allison is the author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, and co-author (with Beth Kanter) of The Networked Nonprofit.  Recently, Allison has been serving as the president of the board at her synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown, New York. This position has given Allison the opportunity to put her theory into practice, and to examine intimately the potential and challenges of synagogues as networked nonprofit.

Tilling the Soil: An Interview with Allison Fine
October 25, 2012
Blog Post

I've been following Allison Fine's work for years, and have so enjoyed how our paths have crossed in the Jewish community in recent years.  Allison is the author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, and co-author (with Beth Kanter) of The Networked Nonprofit.  Recently, Allison has been serving as the president of the board at her synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown, New York.
Vision and Data: Essential Building Blocks for Successful Synagogue Change
October 10, 2012
Blog Post

UJA Federation of New York has recently made investments in helping local congregations collect and analyze data in order to make strategic, data-driven decisions about their work and their future.  The results of the project have been extraordinary, ranging from leaders learning how they need to collect different kinds of data, to learning how to use databases for more than contact management, as well as how they can shape their programs and culture to build a sustainable future.
Beyond Tactics: Taking on Social Media Strategy and Networked Culture in the Jewish Day School Social Media Academy
September 05, 2012
Blog Post

There are three pillars required for advancing a networked strategy and maturing a school’s use of social media:  Strategy, tactics and culture. 

 
Connected Congregations: Launching a Blog Carnival
August 23, 2012
Blog Post

We are stepping through the threshold of a new age.  Connected, individually empowered, globalized, diverse and personalized.    The technologies of today are far more than digital communication tools – they are transforming society at an increasingly rapid rate, with important implications and opportunities for the Jewish community.
Jewish Day School Social Media Academy 2012-13
August 01, 2012
Article

The Jewish Day School Social Media Academy is an intensive program designed to help Jewish Day Schools advance their strategic use of social media in areas such as communication, marketing, community building, alumni relations and development.  The Academy runs throughout the 2012-13 academic year, and includes live events, online training via webinar, and private coaching and consulting for each school.
Oy Vey! Isn't a Strategy. But it's a Darn Good Read.
July 25, 2012
Blog Post

Just Do It-Getting Over the Integration Hurtle
July 23, 2012
Blog Post

As a newly minted “Technology Integration Educator” in my community, I’m struggling with the definition of my job title.  What does the phrase “technology integration” really mean? How do we integrate technology?  I can’t help but wonder if, when the overhead projector, or the radio, or even the blackboard for that matter, were introduced into the world of education, taskforces and positions were created to explore how to “integrate” these new technologies.  I think not.