Energizing Jewish Identity and Sustaining Communities through Service Learning, Social Services, and Civic Engagement

The Quadrennial Conference of the World Council of Jewish Communal Service will be held in Jerusalem, June 24th-26th. We are pleased to announce that AJFCA's President & CEO, Lee Sherman will be presenting a workshop with Dana Talmi of Yahel -Israel Service Learning, entitled "Energizing Jewish Identity and Sustaining Communities through Service Learning, Social Services, and Civic Engagement." In a recent survey, over 80% of American Jews stated that they consider social justice and caring for others as the key to their Jewish identity. This statistic illustrates the importance and timeliness of AJFCA's partnership with Repair the World which will provide the framework for the workshop.  Lee and Dana will discuss our joint effort to open doors into the Jewish community for young Jewish adults through volunteer opportunities in local Jewish social service agencies. The session will also explore the work of both organizations in Israel and North America and the great potential that such collaborations have for building a sustainable Jewish community. For further information, go to www.wcjcs.org.

National Conference on Volunteering and Service 

Attending next week's National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Chicago, IL?  If so, come hear the latest buzz and research on service and volunteerism in one forum:  the Reimagining Service Forum on June 19th, at 9:30am ET. The Forum will spotlight many agents of change including:

• Jonathan Greenblatt, Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation; and,
• Wendy Spencer, the newly confirmed CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

And a research panel featuring:

• Karen Baker, Secretary of Service and Volunteering, CaliforniaVolunteers;
• Farron Levy, President/Founder, True Impact;
• David Smith, Executive Director, National Conference on Citizenship ;  and,
• Peter York, Chief Research and Learning Officer, TCC Group.

Grab your breakfast and head on over to participate in this lively Forum; you'll leave with new information to support your work in the nonprofit, corporate and philanthropic sectors and run into AJFCA Manager of Civic Engagement and Repair the World Programming, Jennie Gates Beckman.  

The Meaning of FRD: Where's the Money?

The Meaning of FRD: Where's the Money? June 13, 2012, eJP, by Stephen G. Donshik 
During the last several years there has been a perception that nonprofit organizations have become more knowledgeable about financial resource development. Recently Stephen Donshik, nonprofit consultant had two experiences with two large well established and sophisticated organizations in Israel. Although he expected there to be an understanding that fundraising is not about collecting checks it was surprising to learn that the development professionals working in the nonprofits were far more attuned than the chief executive officers of the organizations.

It is not easy to be a CEO and responsible for the day to day operations, however it is important to not lose sight of the bigger picture and the longer view of developing an organization. There must be a focus on the importance of strategically cultivating support by developing and maintaining positive relationships with donors. The CEO has to provide support and encouragement to enable the FRD professional to be able to be effective in assuring the nonprofit's financial sustainability.

Click here to read the entire article and learn more about the tension that exists between CEOs and Fund Development professionals.

You know the board matrix: it has a list of skills and competencies that are "supposed" to be on the board, such as legal, marketing, HR, fundraising, finance. And typically there are also demographic qualities, such as gender, race, age. The board matrix then shows what boxes you presumably need to fill.

What's wrong here is that these board composition matrices focus our attention on what people are, rather than on what the organization needs board members to do.

Three traps of the board composition matrix

Let's look at the three failures of board matrix approaches:

1. The skills trap.
2. The demographic trap.
3. The connections trap.

By focusing on what people will do rather than what people are, we accomplish three goals, which you can read more about in the entire article, as well as details surrounding the three failures of board matrix approaches.

Claims Conference Announces Kavod Volume 2 

The 2012 Millennial Impact Report - a survey of more than 6,500 people ages 20 to 35 - shows 75% of millennials donate (in small amounts), 70% have fundraised for their favorite causes and most give for reasons that span generations---they have a relationship with the cause. The survey, which was conducted by Achieve and  Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates, yielded these additional results and implications:

1. The majority of their donations were $100 or less per organization per year.
2. Millennials give for emotional reasons and like to "give in the moment."
3. 75% of respondents have a smartphone, and 7% said they had given via text message or through a mobile site. The number one reason they haven't given on mobile is they weren't asked.
4. Most prefer to learn about nonprofits via their websites, followed by social media and e-newsletters.  Your website still matters most online, folks!
5. About 70 percent of young donors reported that they had made a gift online in 2011.
6. About 39 percent of those who made a gift reported that they had responded to an in-person request, and 34 percent said they had made a gift through the mail. So asking through multiple channels is wise, just as it is with all generations of donors.
7. 67% of respondents have interacted with nonprofits on Facebook and 92% have "liked" a nonprofit's Facebook page.  Only 28% had interacted with a nonprofit on Twitter.
8. When it comes to volunteering, 81% prefer to hear about opportunities from their peers.  63% had volunteered for a nonprofit in 2011.

You can access the full study here. 

While there is no limit to the amount of cringe-worthy design elements you can find online, these are some of the biggest mistakes businesses make on a regular basis. What makes most of these mistakes even worse is the fact many of them can be easily avoided by planning ahead and implementing a simple design strategy.

1. No clear call to action
2. Confusing navigation
3. Not testing different browsers
4. Incorporating way too much Flash
5. Poor readability

While this represents a small sample, all of these issues can be avoided by taking a proactive approach and carefully planning out both your web design and online marketing strategy. By utilizing some common best practices, you can increase the traffic to your website, as well as improve your chances of obtaining more online conversions.

Click here to read the entire article and learn about the five website design mistakes in more depth.

Jewish Family and Children's Service of Boston announced that they are further expanding and enhancing the scope of services available to the community through their affiliation with Jewish Family Service of Worcester. JFS Worcester's flagship clinical programs will be integrated with a wide variety of JFCS programs to expand their services throughout Central Massachusetts.

In 2011, JFCS merged with JFS of the North Shore; through their recent affiliation with JFS Worcester, they are continuing to enhance the impact of their many services through the combined resources of the organizations.

As one of the country's largest nonprofits, with almost 150 years of service to Greater Boston, JFCS will leverage their extensive resources to programs where they are most needed in Central Massachusetts. The two organizations will build on each other's areas of strength, while continuing to offer existing services and introduce new ones. With a similar mission and many complimentary programs, there is a strong synergy between the two organizations.  
 
Bringing together the two organizations will allow the agency to serve even more individuals and families in need. As their footprint continues to grow, they remain steadfast in their commitment to the community, clients, and friends and supporters. JFCS appreciates the support of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, which was instrumental in facilitating the affiliation.

Please join JFCS in welcoming JFS Worcester to the JFCS family.     

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Congratulations to Scott Rogoff, Board President of Jewish Family Service of Rochester, on receiving the 2012 Benjamin Goldstein Young Leadership Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester.  

Scott received this prestigious award on June 12th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochster Annual Meeting. Scott is a graduate of the Federation's Ramim program, serves on the Federation's board of directors (since 2011) and has been a leader in organizing activities for young adults. Scott is currently board president of Jewish Family Service of Rochester, where he has served on the board of directors since 2009, and the executive committee and board governance committee since 2010. At Temple Beth El, he serves on the strategic planning committee.  

UPCOMING WEBINARS  

The Health and Human Services Partnership Center continues to host a series of interactive conference calls discussing the benefits and provisions of the health care law, the Affordable Care Act. All calls are open to the public and include a question and answer session where you can ask HHS staff any questions you may have about the health care reform law. You are encouraged to submit questions to have answered on the calls to  ACA101@hhs.gov.

To participate in one of the conference calls, please select your preferred dates from the list below and submit the necessary information. Call-in information will be made available 24 hours in advance.

The Health Care Law 101 - June 14th, 3:30pm ET

A presentation on the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act and how to access care.

The Health Care Law 101 (in Spanish) - June 19th, 2:00pm ET

A presentation on the main provisions in the Affordable Care Act and how to access care in Spanish.

Tour of www.HealthCare.gov - June 21st, 4:00pm

A tour of the  www.HealthCare.gov website, including how to access private and public insurance in your community, when parts of the law are going into effect, and how to access care if you don't have insurance.

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Taking Your Medicines Safely

Taking Your Medicines Safely (TYMS), is a train-the-trainer program to educate older adults about medication safety and the toll-free Poison Help line (1-800-222-1222). Poisoning can happen to anyone; in fact, older adults are especially at risk for poisonings involving medications. Each year, there are nearly 100,000 emergency hospitalizations in the U.S among adults aged 65 years  or older due to adverse drug events.

Learn how to implement the TYMS program for older adults in your senior center, library, community center, or church. Medication safety topics include:  

1. Potential problems with taking prescription medicines or over-the-counter products.
2. Ways to keep track of medicines and prevent medication mistakes.
3. Questions older adults should ask about their medicine.
4. The free and confidential services provided by the nation's poison centers.

The TYMS program was developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration in partnership with the Administration on Aging and the Public Education Committee of the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Participants are encouraged to visit the Poison Help website and download the TYMS participant guide.

Taking Your Medicines Safely

Monday, June 18th, 3:00pm ET - REGISTER HERE

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Guide to Resources and Funding for Community and Faith-based Organizations
The Health and Human Services Partnership Center and the Administration for Children and Families will co-host a webinar/conference call for faith and community leaders on ACF's new Guide to Resources and Funding for Community and Faith-based Organizations.The guide offers an overview of the wide range of programs and resources provided by ACF, the many resources and toolkits available for any community or faith-based organization, basic information about finding and applying for federal funds, and specific information about ACF's competitive grant opportunities for nonprofits.

Guide to Resources and Funding for Community and Faith-based Organizations

Thursday, June 21st, 1:00pm ET

To participate via webinar, click here. To participate via conference call, please RSVP here, and dial 1-877-568-4108 with Access Code 338-508-387 to join.
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Using PerformWell to Improve Sex Education Programs  

Using PerformWell to Improve Sex Education Programs

Thursday, June 21st, 3:00pm ET - REGISTER HERE

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