D'Var Torah

Lee I. Sherman

President/CEO

At the Opening Abraham's Tent conference this week (see below), we heard a number of moving stories about children with a variety of developmental and physical disabilities who had been denied opportunities to fully participate in the Jewish community. Stories of children dismissed from schools for "behavioral issues" or being unable to find a synagogue willing to provide bar and bat mitzvah training made us question the depth of the values of our community.

In this week's parashah, Toldot, we read the story of the very different twins, Jacob and Esau. The two struggled with one another from the womb to the end of their years. Esau is an experiential learner, he needs to go out and do things to grasp their meaning, and he is impulsive to a fault. Jacob is more of a scholar, a conceptual thinker who is able to problem-solve and develop a plan, and who is able to work methodically to accomplish his goals. Jacob is deliberate, patient, and able to take and follow directions. Esau is all about immediate gratification and acting on emotion.

Should two so different children being treated identically by their parents? Of course not, but they should both be treated with fairness. Fairness means giving our children what they each individually need, not treating them all in the same way. It is appropriate to make accommodations for particular needs. It is our responsibility to ensure an inclusive community for all our children.   

Shabbat Shalom

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, over 130 representatives of the national Jewish community met in Baltimore for the conference, Opening Abraham's Tent: The Disability Inclusion Initiative. AJFCA CEO Lee Sherman and representatives of nine AJFCA member agencies participated in the conference sponsored by The Jewish Federations of North America, the Mizrahi Family Charitable Fund, the Jewish Funders Network, and the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, Chair of the National Governors Association, delivered the keynote address and introduced his initiative for increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Linda Burger, CEO of Houston JFS and AJFCA Board Member, and Mari Forbush, COO of JF&CS of Minneapolis, participated in a panel discussion on how we ensure people with disabilities and their families are treated with respect and dignity and are able to participate in our communities in meaningful ways.

A tremendous amount of energy was generated during the conference and critical resources and ideas were exchanged. AJFCA committed to helping to facilitate this growing national conversation on disabilities in our communities, so look for more updates in the coming months. 

Once again, AJFCA has stepped up in a time of great tragedy to represent and assist our JFCS agencies. Below is an email AJFCA Board Chair, Barry Klickstein received from Jen Weiss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey on November 12th, which speaks for itself.
  
In response to the email below from Jen Weiss, Barry stated:  "I think we can all be proud of the work that Lee Sherman has done and is continuing to do on behalf of our member agencies in response to this disaster."
Jen's email:  "I am currently at the JFNA General Assembly in Baltimore. As you are aware, hurricane Sandy has impacted NY and NJ in unprecedented ways. The needs are tremendous.

Today I attended a session with other NY and NJ executives for emergency issues as related to the hurricane. Lee sits on the JFNA emergency task force and was an advocate for our JFCS agencies to receive emergency funds this week to help us help our communities. I believe NJ received over $350,000 by his efforts. Today, in front of national leadership from JFNA Lee was credited for his advocacy for the JFCS agencies affected. In fact, due to his diligence  and advocacy, the JFCS agencies were recommended to be the central figure for disaster work. This was JFNA who suggested and supported this notion 100%. Representatives from NOLA and the Gulf Coast concurred, that AJFCA is the central force for all work and response to be coordinated in the face of disaster.

It was a very proud moment for me as an AJFCA board member,  to see Lee in such a self assured role and honored in such a manner by those around the country and more importantly for those of us in the throws of Sandy. "

Update on Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts
JFNA has distributed close to $650,000 to Federations in the form of grants for immediate humanitarian assistance, filtered primarily through the Jewish Family Service network. Of those funds, 90% have been distributed to those in need. Additional updates on the situation following Superstorm Sandy are available here.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released today its first-ever index of inclusion within a faith-based community. The Jewish Organization Equality Index (JOEI) provides benchmarks for gauging, and resources for improving, LGBT inclusivity policies and practices of North American Jewish communal organizations. The entire report is available at www.hrc.org/joei.

Key findings from the index create a preliminary snapshot of how a broad range of Jewish organizations-from national umbrella and advocacy groups to local nonprofits and synagogues-address LGBT diversity and inclusion in three categories of practice: organizational inclusion efforts, community/client engagement and workplace policies.

AJFCA and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) are working collectively toward positive impact on older adults in American communities. As part of our partnership, NCOA is currently presenting a three-part webinar series to AJFCA member agencies. The first in the series, Benefits Access for Older Adults, was held this week. Participating agencies heard a review of the various federal benefits that are available to their older adult clients, and learned how the benefit systems interact with one another. The presenter discussed the population of "dual eligibles," those clients who qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, and how these benefits can complement one another. Resources shared included an online tool for determining benefit eligibility, Benefits Enrollment Centers,which are located across the US, State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and an online resource library. To listen to a recording of this webinar or view the PowerPoint, please click here. We hope many of our members will join us for the second and third webinars in this series (see below). Please email Megan for registration details.

Making Wise Decisions With Home Equity: New Tools for a New Retirement Reality
Tuesday, November 27th, 2:00pm ET
 
Benefits Access for Older Adults: Helping Clients Find Programs to Boost Their Economic Security
Tuesday, December 18th, 3:00pm ET

Each year, November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care.

On November 7th the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety released a question to Moment magazine's "Elephant in the Room" Initiative and Contest readers and to the broader North American Jewish community that addresses an under-covered topic:  How has anxiety affected you, your family or the Jewish people in general?

AJFCA is partnering with the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety and encourages member agencies to respond to the above question by 5pm ET on Friday, December 7th. The three winners will receive iPads and their responses will be published in The Elephant in the Room section of Moment magazine. Click here for more information.

In April 2012 NTEN worked with Idealware to conduct a survey of nonprofits about their relationships with data, and what the two organizations found was a large dichotomy-either nonprofits were doing a lot with their metrics or not much at all.
 

This international, competency-based program recognizes practitioners with at least three years of experience in the field of volunteer resources management. Originally developed decades ago by the Association for Volunteer Administration, the CVA program is now sponsored by the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. Registration for the next cycle will remain open until March 1, 2013; early bird registration by December 31, 2012. Learn more here.

Since WealthEngine knows how important annual fundraising appeals are to nonprofits, they wanted to share some important tips that can improve your success. Three tips in particular stand out:

• Segment your donor list - Screen and rate your existing donors and prospects, adjust asks based on capacity to give, and watch your average gift size soar
• Find the right prospects - Profile your best donors and create a list of high net worth prospects based on the shared characteristics of these donors
• Leverage VIP relationships - Identify the connections of your board and other VIP insiders, then ask your insiders to share a personal note on the appeal letter to the new prospects  

WealthEngine is ready and willing to help you build a successful annual appeal, using these techniques or a variety of others. 

Domestic Violence Professionals Webinar  

We often hear that one of the most valuable parts of being a member of AJFCA is the opportunity for professionals to exchange information and ideas with one another. To further those opportunities, AJFCA is pleased to launch the AJFCA Marketing/Communications Practice Group. The goal of the group is to enable AJFCA member agencies' marketing and communications professionals to forge deeper connections with one another, share resources, exchange program information and learn about advances in the field.

Please join us for our first Marketing/Communications Practice Group webinar, "The Business of Social Work:  Marketing as a Second Language." 

The Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey (JFEDSNJ) and its family of six agencies announced the launch of the "Hurricane Sandy Community-Wide Relief Project" on November 8th. The agencies will work in conjunction with area synagogues and the Tri-County Board of Rabbis to collect donations of food and clothing for November 18th delivery to those in desperate need in Atlantic county.
 

The unity of all the organizations toward a combined relief effort is a testament to the power of community cooperation during a time of need.

Through the Human Resources Administration/NYC - a request came out last week for agencies to assume staffing and case management for various regions of New York hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. The Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services (JBFCS) submitted their application and was notified less than 24 hours later that their proposal was accepted. JBFCS began their work at the Staten Island Restoration Center on Sunday and continued for a full day Tuesday. JBFCS CEO, Paul Levine shares a report from the trenches.

In Tuesday's edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, JoAnn White, Director of Family Hope Connection (FHC), Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh's licensed adoption and foster care agency was interviewed to discuss the post-adoption services and support FHC provides for adoptive families. Several families who used FHC's post-adoption services after finalizing their international adoptions were interviewed as well. Click here to read more. View the article here. 

Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta is the proud recipient of the 2012 Managing for  Excellence Award, given by the The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. JFCS CEO Gary Miller and President Seth Cohen accepted the award from Community Foundation CEO Alicia Phillip at the Community Foundation's annual ceremonies on November 14th.  

In their books, Brandraising and How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar, 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career, authors Sarah Durham and Rosetta Thurman challenge some of the prevailing wisdom about marketing both yourself and your organization. Join these authors for a discussion of the excellent practices for marketing yourself and your organization to improve engagement and accelerate your career.

Learn how ETO Software tracks service delivery and client outcomes - and manages performance - in sites throughout the United States. This webinar will be particularly valuable for senior leadership, development staff and board members.

Join this Let's Move Faith and Communities webinar to learn about the role of faith and community organizations as catalysts for health and wellness, and hear from faith leaders as they share how they have successfully established programs for healthy living in their communities.
 

If you have any questions, please email partnerships@hhs.gov or call 202-358-3595.