Jewish Family Services of Dallas presents its first in a series of three inclusive, faith-based communities symposia created to share successful strategies to fully embrace individuals with disabilities and their families on February 25th. Share, learn and connect with spiritual and lay leaders, congregants and consumers from a cross-section of faith communities to create opportunities that empower an individual or family with a disability to participate and contribute to their highest potential. This project is funded graciously through a grant from the Texas Council on Developmental Disabilities with federal funds made available by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Continue reading here. 

JTNews readers in Washington voted Jewish Family Service of Seattle:
 
- Best Local Jewish Organization, School or Agency
- Best Place to Volunteer   
- Best Local Food Bank
- Best Counseling Service

"Jewish Family Service serves so many areas of our Jewish  community -- and a lot of the non-Jewish community, it should be said -- in so many different ways. Once again this Agency is the clear winner." - JTNews, What You Loved in 2012, 1/21/13
Continue reading here.

 

Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .

 

Lee I. Sherman

President/CEO

Supporting Elder Holocaust Survivors, January/February 2013, Social Work Today, by Jennifer Van Pelt

In 1995, the Claims Conference and the Alpert Jewish Family & Children's Service (AJFCS) started the first social services program for Holocaust survivors, bringing attention to the plight of survivors after years of silence. Now, the Claims Conference funds approximately 100 social welfare agencies, reaching about 18,000 survivors across the United States every week with home care visits.. Continue reading here.

Three-quarters of American nonprofits have annual budgets under $1 million, and most are even smaller. What these organizations lack in size, however, they make up for in impact. They respond to local needs, are absolutely critical to community building, and are staffed by people who understand and care about their communities-communities that have been abandoned by countless others.

Yet, it is known from work with small nonprofits (most recently through the Capital and Capacity for Economic Recovery Initiative) that they often struggle with financial challenges that are unique to their size and structure. Continue reading here.

To "win" in the Jewish community of tomorrow we must continuously imagine what people will need, or what will make a difference in their lives.
At the May 2007 national Jewish Federation Leadership Summit, Marc Blattner, President and CEO of  the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland presented a paper about lessons the Jewish community should take from Target (the department store). He discussed then the consumer nature of the Jewish community and outlined what he believes are the four greatest challenges facing Jewish communal life: cost, convenience, value and meaning. Today, Marc reads more and more from others about "Jewish consumerism." The problem is many still do not want to accept it. Continue reading here.

Last week, CompassPoint and the Haas, Jr. Fund released "UnderDeveloped," a new report focused on the state of nonprofit fundraising and - more specifically - the challenges that organizations face in recruiting and retaining strong development professionals and the underlying issues that often create those challenges. Continue reading here. 

Keeping Kids on Track...and From Dropping Out, January 22, 2013, National Assembly, by Irv Katz

The National Assembly announced a new tool: Keeping Kids on Track in the Middle School Years: Investing in Out-of-School Time Staff and Volunteer Competencies as a Dropout Prevention Strategy. The impetus for this tool and NHSA's work in this arena is simple. The U.S. is in the midst of a dropout crisis, and key decision makers are overlooking a critical opportunity to increase graduation rates by better supporting youth during the middle school years when disconnection begins. Continue reading here.

Join the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America (JCSANA), and Lead: Inspiring Jewish Leaders, a division of the Jewish Leadership Council (England) for their upcoming global webinar on the topic: Jewish Tradition, Innovation and Community in a Virtual Era.
 

Presenters from three countries will share practical ways in which Jewish communal professionals can make the most of virtual culture while remaining attuned to the values of their Jewish past, and will provide participants with access to new web-based resources that can enhance their own practice.
 

2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report, January 15, 2012, Nonprofit Marketing Guide, Kivi Leroux Miller

The 2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report is now available. In addition to the overall data, shared there are some interesting insights when you look at the data by organization size, mission, and region of the U.S. Inforgraphics have also been published and are available for your use on Pinterest and Facebook.

Idealware is diving into researching data-based decision making for a couple of projects, which includes metrics for program evaluation. Evaluation is a well trod field --a lot of people have said a lot of things about it... but a lot of it is contradictory or not that helpful. Laura Quinn, Director of Idealware especially dislikes the commonly used nomenclature of "outputs" and "outcomes." First, is it even possible to find two more confusingly similar words to represent two different concepts? Second, the terms aren't even used consistently and specifically-- there's a fair amount of overlap where one authority might call something (say, attendance at a workshop) a output when someone else would call that same thing an outcome. Continue reading here. 

The National Council for Community Behavioral HealthCare working together with the NYS Council and organizations around the country has launched a petition calling on President Obama to take concrete steps to expand public education about mental illness and improve the behavioral health system's capacity to serve people in need of care. Over 4,300 people have already signed the petition, but it needs 25,000 signatures by February 2nd in order to get an official response from the White House.Please help raise the profile of behavioral health on Capitol Hill by taking two quick steps today:

1. Sign the petition. You can add your name to the petition at:   http://wh.gov/UmJo. 
2. Share the petition with your networks via email and social media. Find samples that you can use here: http://bit.ly/SmOz4U  

Contact Lauri Cole at 518-461-8200 if you have any questions. 

The Difference Between Partnerships and Collaboration, January 17, 2013, eJP, by Rabbi Aaron Bisno
Two years ago Rabbi Aaron Bisno, began speaking of the need for communal collaboration. He laid down this gauntlet for both his own congregation in Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom, as well as for neighbors because he felt the challenges faced were so significant that no single entity could possibly solve them alone. Further, Rabbi Aaron believed - and felt more strongly than ever - that the Jewish community will not be well served if we continue to rely upon the modus operandi that "has served us so well for so long but have only taken us so far." Continue reading here.

With February only a few weeks away, Jewish communities across North America are once again developing programs and events in recognition of Jewish Disability Awareness Month.  AJFCA and JFNA are proud to join the Consortium of Jewish Special Educators in recognizing and increasing the awareness of the needs, strengths, opportunities and challenges of individuals with disabilities in our communities, as well as ensuring our communities are as inclusive of individuals with disabilities and their families as possible. Continue reading here.