AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
New CEO of JF&CS Atlanta Announced
The Board of Directors of Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta announced that Gary Miller, Chief Executive Officer of JF&CS for 24 years, will step into a strategic advisory role effective July 1, 2015. Rich Aranson, who has served as the Chief Operating Officer for the past eleven years, will assume the role of CEO on July 1, 2015.  | |
Gary Miller, current JF&CS CEO
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Gary's vision and leadership has resulted in the transformation of this organization demonstrated by tremendous growth in service capacity and delivery, resource development and talent management. The organization is recognized as a leading national model in the human service arena. Read the entire announcement here. Click here to read a message from Gary.
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Samost JFCS Groups to Build Bright Futures for Pre Teens and Young Adults
Growing up in this day and age is not easy. As a pre-teen, there are growing pressures at school to be the best student, to fit in amongst peer groups, to please parents, to be involved in the community, and to put your best foot forward at all times. It seems that as they prepare to leave high school, the stressors only continue to mount and can be difficult to navigate. Our young people are constantly striving to find balance and harmony as they embark into their pre-teen schooling and young adult work lives. Samost Jewish Family & Children's Services in Cherry Hill is providing some curriculum this February that may help ease the stress and help local youth find a clear path through it all, by offering two new groups: "This is Me" for pre-teen girls, and "This is My Life", a group for young adults in transition ages 18-25. Continue reading here.
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JFCS Suncoast Awarded $993,000 Grant to Fill Service Gaps for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
Jewish Family & Children's Service of the Suncoast, Inc. was awarded a three-year $993,000 grant by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) as part of an Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Specialized Support Services Project. JFCS will increase system of care efficiencies and fill existing service gaps for people living in the community with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders or ADRD. Working collaboratively with community partners, JFCS will expand support for those living alone with ADRD, expand services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with ADRD or at risk of ADRD, and enhance behavioral symptom management training and support for family caregivers. Read the entire press release here.
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JFS Dallas Helps Raise Awareness for Special Needs and Inclusion
The Special Needs Partnership of Jewish Family Service of Dallas will host and support activities to raise awareness throughout February's Special Needs Awareness Month-part of a national effort to raise awareness and navigate the journey of inclusion of people with special needs. The Special Needs Partnership (SNP) is a grass-roots initiative that furthers awareness and inclusion through education and outreach. Under the auspices of JFS, SNP collaborates with many local organizations and families including synagogues, day schools, foundations and corporations. Learn more here.
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New Fund for Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust Established
Jewish Family Service of Seattle announced that the Claims Conference has successfully negotiated a $250 million landmark agreement with the German government. As a result of this negotiation, a new fund will be established, to be administered by the Claims Conference, for Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust. This fund is open to Jewish Nazi victims who were persecuted as Jews and were born January 1, 1928 or later AND who suffered one of the following types of persecution: * Were in a concentration camp; or * Were in a ghetto (or similar place of incarceration in accordance with the German Slave Labor Program); or * Were in hiding or living under false identity for a period of at least 6 months in Nazi-occupied or Axis countries; or * Were a fetus during time that their mother suffered persecution as described above.
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Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
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D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
Tuesday, January 27th, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year is also the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. On Monday night, HBO aired the documentary "Night Will Fall," a movie within an movie, telling the story of British filmmakers documenting the horrors the Allied forces discovered as they liberated German concentration camps across Europe. The burying of that film footage since the end of World War II is another story, but the scenes of seemingly endless emaciated dead bodies, the exhaustion, joy, and bewilderment on the faces of the freed prisoners, and the almost utter complacency of the German soldiers and local townspeople, all made for a chilling juxtaposition.
At almost every agency across the AJFCA network, every day is Holocaust Remembrance Day. We provide the essential services that allow those who survived Nazi terror to live out their remaining years in dignity. We remember and honor the 6 million who perished by respecting and caring for those who hold the deepest memories of those horrific years. We hope the rest of the Jewish community, and all communities around the world, continue to work with us as we pursue this sacred obligation.
As you are reading this, I will have landed in Israel, just before the beginning of Shabbat. Nothing can ever make us forgive the Nazi atrocities against the Jews and others, and we, and our children for future generations, will never forget. But, knowing we have a Jewish homeland, not only connects us to over 3000 years of loss and triumph, but marks our resilience and continuing hope for the future.
Shabbat Shalom.
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Auschwitz Survivors Ask If Holocaust Lessons Learned on 70th Anniversary of Liberation  Around 300 survivors of the Auschwitz death camp were gathering on Tuesday to mark 70 years since its liberation by Soviet troops, joined by world leaders for a commemoration held in the shadow of war in Ukraine and a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe. Tuesday's gathering in southern Poland marks perhaps the last major anniversary that survivors of the Nazi German camp will be able to attend in numbers, given the youngest are now in their 70s. Some 1,500 attended the 60th anniversary.
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Older Americans Act Re-authorization
Wednesday morning the bipartisan Older Americans Act was reported favorably out of the Senate HELP Committee. The OAA, S. 192, contains language in support of Holocaust survivor services. We will work closely with our Senate allies for swift passage in the Senate and advancement on to the House. Thank you sincerely for your advocacy. This has been years in the making, and we are pleased that the OAA reauthorization was the first legislative priority of the HELP Committee in this new 114th Congress.
Please thank your Senators on the HELP Committee for supporting this legislation; and please urge Senators outside of the HELP Committee to cosponsor S.192 before it reaches the Senate floor. Increased co-sponsorship will help ensure swift passage through the Senate.  Bill Text (Holocaust survivor language is at bottom)
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AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
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Ready to Lead? Well - Not Exactly. But Here is an  Opportunity
The Pipeline Alliance initiative recently created by key foundations in the Jewish world should be embraced by rabbinical schools and nonprofit management programs. The Pipeline Alliance's purpose of cultivating a new generation of leadership has the potential to reshape American Jewry as we know it. Continue reading here. |
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2015 AJFCA Annual Conference Registration & Extended Awards Deadline
AJFCA is pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2015 Annual Conference. Click here to learn more and REGISTER! 
All Annual Conference Awards submission deadlines have been extended to FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH. Click here to view the guidelines.
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VISTAs Participate in MLK Day 
As an Americorps VISTA sponsor site, AJFCA professionals were proud to participate in the 2015 National Day of Service on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Click here for photos of them in action. VISTA members across the country were encouraged to participate in their own communities. Michael Eisinger gave a lecture on Black/Jewish dialogue and the work that he is doing at JFS Detroit to approximnately 80 people at a local Methodist Church on January 18th. Sahelit Bahiru of CJE Senior Life in Chicago joined community members at a gathering organized by the local JCRC.
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AJFCA Board of Directors Nomination Process Open
The AJFCA Board of Directors is committed to bringing greater support to members each year. As part of our annual board nomination practice, we are seeking passionate leaders to join our board. A stronger AJFCA means stronger member agencies and better service to individuals and families across North America. We are looking for board members who can bring their expertise and experience to our work, in areas like senior services, services to persons with disabilities, philanthropy, leadership development and organizational capacity.
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Development Quarterly Webinar 
Join Daniel Goodman, President of Special Kids Fund and Co - Founder of
CharityChoice Gift Cards for AJFCA's Quarterly Development Conference Call as we discuss generating revenue from existing systems. This 30-minute webinar will showcase three examples of passive revenue sources. The last 30 minutes of the webinar will be devoted to Q&A and professionals sharing what existing revenue generating systems they currently employ at their agencies.
Passive Revenue Sources
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Domestic Violence Quarterly Call - Orthodox Community
Join Aliza Schulman, Domestic Abuse Program Coordinator at Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Service for a call focusing on the specifics concerns and manifestations of domestic abuse within the Orthodox community including issues of Mikvah, shame, stigma, agunah/get and community resistance. Learn to the importance of personalizing and tailoring prevention programs to speak to specific audiences. Domestic Violence Quarterly Call - Orthodox CommunityTuesday, February 17th, 2:45pm ET - REGISTER HERE
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PurchasingPoint Discount Program Webinar 
AJFCA partners with the National Human Services Assembly to provide our members access to the PurchasingPointŪ program, an exclusive discount program for nonprofits that leverages group buying power to get access to significant savings from your everyday vendors. The program is designed to help nonprofits reduce overhead costs by providing access to discounts on a vast range of products and services including, but not limited to: office supplies, shipping, copiers, postage equipment, furniture, cleaning supplies, promotional merchandise, car rental, cell phones, and more.
PurchasingPoint Discount Program WebinarThursday, February 19th, 2pm ET - REGISTER HERE
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Can Transformative Leaders Succeed on a Nonprofit  Board?
Can Transformative Leaders Succeed on a Nonprofit Board? January 25, 2015, Huffington Post, by Eugene Fram
According to Malcolm Gladwell, noted writer and analyst, people who drive transformation share three traits: courage, the ability to reframe problems and a sense of urgency "It is not enough," he continues, "to have ideas-- but (you must have) the discipline to carry them out. One has to tune out the naysayers and the rest of the world." Read the entire article here.
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Nonprofit Governance: The Board's Fiduciary Duty
Under the laws of most states, the fiduciary duties of a nonprofit board and its members can be broken down into three primary duties: the duty of care, the duty of loyalty and the duty of obedience. Read more here. |
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEVELOPMENT
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Creating Your Nonprofit's Message of Impact 
Creating Your Nonprofit's Message of Impact, January 23, 2015, Social Velocity, by Nell Edgington
Nell Edgington so often hears from nonprofit leaders about how difficult it is to convince a donor to give to their organization. They will complain that it seems almost any other cause has an easier time attracting support. But the fact is not that some causes are inherently easier to sell, but rather that some nonprofits are savvier about articulating why someone should give. Continue reading here.
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Personal Face-to-Face Solicitation 
Personal face-to-face solicitation is a natural evolution in good fundraising. This approach works well with individuals as well as some corporations, for both operating/core program support and many capital projects. And yet, personally meeting up and asking for a gift is a new concept for so many nonprofits, no matter their budget size. Read the entire article here. |
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Performance Metrics for Agencies: Ignore at Your Own Peril 
Performance Metrics for Agencies: Ignore at Your Own Peril, Winter 2015, Foothold InSights, by Adrian Allain
Ignoring data and performance metrics will be at an agency's peril. As behavioral healthcare is being dragged into the data arena, and reluctantly so, many agencies have ignored the need to measure outcomes, through data collection and analysis. Read more here.
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VOLUNTEERS & YOUNG ADULTS
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DoSomething Uses Trademark Humor to Say Sorry for Text-Message Error
DoSomething Uses Trademark Humor to Say Sorry for Text-Message Error, January 15, 2015, Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Nicole Wallace
You know that sinking feeling when you accidentally hit "reply all" to an email message? DoSomething.org felt that in spades when it mistakenly sent a text message meant for a group of 4,000 members to its entire list of 2.1-million young people. Read how DoSomething reacted here.
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