2015 AJFCA Annual Conference
AJFCA's 2015
Annual Conference is 9 days away.
Download the Annual Conference Mobile App here. Apple users will need their ID and password. Those who downloaded the app last year can select the 2015 app from the main menu. Click here for more information about the 5 tracks and plenary guest speakers. View a s chedule with descriptions of each session, and pre-and pos- conference events here. WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN MIAMI!
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Senior Resource Connect - AJFCA's New Older Adult Services Website  AJFCA is gearing up to launch our new older adult services website, Senior Resource Connect. The website aims to leverage the expertise of Jewish family services agencies assisting older adults in the community, increase referrals to member agency programs, streamline referrals between agencies, and act as an information hub on all matters of senior services.
Has your agency gotten involved? Don't miss the chance to be listed as a member on this new platform. Make sure we have your information and contribute your resources for older adults and their caregivers to the site by emailing Liz.
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Please add and/or update AJFCA's logo on your agency website.
Contact Megan with questions.
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Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
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D'Var TorahLee I. Sherman
As I sit here today (Thursday), thinking about Israel's celebration of sixty-seven years of statehood on this Yom Ha'Atzmaut, one song keeps playing in my head - Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Jerusalem of Gold. My association with Israel through that song goes back many years before I ever set foot in the land itself. I was fourteen years old in the summer of 1967 and late in the summer I went to a week long United Synagogue Youth (USY) camp held at Camp Judaea outside Hendersonville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm sure many of you have attended similar camps.  Earlier that summer, in June, Israel had successfully defended herself in the Six Days War. Just before the war, at the Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration of the 19th year of statehood, at the Israel Song Festival, "Jerusalem of Gold" was first performed. Naomi Shemer had written the song in one evening and it was an immediate sensation. Shemer added a third stanza just after the festival and then a fourth after the liberation of Jerusalem. When the first paratroopers reached the Kotel on June 7, 1967, after individual prayer, it was "Jerusalem of Gold" that they loudly sung as a group. In August of 1967 at the USY camp, a couple of our counselors taught us "Jerusalem of Gold." They explained the brief history of the song and it became our anthem for the rest of the camp session. I had never been to Israel, but the image of the country was inscribed on my mind through the lyrics of this song. Years later, when I first glimpsed the walls of the Old City, I could not get "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" out of my head. It has been the same each time I have visited Jerusalem. It is the perfect musical accompaniment to such a remarkable and resilient place. Today, as we celebrate the accomplishments of sixty-seven years and the challenges and opportunities which are ahead, I still get chills as Naomi Shemer's song plays in my head. It is a song of what has been lost and of great possibility, a song that speaks to us as those that provide care for so many, and as friends of Israel. Shabbat Shalom.
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May is Older Americans Month 
May is Older Americans Month, and the Administration for Community Living is recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA) with the theme Get into the Act! Use this opportunity to educate your community, the media, and your elected officials about how the OAA helps seniors stay independent. Congress is in recess May 23-30-a great time to invite your lawmakers to see the OAA in action at your organization. Obtain resources and learn more here. |
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AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
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Managing Cash Flow: A Case Where Nonprofits Have an Advantage Over For-Profits 
All organizations face two major financial challenges: creating a BUDGET that ensures that expected income is greater than anticipated expenses and managing CASH FLOW to ensure that there is always enough money in-hand to pay for said costs. Read more here. |
Manners and the Nonprofit Org 
Your mission statement says you do good things: you raise funds for wonderful causes and you have many happy members - sounds like a lot of us. But wait! There's more! You grow, and need a new employee, or two. You really grow, and raise funds for lovely office space, or a building. Two employees become four; four become ten, or 30, or 40. You add a Human Resources department. And now, there's even more: you advertise for the next worker or workers. You're swamped! But it is good swamped, because resumes come pouring in. Life is good - but what about those applicants? Read more here. |
AJFCA Seeking to Identify VISTA Alumnus Employed in Member Agencies 
Have you or anyone in your agency served as an Americorps VISTA member? AJFCA would like to know! VISTA has been around for 50 years now, so we are hoping we'll be able to identify a few alumni amongst our ranks. Please contact Jennie Gates Beckman for more information. |
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Save the Date - Domestic Violence Professionals Meeting
Domestic Violence Professionals Meeting
August 9th & 10th
Chicago, IL
Join AJFCA member agency domestic violence professionals as we gather to share best practices. AJFCA is thrilled to announce the first ever Domestic Violence Professionals Meeting beginning Sunday, August 9th with a casual networking get together. Programming will take place Monday, August 10th and include lunch. Please stay tuned for details (including hotel, cost and rfp).
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Nonprofit Boards Prepare -- The Millennial Workforce Is Coming! 
More millennials seek nonprofit employment than other generations, and they will comprise about 75% of the U.S. workforce by 2025, according to recent reports. Nonprofit boards can prepare for this shift by understanding that millennials prioritize a work-life balance and have a more flexible concept of the working environment. Continue reading here. |
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEVELOPMENT
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A Legend's Fundraising Manuscript Rises From the Dust, and Its Lessons Are Still Relevant 
Harold J. Seymour, nicknamed Si, had published Designs for Fundraising in 1966, a book still highly regarded in the development profession, and was advising Princeton University on a campaign that exceeded its goal and raised $53 million - an astronomical sum at the time. Read the entire article here. |
What Is Social Fundraising Anyway? 
Social fundraising is empowering your supporter base to fundraise on your behalf. Social fundraising is also known as peer-to-peer fundraising, P2P, personal fundraising, or crowdfunding. Learn more here. |
5 Secrets to Volunteer Recruitment Success "How do I recruit and retain volunteers?"Are you asking yourself this very question? You're not alone. This webinar will make you rethink your current program and provide actionable ideas to im  prove your volunteer recruitment and retention strategy. You will learn to better understand:
- Your volunteer needs-what are they?
- Where you should be investing your dollars
- What your onboarding and training programs should include
- How to establish volunteer leaders
- How to keep your volunteers coming back
5 Secrets to Volunteer Recruitment Success
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