DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
During the month of October AJFCA will share pieces pertaining to Domestic Violence AwarenessMonth. Click here to read the what our agencies are sharing with their communities as they raise awareness surrounding Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 
If your agency has a piece to share with the network please email Megan.
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Click here to access Senior Resource Connect and stay current on the latest trends in older adult services.
AJFCA launched our new older adult services website, Senior Resource Connect this summer. 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.
Share this great news with your community.
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Meyerhoff Early Career Professional Fellows
AJFCA was awarded a 3-year grant to form the Meyerhoff Early Career Professional Fellowship. For this inaugural year, AJFCA has identified 10 early career professionals in our member agencies who have exhibited strong leadership potential and will benefit from leadership development. The Meyerhoff Fellowship will provide young professionals the opportunity to build both their own skill sets and a strong connection between the professionals and the larger sector. Fellows will take part in skill building webinars, mentoring, and attendance at AJFCA's annual conference for a more intensive experience. The selected fellows are:
Adam Halpern, Assistant Director, Aging in Place, JFS Seattle, WA
Carly Sonenshine, PAL Program Manager & Clinician (LCSW), JFCS Atlanta, GA
Hileia Seeger, Director- Community Support Services, Senior Services, JSSA Rockville, MD Kristina Jalazo, Elder & Disabled Services Program Director, Gulf Coast JFCS Clearwater, FLMelissa Kretchmer, Senior Service Social Worker, JFCS Greater Philadelphia, PA Micah Buck-Yael, Rabbi/Community Chaplain, JFCS St Louis, MO Natalie Kahn, Mentor Connection Program Coordinator, JFS Metropolitan Detroit, MI Rebecca Rice, Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist, JFCS East Bay, CA Taly Friedman, Director of Volunteer Engagement, JFS Greater Kansas City Todd Sandler, Development Associate, JFCS Minneapolis, MNClick here for photos and bios of the fellows.
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AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
A Jewish Community Briefing on the Global Refugee Crisis
Jewish Family & Community Services of East Bay will be holding a Jewish community briefing on the global refugee crisis on Sunday, November 15th. Guest speakers include: Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Temple Sinai; Mark Hetfield, President & CEO, HIAS; Randa Alsafi, JFCS East Bay Resettlement Case Manager, Syrian immigrant;
Subhi Nahas, Syrian refugee, resettled by JFCS East Bay, and Systems Administrator, ORAM; and Avi Rose, Executive Director, JFCS East Bay. The briefing will be cosponsored by many local Jewish nonprofits, synagogues and schools.
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Verified Volunteers Benchmarking Report Campaign Assets
 Verified Volunteer's recent survey of more than 350 volunteer managers, executive directors, and other volunteer program professionals across the U.S. asked questions on volunteer background screening practices, processes, and expectations for 2016.
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The Voice and Vision for Stronger Communities
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D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
Many of us were taught that the best way to improve our writing is to spend the time to re-write and edit carefully. Working from inspiration to get the creative juices flowing is fine, but the end product requires a discerning "red pen" to best tell your story or effectively prove your thesis. As good as the final product may be, those who study literature revel in discovering the author's early drafts to discover and dissect the writing process. Even with an in depth study of the process, at times we are left to only wonder why certain changes were made while other texts were left alone.
If you believe that Torah is God's word, then there need be no conversation of the presence or lack of an editing process. Words or passages of Torah have significance and meaning, they are there for a purpose. But, this week's parashah, Vayera, sometimes makes me wonder. As we continue the story of Abraham and his family, there are many rich stories, from his entertaining of the strangers in his tent, to Isaac's miracle birth, to the Akeda - all of which help to propel the narrative forward and inform our values and traditions. The story of Lot and his family in Sodom are more troubling. If Lot is a righteous person, how can he offer his virgin daughters to the townspeople in place of his visitors? What is it about Lot's wife that cause her to look back and turn to a pillar of salt? And, the story of Lot's incest with his daughters appears to be without redeeming features, as all parties share in the responsibility for these sins. Maybe a better editor could have moved the story along quicker by eliminating these diversions.
We don't get an editor in life, either. When we face troubling passages, we need to work through them, learn from them, and change our behavior accordingly. Torah is a guide to living, not just a good story. So, we study all the passages, including those that make us uneasy, and we trust that this process will improve our lives and our relationships with others.
Shabbat Shalom.
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2015 AJFCA Advocacy Day
On Tuesday, October 27th, AJFCA brought together professional and lay leaders from across the country for the 2015 AJFCA Advocacy Day in Washington, DC. The day started with policy briefings from JFNA, MAZON, and HIAS, followed by a meeting with White House officials from the Offices of Public Engagement and Management and Budget, as well as the Domestic Policy Council and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Attendees enjoyed lunch in the U.S. Capitol,
where they met with Members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Visits to Members' offices were held throughout the afternoon so our agencies could discuss policies impacting their work. Attendees advocated for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, protecting social services from sequestration by passing a long-term budget deal, and protecting Social Security Disability Insurance. With news of the proposed budget deal on the table just the previous night, it was an exciting time to speak with Administration policy experts and Members of Congress about the policies that have impact on the AJFCA network. Read the AJFCA policy briefings here and view AJFCA's Facebook page to see pictures from Advocacy Day. |
Video: Mastering Longevity 
National Council On Aging (NCOA) has partnered with ITN Productions on a news style program exploring innovative ideas to help people navigate the challenges of aging. Mastering Longevity is a combination of interviews, news items, and sponsored profiles. Watch the video here.
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TRENDS in AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
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Five Questions Every CEO Should Ask 
There are five key questions that every leader should consistently ask themselves to improve their decision-making and their company's strategic direction, writes John Manning. These questions focus on hiring, goals, accountability and how the organization measures up to the competition. Continue reading here.
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2016 AJFCA Annual Conference  AJFCA's Annual Conference Committee met on on Monday in Washington, DC to discuss the more than 45 workshop sessions submitted for the 2016 Annual Conference. Save the date and join us for the:
2016 AJFCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
San Diego, CA
May 15-17, 2016
Click here to learn more (including link to book hotel room).
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2015 Annual Conference Webinar: Data Informed Practice: Making the Shift for Improved Agency Impact
In the last decade, the landscape of human service delivery has changed dramatically and funders have pushed organizations to improve the way they evaluate their work. Non-profits are asking themselves questions like "What difference did our programs make in the lives of our clients?" and "How much better off are clients after participating in our programs?" Organizations struggle between the need to evaluate the impact of their work and recognizing that the work is done by human beings for human beings and all of the unknown accom  panies those factors. As a result, answering these questions is no small feat. Representatives from JFS Detroit and JF&CS Boston will talk about their agencies' efforts and lessons learned from measuring impact in the past few years. The 2015 AJFCA Annual Conference presentation will include suggestions for choosing evaluation tools to demonstrate your impact; improving the quality of your data; monitoring basic outputs to ensure fidelity to your program model; analyzing and interpreting your data; and shifting the culture of your agency to become more focused on outcomes. This presentation will offer valuable information on how to incorporate data into your practice and get started down the path toward demonstrating impact. Presenters
- Presenter Noah Schectman Manager of Data Strategy and Database Consulting, JFCS Greater Boston
- Presenter Yuliya Gaydayenko Senior Director of Older Adult Services, JFS Metropolitan Detroit
- Presenter Kirsten Mack Director of Counseling Services, JFS Metropolitan Detroit
Data Informed Practice: Making the Shift for Improved Agency Impact
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AJFCA Member Benefit: ALCA Membership Discounts
AJFCA is proud to support the work of Aging Life Care Association (formerly NAPGCM), which works to bring together professionals working to support older adults and caregivers through a holistic, client-centered approach. Kaaren Boothroyd, ALCA CEO, and her team recently shared information about their association and this new benefit to AJFCA members on the webinar "Aging Life Care: Why you? Why now?". Access a recording of the webinar here and download the webinar slides here to learn more about ALCA.  Professionals from AJFCA member agencies with at least one full dues-paying ALCA member at the Advanced Professional or Professional level are eligible for a 50% discount on new membership for 2016. Applications and supported documents must be submitted to ALCA by November 13th. Download the membership application here and email Liz with questions. |
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Are You Conducting a Written Assessment of Your CEO's Performance? 
It's one of the board's primary governance responsibilities and is critical to the success of the chief executive and to the organization as a whole. BoardSource offers a widely respected Assessment of the Chief Executive (ACE) tool that can be customized. Click here to view the tools. Visit AJFCA's Resource Library for examples of CEO assessments.
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Ditching the Millennial Distinction and Seeing  Networked Models as the Future
NPQ has taken an ongoing look at how millennials are reshaping charity and at the various schools of thought for targeting this demographic. Two recent articles provide another opportunity to look deeper at millennial philanthropy to determine whether all nonprofits should be developing strategies for this specific demographic. Read the entire article here. |
Donor Segmentation 101 
As fundraisers, we think in segments all the time Donors, nondonors, LYBUNTs, SYBUNTs, volunteer leaders, prospects, suspects, and so on. How often are we "grouping" our audiences like this? Segmenting helps you meet your donors where they are so you can tailor your messaging, ask amounts, and communication strategies to increase their interest in and support of your organization. There are many ways to segment. Even if your bandwidth is limited, you still want to group your donor lists in some way to help you prioritize your attention. Regardless of your resources, the right level of segmentation isn't overly complicated and maximizes your ROI. Learn more here. |
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VOLUNTEERS & YOUNG ADULT ENGAGEMENT
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International Volunteer Managers Day 
Universally, people recognize the contribution of volunteers - in sport, health, emergency services, faith communities and the environmental lobby ...in fact volunteers are involved in just about every aspect of service delivery in all walks of life. However, volunteering does not succeed in a vacuum. That is why we celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day every year on November 5th. It is important to let those professionals know that the spirit of volunteerism is enhanced and enabled by them - and to thank them. |
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