AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
Vote for HIAS for Best Nonprofit Video of the Year
HIA's animated video, HIAS: For the Refugee was just announced as a finalist in the annual DoGooder Awards competition.
The DoGooder Video Awards spotlight the best and brightest videos for social good. Hosted with YouTube, the DoGooder Awards attract participants from across the globe and support social causes and organizations making change in the world. HIAS' video is one of only four finalists for Best Nonprofit Video of 2015, selected from more than 120 entries.  DoGooder Award winners are covered in major media and blogs including Fast Company, Mashable and the The Huffington Post. By voting for HIAS: For the Refugee, you will help HIAS and the message of welcome for refugees get noticed by millions of people across the web.
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JFS Seattle's Monthly Newsletter Speaks to the Work of the AJFCA Network
The March issue of Jewish Family Service of Seattle's monthly newsletter, JFS Matters is filled with compelling stories that really speak to the work of the AJFCA network. Read about a day in the life of Liz Coleclough, Director of Project DVORA, a JFS service for people affected by domestic violence; Rachel Kwong, Director of the SAJD Supported Living Program relects on 15 year sof experience working with mental illness and how unwelcoming society can be toward people living with disabilities; and Geriatric Care Manager, Lani Schuman share that oftentimes she is the only person isolated elders may have with them in their final hours.
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JCS Baltimore Featured in CityBiz List
CityBiz List (an online publication geared toward business professionals) posted a two-part "Video Conversation with Barbara Levy Gradet, LCSW, Executive Director of Jewish Community Services of Baltimore."  Part one shares general information about JCS and part 2 focuses on the workforce development efforts. A link to the interview has been posted on the JCS Facebook page. You can also see the videos on the CityBizList website.
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Support Your Network by Joining the Senior Resource Connect Incentive Program!
Already a Friend? Add three more posts to Facebook to become an Ally. Send us a story about utilizing the site to help a client to join the Partner Circle!  SRC supporters will be recognized on the AJFCA conference mobile app, have a special thank you package waiting for them at conference registration, are invited to a special reception at the annual conference (Allies and Partner Circle only), and will be featured in social media and online. Get the details here.
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The Voice and Vision for Stronger Communities
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D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
Each year at the Academy Awards, we root for our favorite films and stars to be recognized as winners. Sometimes we agree with the results, and sometimes not. I try not to get overly obsessed with the contests, but I must admit to expressing my opinion, now and again. And, this year there was one award that just seemed particularly right for highlighting the work that we do and the clients that we serve.
"Son of Saul" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. This is a Hungarian movie about two days in the life of a Soderkommando at the Auschwitz concentration camp. It is a harsh personal story, bringing a subjective perspective to a time and please which is sometimes too easily objectified, for better or worse. It is a difficult subject, certainly not a cinematic fantasy escape. But, it is the message of the Holocaust, person by person, that we must continue to tell.
Our colleagues at the Claims Conference helped to finance this film, as they have done with many others over the years. We who serve the survivors of Nazi terror can appreciate the heightened awareness of their situations that films like "Son of Saul" can raise with the general public. Through the support of the Claims Conference, and others (like the Federal grant highlighted below), our member agencies bring dignity and recognition to Holocaust survivors every day. Go see the movie. Tell your friends and family to go see the movie. And, remember that there are still many who need our support and they, too, each have a story.
Shabbat Shalom
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Project Get Smart 
The issue of get abuse, in which a husband refuses or delays giving a Jewish divorce to his spouse, is one of the unique forms of domestic abuse in our community. Educating the next generation about the issue and normalizing the use of the rabbinically approved pre-nuptial agreement will be key to ending this form of abuse.
JWI is developing an exciting and innovative national educational and public awareness campaign, Project Get Smart, for Orthodox teens.
Please complete this brief survey to help JWI learn about your current programs and your interest in participating as a direct service provider. JWI is seeking strong partners around the country to implement this project over the next two years.
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Announcements of Grantees from JFNA's Center for Advancing Holocaust Survivor Care 
On March 1, The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) proudly announced the distribution of $2.8 million in grants to 23 organizations through its Center for Advancing Holocaust Survivor Care. These grantees will provide innovative person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) care to Holocaust survivors around the U.S. Grants were made possible by a public-private partnership between JFNA and the Federal Government, which selected JFNA to receive an award of up to $12 million over 5 years from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Community Living. In partnership with AJFCA and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, JFNA will provide technical assistance to the 23 grantees and more. To read further about the Center and the 2016 grant recipients, please read JFNA's press release and a Washington Post article on the announcement. Should you have questions regarding this topic, please email Shelley Rood, the Center's Director. |
Update: Dept. of Labor Overtime Regulations 
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) continues to be tight-lipped about the status of the proposed regulations released last summer that would require employers to pay overtime wages to employees making $50,440 or less per year. Reports continue to indicate that DOL is diligently processing over 250,000 comments received and plan to release final regulations this summer with an effective date prior to the end of the calendar year. Learn more here. For more information, contact Liz Leibowitz.
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NEWS and TRENDS in AGENCY PROGRAMMING
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Teens with Disabilities Have the Right to Healthy Relationships 
National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month is a time to encourage healthy relationships and, in the words of President Obama, "reaffirm the basic human right to be free from violence and abuse." For teens with disabilities, that basic right is no different. Thanks to the work of advocates, youth activists, and community educators, the conversation around social norms that can fuel abuse are changing. However, youth with disabilities are too often left out of the movement to end dating violence and programs to support survivors. Learn more here.
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AJFCA MEMBER NEWS & BENEFITS
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Learning the New Narrative 
Lisa Budlow, AJFCA's Chief Development Officer, joined senior professionals from national human services organizations for a training hosted by the National Human Services Assembly. Presented by the Frameworks Institute, the training focused on the development of a new narrative to frame the work of human services agencies with a goal of raising public perception of the role of human services. The new narrative, developed following extensive research, showcases our work as the building blocks of human potential, an investment that pays off in a stronger community and foundation for success for all community members across their life span. AJFCA is excited to announce that Irv Katz, President Emeritus of the National Human Services Assembly, will join us at our conference in San Diego this May to share some of the findings of the research and tools for using the new narrative.
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2016 AJFCA Annual Conference
The 2016 AJFCA Annual Conference Award winners can be viewed here.
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Join AJFCA for a dynamic and informative conference full of networking opportunities and engaging speakers in sunny San Diego.
View the tentative schedule, workshop content and networking lunches here. Discuss trending topics with colleagues at this year's Annual Conference.
Click here to learn more about the 2016 Annual Conference.
Contact Megan with questions. 
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JFCS Phoenix Names Catalina Health Center After the Late Michael R. Zent 
In honor of the late CEO and his legacy of integrated healthcare innovation, the Governance Board and Executive Team at Jewish Family and Children's Service of Phoenix are pleased to announce the naming of the new state-of-the-art Catalina Health Center as The Michael R. Zent Healthcare Center. Arizona Public Service awarded a $250,000 lead gift to JFCS Phoenix. The fund went toward the purchase and build-out of JFCS' Catalina Health Center, a new 24,000 square foot integrated primary medical and behavioral health clinic located in the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix. The new Catalina Health Center will serve 8,500 children, adolescents, and adults.
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Your Worst Fundraising Enemy 
It's likely your nonprofit has an enemy lurking in its midst. An insidious evildoer that is working an inside job. This enemy wastes your time, limits your fundraising potential, and is probably causing you to lose donors. Sounds pretty scary, right? Well, it is. It's your spreadsheet. Continue reading here. |
How Nonprofits Can Leverage Facebook Reactions
Facebook's new Reactions feature can help nonprofits decipher how donors and other individuals on social media perceive their posts. Nonprofit leaders can make the most of the new feature by posting emotionally diverse content, asking readers for their feelings about various topics and by carefully examining how the community reacts to posts. Read the entire article here. |
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