Marketing, fund development, and volunteer engagement - the nuts and bolts of good business practice - are increasingly matters of interest for thriving synagogues. Pro bono consultants coordinated through the Synagogue Leadership Development Project are helping New York-area congregations develop the savvy organizational skills they need.
In the past year, the project matched consultants with 12 Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, and Reconstructionist synagogues in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
"The project offers synagogues the building blocks for leadership development, management skills, and infrastructure building," says Gayle Bloom, project manager of the Synagogue Leadership Development Program, part of SYNERGY: UJA Federation of New York and Synagogues Together. "By helping synagogues develop capacity in these three areas, we help to create and sustain vibrant and caring Jewish communities."
Volunteer Engagement
For the Pelham Jewish Center, a 130-member Conservative congregation in Westchester, the project helped the synagogue begin to change its volunteer culture.
"We wanted to change from having one member handling a project such as social action, adult education, or fundraising to having a committee and more members involved with different projects," says Hildy Martin, executive vice president at the synagogue. "We put volunteer engagement at the forefront, saying this is something the board feels will help the synagogue and congregation members."
"We also came up with a value statement that helped clarify our vision," notes the synagogue's rabbi, David Schuck. "Everyone should give to the community, and not just financially. One hundred percent of the congregation should make a commitment to give some time, such as coming to the synagogue to help package mishloach manot bags for Purim."
Rabbi Schuck says even "small" acts have great potential to bring about change.
"This small act can lead to involvement on a committee, so there are new people coming to the table with new ideas," he adds. "For people who don't have the time to sit on a committee, they can do something discrete. And the feeling that people get from that is very positive."
Tools to Sustain Synagogues
Consultant Linda Rich is an executive coach and specialist in leadership development. Like other consultants in the project, she is a volunteer, and she met for six months with an action team from the synagogue. The team included long-term and newer members and represented young families, empty nesters, active volunteers, and people who were less active.
"I'm committed to volunteerism and always volunteering in one way or another," Rich says about why she offered pro bono services. "I'm also committed to building strong Jewish communities."
Bloom notes that Rich and consultants at the other synagogues served as guides who could recommend tools and processes for the congregations. She adds that congregants were to implement the techniques they learned and continue to use these skills on their own as a way to sustain their synagogues.
At Huntington Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue on Long Island, the action team and their consultant looked at new approaches for raising funds, including parlor meetings to learn about congregants' needs and information about the synagogue. The meetings were held before the start of the Kol Nidre Appeal campaign and contributed to the most successful Kol Nidre Appeal the synagogue has ever undertaken.
Projects at other synagogues include:
• creating a strategic marketing plan to reach current and new congregants
• developing a database of volunteers' areas of interest
• using surveys congregation-wide to learn the needs and interests of congregants.
The Synagogue Leadership Development Project formed a new cohort of eight synagogues for pro bono consultation in February. To learn how a synagogue can be involved in the program or find out how you can volunteer your consulting expertise in marketing, fund development, or volunteer engagement, contact Gayle Bloom at 1.212.584.3346 or .