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Jewish Community News
News: June 2004
Federation board votes for bold restructuring
Jewish Community News, the Council of Jewish Education and the Jewish Community Relations Council will no longer be committees of Federation
By Cecily Ruttenberg
In an effort to return to its core mission of raising money for local and overseas Jewish communities, the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose Board of Directors voted on Tuesday, May 18, to radically restructure the Federation by relinquishing control of three programs — the Jewish Community News (JCN), the Council on Jewish Education (CJE) and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
In approving the plan, board members emphasized that Federation is seeking the community’s help to transition JCN, CJE, and JCRC into independent agencies. Federation is also working with community partners to incorporate these functions.
The goal is for the restructuring plan to become effective July 2004. “This plan was one that we have struggled with for a number of months,” said Jewish Federation President Brett Borah. “It is difficult to change ways in which we have been operating, but maintaining the status quo will not allow us to move forward.”
By releasing these programs, the Federation will reallocate $232,000 — money that it will use to strengthen the community’s fundraising efforts and to launch a young adults division with the goal of reaching out and bringing in the next generation of donors.
The potential to reach a large population of young, under-affiliated Silicon Valley Jews is exciting. An influx of more people would provide new energy and activity with the potential to raise more dollars for local beneficiary agencies.
“If we do not do outreach into the broader community, we’re not going to expand the campaign,” said Federation Executive Director Brian David Goldberg. “Our existing donors are stretched to the limit. They have given and given and given. We must find new donors and I believe this new plan is the most effective way to do so.”
Alongside the need to grow its annual campaign, the Federation is working steadfastly to complete the Levy Family Campus, a $24 million project that will house four local agencies: the JCC, Yavneh Day School, Jewish Family Service and the Federation. The campus, planned for completion in Summer 2005, is expected to act as an important draw, attracting the unaffiliated and under-affiliated Jewish community to a new host of programming, activities and other services.
The restructuring vote passed 25 to 2 at the May 18 meeting
held at Temple Emanu-El. While the board acknowledged the difficulty of
the decision, they agreed that Federation is stretched in too many directions
and must refocus on its core mission of raising and allocating funds.
“This community has never had sufficient focus on campaign,”
said Executive Committee Board Member Cheryl Zatkin-Steres. “Only
now will we get ourselves in the direction we need to be going. If we
build the right kind of foundation, we can do the right kind of programming.”
“We are confident that with this plan we will engage the community
in our efforts to grow our annual campaign and to complete the building
of a beautiful new Jewish campus for our community,” added Borah.
Jewish Community News
The Federation has proposed several plans to keep the South Bay Jewish community connected.
Due to a strong interest expressed by many people in the community (in maintaining an independent, local Jewish paper) the Federation is looking into outsourcing the JCN to a for-profit publishing company that would produce the paper in exchange for its advertising revenue.
J, formerly the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, has already agreed to provide more South Bay news in its publication. Under an agreement, Federation will receive a portion of the subscription proceeds from residents who subscribe to the J through the Federation (see back page ad). There also remains the possibility that an individual or organization might express interest over the coming months in taking over the newspaper altogether.
In-house, the Federation intends to grow its website and e-newsletter, promoting these tools as an important communication device for Jewish Silicon Valley. The website will provide up-to-date news and a comprehensive guide of local Jewish classes, activities, worship and speakers. The e-newsletter will deliver a concise, weekly update of happenings in the Federation and greater Jewish community.
Council on Jewish Education
Ideally, the Council on Jewish Education will be able to continue in its same capacity if new funding can be found. Federation will investigate funding options, but the community is also being challenged to assist in this goal.
Federation is already working with the San Francisco Bureau of Jewish Education to offer a South Bay consultant who would serve as a liaison with educators and provide in-service trainings.
The Principal’s Council, which coordinates meetings between South Bay Jewish principals, will be restructured to run without a paid Federation staff person, similar to the way the Council of Agency Executives and Rabbis (CAER) functions.
Teen services will once again be run through the JCC, at its new teen center that will exist inside the soon-to-be completed Levy Family Campus. Kehillah Jewish High School is already providing teen dances, gatherings and activities and is posed to do more to bring together Jewish teens from throughout the Silicon Valley.
JCRC
Individuals in the community have already expressed an interest in turning JCRC into a volunteer organization.
Federation remains committed to providing JCRC with logistical support, meeting space and publicity via its website and e-newsletter. Federation will continue to provide planning, funding and logistics of important community-wide events including Yom HaShoah, Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israeli Cultural Day and elected official caucuses. AIPAC and the ADL have been approached to bolster our volunteer efforts and will continue to be excellent resources.
The Federation president and executive director will serve as Federation spokespeople at public events and in response to incidents in the community. In addition, they will work to foster stronger relationships and awareness with the greater Silicon Valley Jewish and non-Jewish community.
The exact framework of the JCN, CJE and JCRC will be worked out over the next month through the Federation, with the assistance of individuals or organizations in the community. If you are interested in assisting in the transition of the JCN, CJE or JCRC, please contact Execu-tive Director Brian David Goldberg at bgoldberg@jvalley.org.
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