This Milwaukee Jewish community has done some very smart things. I have been meeting with my colleagues at Jewish federations from the around the country, and from what they have told me, we are way ahead of the curve.
Sometimes at the Federation, we get so engrossed in our transition that we often forget to acknowledge or pay attention to the remarkable advances we have been able to make.
We stack up very well in comparison to how our peers are doing, and we should be proud of that.
The Reimagining process enabled us to listen to the Jewish community in the greater Milwaukee area. After learning from the demographic study that there are likely more Jews in the larger community than we thought, we needed to do some outreach and see how we can engage the larger catchment and better meet their needs.
In addition to regularly reporting what we were and are learning from the process, we recently held five community conversations where we had the opportunity to share what we have been doing and to continue to listen to people.
In Waukesha, we heard that the vibrant Jewish community there still feels a bit isolated from the Milwaukee-centric programming. In other meetings, we learned that we are reaching a broader base of people and that our social media outreach has been effective.
Other Jewish communities around the country are now planning such processes and have looked to how we did ours as a model.
I learned from my colleagues that many, if not most, of their campaigns are down. While our campaign was flat this year, it was fabulous how many people stepped up and helped move it forward, while the Milwaukee Jewish Federation was going through a huge transition.
I learned that the relationship between the Jewish professionals and our volunteer leaders is solid and we share a respect for our respective roles in the community. Other communities are envious of our successful relationship-building in the Federation and in the dynamic agencies we fund.
Our allocation process is exemplary. We dependably steward the money the community entrusts to us with integrity and consistency, so agencies know that we are being fair and consistent with our policies and our fiscal responsibilities.
Many communities have admired our process and how we ensure we truly reflect the community needs and the community’s investments.
Many communities are seeking to reposition themselves to better tell the story of what is the unique role of their federations. We are way ahead on that front.
Our “Hineni – I am here” campaign, as you have seen in several Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle issues, is our attempt to educate the community at large about our diverse agencies and to brag about what excellent agencies exist in our community. While other Federations are still learning, we already understand that highlighting our agencies is the best way to promote our own work.
We miss former Jewish Community Foundation director Bert Bilsky and chief operations officer Sheryl Primakow, who recently left our staff. As much as we miss their competence and wonderful work, I am happy to report that we are in good hands with our capable staff.
Bert has groomed Caren Goldberg for 14 years to step into his large shoes, and Sheryl’s responsibilities have been transitioned to other staff members who have the skills required to continue her good work.
Our staff said “hineni,” I am here to help, and each accepted enhanced roles and responsibilities to ensure the MJF continues to grow and meet our community’s needs, all of which is consistent with what we heard at Reimagining.
We are streamlining the campaign. We are ever improving our communications. We are enhancing our fiscal stewardship. We are growing the foundation while helping our agencies build their own endowments.
We are reaching new people through the JCRC’s Hours Against Hate campaign. We stand ready to serve as the convener and organizer for Israel advocacy and community education.
All of this is good news. So as part of that change, as your new CEO, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your input and output.
We all get to live in this exciting Jewish community, which enhances our lives from cradle to grave. We are all very fortunate. I know I am.
So shanah tovah — may it be a sweet and prosperous and peaceful year for all.
Hannah Rosenthal is president and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
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