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Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on January 10th, 2013
Though my time as president is over, there’s still lots of work left.
- Hire an operations manager, to lighten the burden on our over-taxed volunteers.
- Find people for the Spring Team and the HHD Team.
- Finish defining what we’ll do and what we’ll stop doing.
- Starting to change the expectations around dues and volunteering.
- Resolving the facilities situation.
I’m still involved in this, though not nearly as intensely.
What’s not included in what we were working on when Belinda took office? Bob Zimmerman made a comment to a blog posting:
How will these changes make Keddem warmer, more welcoming and engaging, stimulating and rewarding, a place people will eagerly put their precious limited time, energy and money into?
Regardless of Keddem’s need to improve in these areas, these areas have not been a specific focus of the work the Task Force, the Board, and I have been doing to this point.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on December 13th, 2012
Bob Zimmerman asked a good question in his recent comment on Congregational functions. In addition to the five seasonal teams (fall, winter, spring, summer, and HHD), there are a number of support functions that most or all teams will need. These include:
- Communications Team: Outlook editor, WebRebs, List Mayvens, DB Reb, press release writer, and publicity placement contacts. The secretary chairs this team.
- Speakers Team: the people who find BLL speakers, a Shabbaton speaker, and who recruit Yom Kippur afternoon workshop speakers.
- Tachlis (Nuts and Bolts) Team: fund development and ad hoc fund raising, dues proposals (made to the Leadership Team), facilities liaison, rabbinic liaison. The treasurer chairs this team.
When there are special needs for attention, ad hoc teams, task forces, committees, etc. can be created. For example, the Nominating Committee becomes an ad hoc team (led by the immediate past president, as we do now). If we have a specific ritual issue requiring attention, the Leadership Team can create an ad hoc team to review that are and make a recommendation. If one of our sifrei Torah needs repairs, we recruit an small group to spearhead that.
If additional support teams are really needed, we should consider that. If, for example, there are so many ritual issues issues that we need something more like a standing ritual committee, we might reexamine why so many ritual issues are arising, and we might add a team to review ritual issues on an on-going basis.
The new model certainly will require a change in mindset. Among the goals is to allow people to volunteer for a fixed period of time and then move on, to be engaged in Congregational operations and governance without having to consider a long-term commitment.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on December 12th, 2012
When the Governance Structure Task Force presented our work, we included co-presidents on the Values-based Model, but not in the Seasonal Model. There’s nothing that says we shouldn’t consider co-presidents in the Seasonal Model, too.
Does having co-presidents make the job easier, or more complicated, or both? How do the duties get divided: should there be suggestions as we develop the role descriptions and guidelines, or should it be up to the co-presidents themselves to work it out? Is there any rotation (co-pres A is elected in odd years, co-pres B and the rest of the Leadership Team are elected in even years) to increase continuity, or does this drive the Congregation and the any Nominating Committee crazy, with an annual election?
Nope: no firm answers yet. Questions, ideas, but no firm answers—yet.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on December 11th, 2012
A number of people have asked about the role (the “job description”) of the Team Lead. Here are some ideas.
The Seasonal Team Lead does just that: leads the seasonal team. He or she communicates its results and needs to the Leadership Team, the support teams, other seasonal teams as needed, the staff as needed, and, when appropriate, the Congregation’s members. The Seasonal Team Lead is not responsible for staffing his or her team: that is the Leadership Team’s responsibility, though the Team Lead is encouraged to assist.
In working with the Congregation’s staff, the Team Lead, or anyone else on the team, explains the operational needs of the team regarding any specific event, other than regular events such as Torah study, Shabbat services, and BLL. (When a team member other than the Team Lead works with staff, it’s important to ensure the staff gets clear direction: having two people asking for conflicting things regarding an event will be confusing!)
As an example, let’s assume the Seasonal Team wants special publicity for a particular BLL speaker, beyond the normal BLL publicity. The Team Lead can, and should, request any help from the Publicity Contacts, perhaps providing a list of desired additional publications. A member of the Seasonal Team might send a message to the executive directors or newsletter editors of the other local congregations if no one on the Communications Team has contacts. All of this should be flexible when, for example, someone on the seasonal team is good friends with the newsletter editor at another congregation!
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on December 5th, 2012
Some people have asked me various what-if questions. Four of the most common:
- What if a seasonal team doesn’t want to hold a given event (from the list in my previous post)?
- What if we can’t find a Team Lead for a particular seasonal team?
- What if we can’t find a new president?
- What if we try this and it fails?
My thoughts on answers (with thanks to my fellow Board member Jack Asher, who helped me think some of this through more thoroughly).
- Seasonal teams own their events. If they can’t get an event’s logistics addressed in a timely manner (i.e., soon enough before the event: for example, a month prior), we cancel the event. If a team doesn’t want to hold an event, they cancel the event (or never get it on the schedule). The lists of potential events in my previous post are brainstorming and thought fodder. We have fallen frequently into the trap of running around like crazy to avoid canceling an event that “someone” thought we “should” do, even though that someone wasn’t involved in the event planning.
- No team lead, or no team for a season? Couple of thoughts. If there’s no team, we cancel all the events for that season: Shabbat services, BLL, parties, holidays, everything. There’s one big, important exception to this: High Holy Days. HHD is strategic to Keddem. If it looks like we can’t staff the HHD team, the Board needs to be concerned, and needs to get involved, and maybe needs to bring this to the entire membership. If there’s no one willing to serve as team lead, we give the team options. Perhaps each of three team members will take a month of the season as team lead; perhaps they’ll rotate leadership by event. Perhaps they disband, and we cancel the events for that season.
- No new president? We keep looking. If we’re completely unable to find someone, well, that becomes the next situation.
- What if we try and fail? A wise green sage once said, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” I think that’s our current situation. (Using a business metaphor instead of a sci-fi philosophical one: I think we have no Plan B. In some sense, this is Plan B, and Plan A’s been what we’ve done for the past nearly 20 years.) If we give this everything we have, and we fail, we disband. If we reach this point before March, maybe we dissolve very shortly after our 20th Anniversary celebration. (“20th Anniversary celebration,” I hear you ask? Yup. In the works: expect more on that in the next several weeks—at least a recommendation to save the date.)
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on December 4th, 2012
One of the most important things to do over the next few weeks is to find people to lead the five seasonal teams. Each seasonal team will have, roughly, 3-5 people on it, including the team lead. The people on the seasonal teams don’t do everything, but they are responsible for everything getting done or definitively cancelled with reasonable notice.
The job of the seasonal lead is to coordinate the work of the team, and to communicate the team’s needs and plans with the Outlook editor (and other similar “support” volunteers), Keddem’s staff, the Board, and the members. It’s also the seasonal lead’s job to let people know when a scheduled event is on the verge of being cancelled (and when it is, in fact, cancelled).
The five seasons, and the events on which they focus, are:
- Spring: Purim party, Pesach services and seder, Yom haShoah, Yom haZikaron, and Yom haAtzma’ut (the last three are normally community-wide events).
- Summer: Shavuot* (coordinating with the community Tikkun Leyl Shavuot), Keddem annual meeting an elections, annual picnic, HHD preparatory study sessions (working with the HHD Team).
- HHD: All aspects of the High Holy Days per se, including facilities, services, logistics, leadership, and execution for Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur services, Tashlich walk, and the Yom Kippur afternoon study workshops.
- Fall: Congregational break fast following Yom Kippur, Sukkot (including building or finding a sukkah to use), Dinner under the Stars, Simchat Torah.
- Winter: Chanukah party, December 25th lecture, participation in and publicizing of the Feast of Jewish Learning (community event), Tu b’Shevat.
Each of the seasonal teams is also responsible for ensure that the logistics for the regular Keddem events—BLL, Torah study, Shabbat services—are handled. My current thinking is that the seasonal teams get assistance from a small group of support teams (e.g., Outlook editor, BLL speaker coordinator). I’ll have more thoughts on the support teams in a future blog.
Are you passionate about Purim, high on the High Holy Days, love to feast on Jewish learning and latkes? Are you a builder, or a budding playwright, or someone who loves trees and flowers and plants, or someone who yearns to share a casual picnic in the park with friends? Volunteer! If you’re interested in leading a seasonal team, please let the Board and me know!
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* Thanks, Elaine, for noting the initial unintended omission of Shavuot. Note that it’s unclear whether this “should” go with the Spring Team or Summer Team: Summer has fewer events, but it’s more of a spring holiday.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on November 27th, 2012
Some members have asked me some questions about the near-term future, things like the timing for a new president to take office and how we’ll continue to involve the members and what we’ll do about operations. A few thoughts, with, I expect more to come. First, though, a preamble.
My term expires on December 31. What the new president and the Board do will be up to them. But, I am working, with the Board, to lay some groundwork to provide at least a general direction and slightly smoother ground roads ahead.
Which governance model are we adopting? The Board agreed to adopt a seasonal governance model. I’m working with some members of the Board to hammer out the details of that model. Currently, this looks like the following, roughly:
- A leadership team (aka the Board of Directors). The exact size and composition of the leadership team will be determined.
- Five seasonal teams: fall, winter, spring, summer, and High Holy Days. Each team will own all operational aspects and most of the decisions around the events occurring during their respective season. Stay tuned here for more on the seasonal allocation of celebrations and events.
- A few support teams that cross seasons: for example, the Outlook editor and the BLL speaker coordinator.
What’s the plan with the Board? The current Board stays on, pending any changes in its size or constitution. We’re near the minimum Board size allowed by our bylaws, so any big change would require an amendment. (The bylaws addressed conditions from about a decade ago. Those conditions have changed.)
When will the new president take office? January 1st, unless he or she and the Board want that to happen sooner. I hope to have a candidate for the December Board meeting, to avoid having to call a special meeting of the Board to vote on a new president. At the last meeting, the Board asked me to work on finding a candidate for my successor. The goal: at the December Board meeting, the Board will vote to approve that recommendation (per our bylaws). Then, at a meeting of the members in January or February, the members will be asked to ratify the selection (not required by the bylaws, but thought to be a good idea by the Board, and I concur).
How will the congregation be involved in the future? Further congregational engagement will take the form of comments to blog posts, responses to surveys, and what I hope will be some time for open discussion at a meeting in January or February. Again, once I leave office, it will be up to my successor and the Board as to how to proceed.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on November 25th, 2012
We spoke, at the November meeting, of understanding where we are, and how we got here, through data, through reviewing reasons why people have left and why our numbers have fallen. Unfortunately, we do not have most of the concrete data that could provide quantitative analyses of the past few years’ departures, much less so the past several and beyond. We do, though, have some specific recent data, and some qualitative understandings of what led us to where we are. In very brief summary, most of the recent departures are because of personal reasons, ranging from moving, to wanting to join the same congregation as their (adult) children, to having felt snubbed or unappreciated.
Much of what precipitated the events that led to the decisions at the November meeting was a lack of new leadership—that is, a lack of new people willing to assume leadership roles (where “new” means “new to leadership at Keddem”). To a large degree, the lack of new leadership relates directly to the lack of new members: we have not, for many years, had an effective program for
- Attracting potential members to an event.
- Getting those potential members to return and to join.
- Getting new members involved in our community and helping with events.
- Inviting and training those who help with events to be able and willing to organize those events.
- Supporting those event organizers so they became willing to join the Board and then to serve as officers of the congregation.
This is not to say we have never done these things, nor to say that we have not had some great ideas for doing them. Keddem has had a plethora of great ideas during our near-score of years. We have, though, failed to implement many of those great ideas throughout the years.
These issues are not new: they date back, certainly, to fifteen years ago when I first served as Keddem’s president. During the rest of my time as interim president, I am working with other leaders at Keddem, both current Board members and those not on the Board, to begin to address some of these issues. We won’t change things overnight. In fact, most of the current focus is merely laying the groundwork for recruiting new members and growing new leaders. We need these if we want to succeed into the future: though many of our past leaders still have a great deal of love, enthusiasm, and energy for Keddem, new leaders with new ideas and new energy are essential to Keddem’s health.
Blogged by amm (Alan Marcum), on November 22nd, 2012
We met. We talked. We decided. Let’s do.
The Board met on Tuesday (November 20). Other then tachlis (nuts-and-bolts) stuff and paying attention to each other as people, we had one topic for discussion: what now. Marian is hard at work to get the minutes written up, and we expect to have those published during the week of Nov. 26. In the meantime, let me pass along some of the notes I took during a portion of our discussion focused on defining our niche.
- Be a small Reconstructionist congregation.
- Support our members (e.g. provide means for observing life cycle events, provide bereavement support and shiva minyanim, support members in need).
- Support our community (e.g., through our strong adult ed programming like BLL, participating in and co-sponsoring community-wide events).
- Provide High Holy Days study, observance, and participation opportunities for ourselves and the broader community.
- Provide opportunities for religious services (e.g., Shabbat, Festivals, and holidays). Note that this is opportunities for, and not an obligation to hold these services.
In support of transitioning to this niche, and as I complete my term as interim president, my priorities—in order—are:
- Finish the work on our governance, including identifying a president to succeed me.
- Focus everything we do and all our decisions on the priorities of the Keddem community as they exist today, knowing we cannot
- Be all things to all people.
- Necessarily do everything we might want.
- Continue to do things as we have in the past.
- Change our budgeting priorities to we put money into operational and logistical needs, so our volunteers can focus on what’s important and fulfilling.
- Decrease our facilities costs (my goal: 20-30%).
Our meeting on Sunday and the decisions we made there mark a change in direction. Operational, tactical, and strategic changes will result, changes that will affect Keddem’s finances, staff, facilities, and programming. We don’t have all the answers yet. I certainly solicit your ideas and your thoughts (though please recognize with me that I cannot implement all the good ideas you might have, but I do commit to listening and paying attention to them!).
Blogged by WebReb (WebReb b'Keddem), on March 14th, 2011
Keddem president Hayley Green Smith sent the following message to Keddem members on March 8. We repost it here to seed and to encourage discussion. JRF hosted a webinar on March 13; we have the slides presented during that webinar, available on the Keddem Web site (as an Acrobat document, and as a PowerPoint 2007 document; we are aware that there are some minor formatting problems with the PowerPoint document when viewed using some PowerPoint-compatible software).
Please post your comments to this proposal, here in the blog. If you do not yet have a login to the blog, please register (link at left, and here). If you have difficulties, contact the Keddem WebRebs via WebReb at Keddem dot org (make the obvious changes to the email address)
JRF and RRC are proposing to merge, with RRA’s full support. There will be a vote of the JRF affiliates at a special meeting in Phildaelphia on April 10, with an information webinar planned for this Sunday, March 13, at 1pm PDT (information for joining that webinar is below). Keddem’s membership and Board need to provide direction for Keddem’s delegates and proxies regarding how they should vote on this extremely important topic. Keddem’s Board encourages Keddem members to participate in the webinar, and is planning a time for discussion among the membership.
Please continue reading for additional information and links to more background and details.
Jewish communal organizations, such as congregations and movements, are facing huge changes in the way people are viewing organized religion and religious communities. The organizations that comprise the Reconstructionist Movement—JRF, RRC (the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College) and RRA (the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association)—believe that a fundamental restructuring of the Movement is required to serve the Jewish Community as we continue into the 21st century.
JRF, RRC, and RRA together have developed a plan to allow the Reconstructionist Movement to address these changes. This plan is being presented to the JRF affiliates (congregations and havurot), and will be the topic of a special plenary meeting of the JRF to be held in Philadelphia on April 10 at 1pm EDT. Keddem will be voting at that meeting (both in-person and proxy voting is provided for in the official meeting announcement). Keddem delegates and proxies need instructions for that vote.
A webinar on this topic [occurred] Sunday, March 13, at 1pm PDT; see below.
Following is information about the proposal; the Board is scheduling an opportunity for community discussion.
The proposal
JRF and RRC are proposing to merge, with RRA’s full support.
To effect the merger, RRC will assume JRF’s financial responsibilities; the new, unified organization will be built by the RRC, JRF, and RRA leadership and members. This new organization will use the current RRC Board of Governors as its initial governing body, and both JRF and RRA will participate fully in the governance. The goal of the new, unified organization will be to “cultivate, enhance, and promote Jewish leadership, learning, and living.”
The unification proposal was presented to the JRF and RRC boards on February 6, 2011, with the statement, “this proposal holds out great promise for a new series of opportunities, creative explorations, and the advancement of the contributions to Jewish life that our our movement has made and will continue to make in the future.”
Why the proposal is being considered
The purpose of unifying JRF and RRC is to address the dramatic changes occurring in the Jewish community, specifically in how younger adults (those in their 20’s and 30’s) are viewing and responding to organized religion. These changes affect everything from concepts of membership to dues, from events to fundraising, from inreach to outreach, from governance to affiliation and identity.
The vote, and information dissemination
At the special plenary meeting in April, affiliated communities will vote, by delegate and by proxy, on the unification proposal. This will not be a working session to refine, hone, change, or overhaul the current proposal: it will be a vote to approve or not to approve the current proposal. Discussion about the proposal in order to clarify details will occur, but the proposal will be considered as presented.
In order to inform JRF affiliates’ members, there [was] a webinar on Sunday, March 13, at 1pm PDT.
How the unification will affect JRF, RRC, and RRA
JRF will cease to exist if the proposal is approved. RRC will be transformed into more than just a rabbinical college (while retaining both its accreditation as an academic institution and its not-for-profit educational institution status), and will become the organization that addresses both the educating of Reconstructionist Jewish professionals and the needs of Reconstructionist communities. RRA will remain an independent organization, in order to address the specific needs of Reconstructionist rabbis.
What if the proposal is not approved?
That is not specifically addressed in the information from JRF et al. Most likely is that JRF, RRC, and RRA will continue as they have been. If the changes being seen have the anticipated effect, the Reconstructionist Movement as it currently is structured will become less relevant, less viable, and less able to support its affiliates, their members, and other constituencies of the Movement.
If the proposal is not approved, there will be an opportunity to introduce “any lawful resolution addressing the discussions with the RRC and RRA or the structure and governance of JRF.”
If the proposal is approved, what will the new organization be called?
The interim working name for the new organization is “The Jewish Reconstructionist Movement.” (Call this the JRM, for convenience.) The final name will be determined by the new organization.
Initial governance structure of the JRM
RRC’s Board of Governors will provide initial governance structure for JRM. That Board will be augmented with additional members; current JRF Board members are specifically encouraged to consider joining. Additional governance organizations will include the following.
- A Congregational Services Committee, whose chair will serve on the new board.
- A Youth and Education Commission, whose chair will serve on the new board.
- A Movement Growth and Financial Health Commission, whose chair will serve on the new board.
- A Tikkun Olam Commission, whose chair will serve on the new board.
- The chair of the Jewish Reconstructionist Camping Corporation (“JRCC,” the corporate body that runs Camp JRF, currently, in effect, a subsidiary of JRF).
The chairs of the Congregational Services Committee and the JRCC will, further, serve on the new organization’s Executive Committee.
A committee will also be established to work with the Bylaws Committee to develop any necessary charter amendments, new bylaws, and other governance procedures to enable the new, unified organization to fulfill its mission.
A “Movement Advisory Committee” will be created as soon as feasible. This committee will include leadership from among current JRF affiliated communities, members elected by the RRA, the chair of the unified organization, and the chief executive officer of the unified organization. This committee will consult with and be consulted by the new organization and its various committees about the organization’s mission, operations, decisions, initiatives, strategies, priorities, governance, branding, and marketing.
How does this affect Keddem?
If the proposal for unification is approved, Keddem will become an affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement.
What will happen to associated organizations, like Harmoniyah and Camp JRF?
In the specific case of Camp JRF–i.e., the Jewish Reconstructionist Camping Corporation–it will become part of JRM. In the case of Harmoniyah, RENA, and CEDAR, representatives from RRC and JRF are or will be discussing the implications of the unification with the appropriate organizational leaders.
Effects on JRF staff
The JRM is committed to structure staffing to provide at least an equal level of services to the affiliated communities as that provided in the current JRF budget. Though no commitments can be made to or about specific staff members, the organization is aware of the need to address the people-related issues of this restructuring.
Expected timeline
The vote at the plenary meeting of the JRF, instructing the JRF Board to continue with the unification negotiations, occurred November 12, 2010 at Convention.
On February 6, 2011, the negotiating team (from JRF, RRC, and RRA) presented their proposal to the JRF and RRC boards. The JRF Board of Directors unanimously approved this proposal on February 7; the RRC Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved it on February 8, and the RRA Board of Directors unanimously endorsed the proposal on February 11.
An informational webinar for members of JRF affiliates [was] held on on Sunday, March 13, at 1pm PDT, as noted above.
A special meeting of the JRF Plenum will be held on April 10 for the purposes of voting on the proposal, as noted above.
If the proposal is approved, the various new committees will be formed as soon as practical, to report back to the new board by August 31, 2012 with their recommendations for programs, priorities, structural and governance changes, etc.
Ideally, by the end of 2011, the final steps of the reorganization (other than the planned ongoing work of the various committees) will be complete and the new organization will become operative. It is possible that these final steps will not be completed until 2012, though.
Where can I get more background and details?
The JRF Web site (http://www.JRF.org) has both background and details. Specifically, see
http://www.jrf.org/files/RRC-JRF_Unification_at_a_Glance.pdf
for a summary, and
http://www.jrf.org/files/United_Organization_Documents.pdf
for much more extensive background and detailed information.
What’s next for Keddem?
Keddem’s leadership wants your feedback. Please go to this link to provide your feedback about the unification. We also want to know if there is enough interest in scheduling a meeting to have a community discussion, please use the survey to indicate your interest.
Keddem’s delegates and proxies will be instructed to vote in accordance with the desires of the membership and the direction of the Board.
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