The New Community Connection: Engaging & Empowering Today’s Jews

Esther D. KustanowitzTemple Beth Am Board Retreat

August 26, 2012

Where Good Ideas Come From (Steven Johnson)

Community – Leadership, Individuals & the Collective

Characters Welcome

What are these slogans/jingles for? What happens here, stays here.

What’s in your wallet?

Nobody belongs here more than you.

Helping you take one step further on your Jewish journey.

Live generously.

Come stay with friends.

Someone made a store just for me.

Know the code.

What Does TBA Stand For?

Rethinking Community, Connection & Membership

Rethinking Community

Rethinking ConnectionWeak Ties? Strong Ties?

Finding the Perfect…Shul

Should Synagogues Be a One-Stop Shop for Jewish Connection?

Rethinking MembershipAugust 10, 2012 August 23, 2012

Who is the Competition?

“Without Organizations” vs. “People Coming Together”

“Affinity Groups” & Lifecycle Involvements BANG

Men’s Society

Zahava

YABA/Jewlyweds

Ravakim

Boomer Couples

Happy Seniors

Non-Sanctuary Minyanim

HHD Services

Shiva Task Force

Bnai Mitzvah Visioning

And Esther would add: Pressman Parents Brit Milah & Babynaming TBA Daily Minyan SOCIAL MEDIA – for many, the first

and most frequent interface

Barriers to Entry / How to Dismantle Them Fear of institutions

Distaste for synagogues

Needs being met in other places Online Other IRL activities

Social hesitations Too large Not enough people in specific demographic

Spiritual uncertainty

Geographical location

TBA members and leadership becomes more active in community, outside the walls

Identifying what both parties bring to the table, make prospective members feel listened to

Listening to needs, understanding other options and identifying points of partnership and collaboration

Bring a friend, shul hop, partner with other organizations

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Things to Think About… What’s your “engagement story”?

How can you better foster members’ creativity, empowerment and investment in programming and synagogue offerings, and engage membership as organizational advocates?

Identify your assets (institutional strengths, and members’ skills and interests), and leverage them toward creating deeper emotional touchpoints

How can you learn from and collaborate with other synagogues and communities?

What conversations can you convene that affect the wider community, and how can you engage other community members and institutions in this conversation?

Resources “Dues and Don’ts: Shuls Try Different Membership Models” – J Weekly, August 23,

2012

“Many Claim Membership But Few Pay Shul Dues” – Jewish Daily Forward, August 10, 2012

“Where Good Ideas Come From” (book trailer) – 2012

“Getting Engaged, Part 1” & “Getting Engaged, Part 2: Courting Engagement” – MyUrbanKvetch.com, August 2012

“Looking for the Perfect…Shul” – The Jewish Week, 2007 (includes link to Emergent Jewish Communities study from 2007)

Questions for Discussion You’ve been working on a mission statement. But what would your elevator pitch be (describe what makes Beth

Am special in under one minute)? If you hired an ad agency to create a campaign for you, what would your messaging/slogan be?

If you were training TBA members as ambassadors, what would you teach them about the institution, its members and offerings that they don’t already know? What personal skills, background or institutional information would you insist that they have?

Who are the people in your neighborhood? (Map your current assets: who can promote and advance TBA’s brand and offerings). Who are your current stars? Which stars outside are you looking to recruit? Identify appropriate asks, some of them not financial.

Which TBA events are the best-attended? How do you follow up with attendees after events? Can you identify additional calendar points that might be “hot spots” for engagement?

How do you structure partnerships? Can you think of recent partnerships that have been successful? What made them successful? What about challenged partnerships? How would you have fixed them?