New Online Resource Library For Community Professionals

By Melissa Cordish

Vice-Chair, Center for Community Engagement & Leadership

 

Are you new to a Board? Have you just been asked to serve on another committee? Do you need to write a D’var Torah for your meeting tonight? Need advice on managing a hectic meeting? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you will probably find yourself researching “best practices” on Google, or another one of your favorite search engines.

Instead of relying on unknown websites, look no further than the ASSOCIATED’s Center for Community Engagement & Leadership’s (CCEL) new Online Resource Library. Whether you want to provide training to your board or are looking for an icebreaker or Jewish quote/story to use at a board retreat, the Online Resource Library is filled with valuable resources and tools that will benefit our dedicated community professionals and lay leaders.

The Online Resource Library includes information relating to: 

• Maximizing Board Effectiveness 
• Meeting Engagement 
• Board/Board Member Assessment 
• Navigating the Lay/Pro Relationship 
• Fundraising 
• Nomination & Succession Planning

Please visit the Online Resource Library and share with your networks by clicking here: www.associated.org/ccelresource.

THE ASSOCIATED’s Center for Community Engagement & Leadership (CCEL) strives to strengthen and enrich the Baltimore Jewish community by engaging individuals in meaningful opportunities for volunteer involvement and advancement throughout THE ASSOCIATED system. For more information about CCEL or to get involved with The ASSOCIATED please contact Erica Hobby at ehobby@associated.org.

 

Celebrating Love for Israel

By Dalia Bauman

Sitting atop Masada at sunrise, my friends and I just stared. We stared at the rising sun after accomplishing one of the hardest physical challenges of our lives.

We woke up later than originally planned so we had to rush to make it to the top of the mountain before sunrise. When we reached the top, the sun was just peeking over the mountains of Jordan. I will never forget how I felt. I had a feeling of weariness but also accomplishment, pride and most of all, love. The love I felt for Israel was a feeling I had never experienced.

Since I was a child, I was taught to appreciate Israel. I lived there when I was younger and visited almost every year after we moved to the U.S. It was practically in my DNA to feel a connection to the homeland. However, after my experience on an Israel program this past summer, my love for Israel blossomed into a deep connection with the land and its people. I can’t pinpoint what it was exactly, but my feelings for Israel were different this time – it could have been the breathtaking nature, the amazing culture, the spiritual and historical context or just the fact that as a teenager, I was finally able to understand the importance of Israel. Regardless, I knew my connection was stronger than ever.

After returning to Baltimore, I was searching for activities that would help fulfill my newly formed relationship. An opportunity arose to sit on the Baltimore Israel Coalition as the teen representative of the Jewish Volunteer Connection, an agency of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore — I accepted enthusiastically.

This past summer, the Coalition decided that it was important to bring our community together to celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday. Much of the work of the Coalition these past several months has been ensuring that this celebration will include everyone in our community. During each meeting, we share new and exciting developments which are then open for feedback so that each organization can share their ideas and contribute to the overall planning. As details are beginning to come together, enthusiasm is starting to grow.

Tasked with the responsibility of co-chairing the teen committee, my job is to ensure that teenagers are part of the celebration. We put together a committee of my peers with the intention of helping raise Israel awareness amongst the teen community. We share ideas and facilitate the overall planning of the teen-focused activities for the 65th birthday celebration.

Although working out such critical details presents some challenges, I know that what I am doing is essential. Most teens do not have the love and passion for Israel that I would hope — it is vital for all Jews that Israel remain in the minds, hearts and souls of the younger generation. Through Israel65. Celebrate!, and the work of the Baltimore Israel Coalition, I know the seeds will be planted firmly so that my peers will grow their love for and appreciation of our homeland.

Daila serves as co-chair of the teen committee for the Baltimore Israel Coalition. The Coalition is a consortium of 24 local organizations, working to support Israel though education, advocacy and community-building. For more information about the June 2 festivities, including a Matisyahu concert, and the Baltimore Israel Coalition, visit www.baltimoreisraelcoalition.org.

Every Story Matters

By Lauren Klein, Director of Family Philanthropy

Jewish tradition is rich with stories we have passed down for generations. Stories retell our history, transmit our values, and pass along important life lessons. Stories are a powerful, inspirational and educational tool.

At the seder last month, we gathered with families and friends to remember the Passover story. We are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus. “Remember” is a theme of the evening. “Remember that you were strangers in the land of Egypt … Remember that the Lord took you out of the bondage of slavery.”

Sharing stories gives every family member a new and important connection to the past. It also enables you to capture stories, connect generations and preserve legacies. Do you know your family story?

Nearly 30 years ago, my husband interviewed his grandparents, and the discussion was recorded on audiotape. They talked about what life was like for them growing up and described different people in their family. Listening to it now is priceless because in addition to having a record of his family’s history, he has a permanent keepsake of his grandparents’ voices. It is also a unique gift for our children, who are now eight and 10 years old. What originated as a simple school project has turned into a special family treasure.

I encourage you to use every opportunity to talk to your parents and grandparents to hear their stories. You will learn about their role models, guiding values, work ethics and approaches to charitable giving.

You might be struggling over where to begin. I think the beginning is a good place to start. I’m sure some valuable life lessons were learned early in their lives. Here are some suggested questions:

• What was your family life like growing up?
• How did your family celebrate holidays when you were a child?
• Who were the family members that most influenced you?
• What causes are most important to you?
• Were there any turning points that changed the course of your life?

By using these questions as a conversation starter, you will glean helpful and sentimental wisdom that will be passed from one generation to the next.

Everyone has a story. It’s a special story. It’s a story worth telling.

Join THE ASSOCIATED’s Center for Funds & Foundations on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at noon for an inspiring program, “Every Story Matters.”

For more information, contact Lauren Klein, Director of Family Philanthropy, at 410-369-9278 or http:// lklein@associated.org.

Ask Me To Give

By Sara Amin
THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore

I am part of the Millennial Generation. I am civic-minded – I have a strong sense of community, both globally and locally. I am confident – I have great expectations for my personal and professional life. I am open-minded – I welcome the opportunity to interact daily with different races, religions, socio-economic classes. I multi-task. Boy do I ever multi-task. At work. At home. On the phone. In the car. At events. Planning my weekends. If you need something from me, you better ask quickly because I don’t have time to read between the lines. Make it short and sweet. Ask now.

You can find me online. You can find me at a coffee shop. You can find me at a happy hour or a sporting event. Chances are I want to be found. By someone, anyone really, who can offer me the opportunity to give back. When you give me an outlet to give (of my time or money), you empower me to do something meaningful. You offer me a way to leave my mark.

The fact is that my generation’s drive for social good is a key element in influencing change all around the world. As a group we are driven by personal relationships and human connections. We want our giving to be tangible; we want to see and feel the impact. We are a lot like older, established donors and volunteers in that way. We expect to be treated as individuals rather than bodies in seats or money in pockets.

Here’s what works for us millennials: a personal email, less than 200 words, specifying why us, why now; a Facebook message, a tweet, because we’re tech-savvy and you should be too; a call or text from a friend, because I like my friends and if they’re going I will as well. Get to me where I already am. Online and on my phone, hanging out with other millennials.

But don’t be alarmed. It may sound like you’re only one of 20 things on my mind, but in fact, I do care about your cause. I care because it affects my life. Or I care because it affects your life. Or I care because it affected my life 10 years ago. All it takes is that first ask … then we’ll go from there.

 

Check out what’s coming up this spring for young adults in Jewish Baltimore>>

Building Your Business Network

By Renee von Gonten
Senior Associate, Business & Professionals

For healthcare providers (physicians, hospitals and other health professionals), networking offers opportunities to improve communication, develop innovative ideas and share best practices. Though each medical division may have its own challenges and successes, much of the conversation has been limited through the budgetary constraints of most medical practices. In today’s world, fewer doctors are given the opportunity to attend conferences, symposiums and gala events where they’ve previously networked with local and international colleagues.

The first question when networking is “What’s the best place to start?” For Harel Turkel, President of SOS Technology Group, that question was answered through his involvement with THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

“I first got involved in THE ASSOCIATED as a young adult on their IMPACT committee. Now I am joining an agency board. It’s important to me to set an example for my children that helping others should always be a priority in life. And as a business owner, I have to make sure my time is well spent. THE ASSOCIATED and its agencies empower me to put my Jewish values into action while growing my business through leadership development and professional networking,” he says.

A recent Baltimore Business Journal article by Harvey Mackay, “Nothing Can Replace a Professional Network,” emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with people that are like-minded, but smarter. “All of us together are a lot smarter than any one of us… Networking is a skill you must develop. A network replaces the weakness of the individual with the strength of a support system. You don’t have to know everything as long as you know the people who do.”

In general, a strong network can enrich your life personally, professionally and communally. Having smart connected people enables you to work in a chosen team to achieve goals that you may not reach professionally. It enables you to help others and to learn from them.

While social media networking is a new requirement for professionals, the traditional network will never be replaced. For example, here are some benefits of working with a business & professionals group, like the one at THE ASSOCIATED:

• An opportunity to brainstorm and discuss innovative ideas that benefit personal business goals and general community development
• Access to professional development and business education from leading experts and mentors in various fields including financial services, technology, real estate, sales and marketing, legal and medical
• Small business owners gain exposure to a broad base of like-minded community members who feel good about supporting a community stakeholder
• Varied backgrounds of event participants enable junior professionals to meet business leaders and philanthropists the general community doesn’t have access to
• Participants are able to develop new relationships and expand their network with personal referrals from events, lunch and learns and through mentor connections

THE ASSOCIATED Business & Professionals Group doesn’t just attract individuals and business owners. The corporate world also takes advantage of the leadership development, philanthropy and networking opportunities offered by THE ASSOCIATED system. M&T Bank has been a regular sponsor of THE ASSOCIATED’s Planned Giving Round Table, Business & Professionals main event and the Keynote Event which attracts 600 people. More and more, local and national companies are encouraging professionals to get involved in their community and are now seeking job candidates with ties to charities.

For health professionals, THE ASSOCIATED Maimonides Society has reintroduced the Doctors’ Division brunch. Last held five years ago, the Doctors’ Brunch unites Jewish ideals with health care concerns in a unique forum — encompassing educational, service, philanthropic and social resources in Jewish Baltimore. The brunch on Sunday, April 14, is open to all healthcare professionals and will feature a presentation by Nir Gamliel, President and CEO of PharBeyond. Mr. Gamliel will discuss the changing trends of the pharma industry as it affects healthcare professionals and their patients.  For information, go to Associated.org/brunch.

Contact Renee von Gonten at rvongonten@associated.org or 410.369.9220 in our business and professionals group.

Is Your Clients’ Charitable Plan Your Business?

By Michael I. Friedman, J.D.
Senior Vice President
Planned Giving and Endowment
THE ASSOCIATED

Did you know that 98 percent of high-net-worth individuals are involved in philanthropy? If you are not advising your client regarding his or her philanthropy, you are, quite simply, not serving fully your more affluent (and many times, not as affluent) client’s financial needs. You are also missing out on opportunities to deepen existing client relationships, distinguish yourself from your competition and attract new business.

In order for you to compete effectively in the marketplace, the more that you understand how charitable gift planning can help build wealth, reduce tax exposure and transfer funds to the next generation, the more valuable you can be to your clients.

You strive to help your clients plan their finances and estates to maximize financial benefits for themselves and their families.  But have you considered asking your clients what is really important to them?

Making the most of your relationships with your clients and helping your clients get the most out of their plans boils down to two fundamental principles:

• The values that drive your clients’ decisions about philanthropy are the same values that underlie their business, financial and family planning.
• Understanding the tax and charitable planning techniques available to your clients will help your clients maximize the resources that they can apply to express those values through philanthropy.

Now that the dust has settled with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (appropriately enough, on January 1, 2013), your clients will be asking what the changes mean to them; some may even ask how it might affect their charitable planning. Higher tax rates for your high net worth clients, deduction limitations, phase-out of personal exemptions – all of these can impact a plan.  But your clients’ desires to make sure that their businesses are strong, their families well cared for, and the causes they care about are supported do not change. Only the techniques that you advise them to use to maximize the value of their plans will change.

Find answers to your charitable planning questions at THE ASSOCIATED.

• Research the law and find practice pointers at the Planned Giving Design Center>>
• For client-friendly explanations and illustrations of how they can make a charitable plan, visit THE ASSOCIATED’s planned giving website>>
• Attend the Planned Giving Round Table – quarterly continuing education programs featuring nationally recognized and local experts on tax, charitable, and estate planning issues.
• If you want more personalized education about planned giving opportunities and techniques, contact Daniela Levine at dlevine@associated.org to schedule a presentation at your office for your colleagues.

The year ahead is full of promise for you and your clients.  THE ASSOCIATED invites your clients to partner with us and engage in thoughtful planning, innovative programming, decisive action, and inspiring philanthropy.  Your clients have questions.  We have answers.

Our Priorities – the 2013 Maryland General Assembly

By Cailey Locklair
Director of Government Relations, Baltimore Jewish Council

For the 2013 legislative session in Annapolis, the Baltimore Jewish Council will be lobbying for many items in the budget that will benefit the Jewish community. Three brand new items on their long list include: The Hillel Center for Social Justice, The Elder Abuse Center and Sinai Hospital’s Medical Home Extender Program.

The Baltimore Jewish Council, along with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, will be seeking a total of $2 million over FY14 and FY15 for the construction and renovation of the Hillel Center for Social Justice. The expansion and renovation of the current facility will help alleviate a decrepit, cramped space that can no longer support the amount of students it serves.

Over the past decade the facility has increased student participation by 150 percent, which translates to about 1,000 students each week. With the new expansion, the facility will be able to serve up to 3,000 students per week. Hillel serves as a magnet for the University of Maryland, College Park as it attracts students from across the country.

Due to rising cases of elder abuse in our community and across the country, the Baltimore Jewish Council will be lobbying for $150,000 over FY14 and 15 to create the State’s first Elder Abuse Center. Each year, it is estimated that 80,000 Marylanders experience some form of elder abuse; child to parent, caregiver to senior or instances of domestic violence. The Center is a collaborative ASSOCIATED agency effort between Jewish Community Services, CHANA and Levindale, which will create an effective and coordinated response for victims, perpetrators and their families and will provide prevention education for the entire community.

The final new item on the Baltimore Jewish Council’s budgetary agenda this year is Sinai Hospital’s Medical Home Extender Program. The Council is seeking $500,000 over FY14 and 15 which will create a total of five brand new positions at Sinai hospital: four community health worker positions responsible for coordinating primary care services for uninsured and underinsured patients, as well as a Masters level, supervisory nurse position to oversee the community health workers. This model fits into the Affordable Care Act and Health Enterprise Zone legislation that passed at the state level last year as it creates additional practitioner related resources.

Community involvement and input is critical to ensure these, and many other items, remain in the budget. The Council’s annual Advocacy Day will be held this year on February 26th with legislator meetings beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a reception with speakers from the executive branch.

Please visit http://www.baltjc.org for more information on how you can participate in Advocacy Day.

Busy Life? Finding Time to Volunteer

By Ashley Pressman
Executive Director
Jewish Volunteer Connection

Emails. Meetings. Emails. Phone Calls. Reports. Urgent Requests. Emails. Emails. Emails.

Does this sound like your day? As a business working professional, days can become a whirl of deadlines, requests, lunch meetings, and a jumble of critical tasks in our increasingly fast-paced work environment. How can we find time to fit in one more thing? More important, why would we want to?

When it comes to volunteering, I’d like to suggest that we do want to – or rather, that we need to for our own mental and physical health and for the health of the community.  Volunteering is a great way to spend time with friends, to share your values with your children and to get a different perspective on the world.

But how do we fit it in?

Here are some tips to help the busy working professional who wants to volunteer but can’t find the time.

• Find Your Passion – How do you spend your free time? Do you cook? Make casseroles and deliver them to a local shelter. Do you like to garden? There are so many volunteer opportunities – find one that fits your interests.
• Think About Your Skills – What is your career? Many organizations are seeking pro bono volunteers. Dentists, lawyers, financial professionals, and marketing experts are all needed at organizations in the Jewish community. Do you have a skill that you want to develop? Volunteering can be a great way to develop skills as a handyman, in tax preparation, and as a healthy cook.
• Identify Your Priorities – Why do you want to volunteer? Is it to give back to the community? To network professionally?  Because you want your children to learn about the value of service?  Find a meaningful project that works with your schedule. Join colleagues or friends and volunteer together. Check out these family friendly volunteer opportunities>>
• Figure Out Your Schedule – When are you available? Is your free time between midnight at 2:00 a.m.?  If your schedule changes every week, find an opportunity with a flexible schedule like becoming a mentor with Big Brother Big Sister at Jewish Community Services.

Still don’t think you have the time? Ask yourself this. Did you find the time to watch the Orioles in the playoffs this year?

We find the time to do the things that are priorities to us.  Making the community a better place can be one of those things. Try it today and see the difference a gift of time can make!

Get started now with opportunities available through Jewish Volunteer Connection>>

For more information, email volunteer@associated.org or call 410-843-7490.

Check out these online volunteer opportunities by selecting Micro Volunteering>>

365 Days to Give

By Rochelle Eisenberg
Public Relations Manager
THE ASSOCIATED

Giving back to the community has always been important to Pikesville’s Jennifer Grossman. A strong believer in helping others, this young woman and mother of three has made a point of instilling in her family the importance of engaging in mitzvot.

That is why she chaired Jewish Volunteer Connection’s (JVC) Community Mitzvah Day, an annual day of volunteer opportunities throughout Baltimore, from 2008 to 2010. It’s why her children made sandwiches and delivered them to homeless shelters, meeting and speaking with the clients on December 25 last year.

And, that is why she also agreed to chair Mitzvah 365, a new initiative from JVC, a program of THE ASSOCIATED.

“I chaired Mitzvah Day, but there are 364 other days of the year,” says Grossman. “We want to find ways for individuals to get involved in community service every one of those.”

Mitzvah 365, set to launch later this month, will feature 365 ways individuals and families can make mitzvot and community service a daily part of their lives. “We hope to inspire our community to give back to the community,” Grossman says.

Each day on the Mitzvah 365 website, individuals will discover existing volunteer opportunities already happening in the community or organizations where they can create their own community service projects.

“For example, we might highlight Special Olympics one day and work with interested individuals to help them make volunteer connections,” says Grossman.

Erica Bloom, assistant director for JVC, adds that there will even be ideas for Shabbat, such as offering to babysit in synagogue or walk an elderly person to shul. “We want to create a culture of service that doesn’t just happen once a year,” she says.

That culture of service is evident in another new opportunity for local families. “Volunteams,” a collaboration between JVC and THE ASSOCIATED’s Jewish Community Services (JCS), will bring families together to be part of a volunteer team. They will commit to making the lives of adults with special needs a little brighter.

Each family on the team will choose one day of the month to visit a group of adults living at one of the JCS residences for adults with developmental disabilities. Together they might play games, read stories, make snacks and create craft projects.

“The families and residents can do whatever they like to do,” says Beth Land Hecht, Senior Manager, Volunteer Services for JCS. “When you begin to see some of the same people over again, you start to build a relationship. They remember you and you remember them. You become friends.”

In addition, the program will include opportunities for all the families participating as part of a “Volunteam,” along with the adults they visit, to get together for larger social events several times a year.

“If you start a culture of volunteering when your kids are young, by the time they become bar or bat mitzvah, it is natural for them to pick a project with which they have experience and to which they are connected. Hopefully this positive volunteer experience will carry them into their teen years and will continue to build,” says Hecht.

For Grossman, that culture of giving back is already ingrained in a positive way. She laughs as she shares the story of her son, telling a relative who asked her what he was doing for Christmas Day.

“My son said, ‘what do you mean, what are we doing on Christmas? It’s Mitzvah Day. That’s what you do,’” she recalls.

Interested in joining a “Volunteam?” Email Beth Land Hecht at bhecht@jcsbaltimore.org or call 410-843-7456.

What is the Best Way to Get My Kids Involved in Charitable Giving?

By Lauren Klein
Director of Family Philanthropy
The Center for Funds & Foundations
THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore

Let me begin by saying that there is not one right answer. Just like our kids don’t come with manuals, there is no set of instructions for raising philanthropically-minded children. I wish there was because then it would be so much easier.

Some say it’s a good idea to introduce the concept of tzedakah as early as possible, that life lessons are learned when the children are young. Others say it’s better to wait until a child is ready to take on the responsibility from a place of maturity.

You have to decide the right path for your family, but I believe that engaging the next generation should be an ongoing process that is constantly reinforced – not a one-time event.

I do want to dispel one myth. Many people think family philanthropy requires having a fund or foundation in their name. But, that’s simply not true. Whether your children are five, 15 or 25, there are age appropriate ways to involve them in your family’s charitable giving.

My first piece of advice is easy. Talk to your children about your own charitable giving. Most people assume their family knows why they give to particular organizations. I encourage you to take the time to tell them why. And, tell them why you want them to be charitable as well.

The next step is to involve your kids in the process. There are simple ways to empower your children to take ownership of their giving. For example, in one family I know, the money the young sons contribute to the tzedakah box at Hebrew school comes jointly from the parents and the boys themselves.

You can also sit down with your children and ask them to identify a problem they want to fix or a cause in which they are passionate. If they are very young, you might give them a few options, such as donating holiday gifts for at-risk children or buying winter coats for people who don’t have them. The more you involve your children in the process of giving back, the more they’ll be invested in what you are doing. Allow them to choose the organizations. They’ll feel more connected.

If you have teenage children, encourage them to volunteer for a cause that is important to them. Or, take one day a month to do something in the community together.  Jewish Volunteer Connection, a program of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, can help identify the right placement for you and your family to get involved.

I know that college students are even harder to engage than teenagers, but there are ways to talk to them about charitable giving. As you gather around the Thanksgiving table in a couple of months, talk about what you are thankful for in your own lives and identify organizations to which you would like to donate your time and/or money. You might try asking the following questions to start the conversation:

• What is your favorite organization and why?
• If you could solve any problem, what would it be?
• If you had $1 million to give away, how would you do it?

And, if you will be traveling in the next few months, consider using your vacation as an opportunity to give back. One family that I know visits a Jewish community whenever they travel and spends the day volunteering there together.

The new year has just begun, and we are all busy with myriad commitments. Yet, I encourage you to start a conversation with your kids about tzedakah and involve them in the process. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.