The Jewish Observer
News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community | Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024
The Jewish Observer

What’s in a Name and what does it have to do with your Bubbie?

Introducing the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville

We are pleased to announce Jewish Federation & Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee has been renamed “Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville.” We have also adopted a new look, including a fresh logo. Our look isn’t the only refresh that will be happening in the new year.

Change is hard, but the Federation staff and board are up for the challenge, and we are confident that our community will also appreciate the updates coming our way. As we enter 2023, you can expect to see new programming and initiatives, while we stay true to the Jewish Federation's mission of helping those in need and building community. The new look of the Federation goes hand in hand with the overall refresh.

Why change things? Starting with the look; Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) just released a more contemporary-looking logo and offered this new logo formula to local Federations. Our Marketing Director, Jessica Cohen Banish, worked with JFNA to develop the logo and overall branding aesthetic. As part of those discussions, we wanted to address the fact that “Jewish Federation & Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee” is a mouthful! It impacts everything from space taken up in articles and ads to the amount of time taken in timed video segments.

This led us to explore what other Federations are doing, and further discussions with JFNA. It turns out that most Federations with integrated Foundations have dropped “Foundation” from their title. And it further turns out that several Federations incorporating large metropolitan areas have dropped all but the focal city name from their official title, often adding “Greater” to the city name. Federations such as Atlanta, Chattanooga, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Portland, and Washington DC all use this naming structure.

We recognize that we serve a large geographic area, and we don’t want to lose that aspect in the title or in our messaging, but we did want to be more succinct with our title. This brought us to “Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville.” The change has been approved by the Federation board as well as JFNA and will be our official title going forward.

As our community grows, our needs grow and change. We are listening to you; our community members, and are creating fresh ways for people to connect, learn and volunteer. In 2023 will be introducing innovative ways to engage with our Jewish community and with the greater Nashville community while making a larger impact in supporting those in need.

We have joked that we should add the slogan “Not your Bubbie’s Federation” to help portray the new refreshed feel of Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville. We hope the new look and new offerings in the coming year will evoke a refreshed feeling of new beginnings and excitement for the future of Jewish Federation- without mentioning your Bubbie.

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