It was wonderful to see so many of you at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Federation last month. Thank you for your continuing commitment to our sacred community and to the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville. I am grateful for our incredible staff for all their hard work and effort in helping us reach several critical goals last year, including our campaign goal. Their love for this community and Jewish Federation has allowed us to extend our reach, strengthen our partnerships, and help Jews in need. I would also like to again thank Leslie Kirby, our former Federation President, for her consummate leadership and love for Jewish Nashville. I will do my best to model her as a servant leader.
As I shared during the annual meeting, the Federation has seen a significant transition over the last decade, both before and after COVID. We have seen our community expand in ways we could never have imagined. We have also seen it splinter in ways that may not be in our best interests. I believe that as a community, there is a need for Federation to be the convener. We need to be the organization that unites the community through our mission.
As I promised, the Board will be committed to living this mission by identifying ways to modernize our resources and services, confirming our partnerships are strategically aligned to build bridges and strengthen this Jewish community and its interests, and ensuring we are engaging the Jewish community in ways that align with core Jewish values. We will focus on accountability, transparency, and growth. We will do more to engage and re-engage lay leaders and donors by providing more options for fundraising, leadership, and community building.
In this spirit, I have three updates to share.
The first is the formation of an Ad-Hoc Committee led by Harriet Schiftan and me and comprised of several community leaders. The committee is focused on examining the current status of Federation operations and its engagement with the community and providing recommendations to the Board of Directors in the areas of Board Governance and Structure; Budget and Staffing; and Community Engagement. The committee has also provided input into the CEO search process by, among other things, identifying the traits, characteristics and skills that the ideal CEO candidate should, at a minimum, possess.
The second is the reinstitution of the Annual Campaign committee led by our Campaign co-chairs, Jacob Kleinrock and Arlene Averbuch. The committee will set a campaign goal and plan building upon many of our successes in 2024, including our Women’s Philanthropy event. If you would like to get involved in the 2025 campaign, please reach out to me, Jacob, Arlene, Jason Sparks, or Mark Freedman. We will be happy to plug you in based upon your campaign interests.
The third is the CEO search. We are in the process of forming the search committee and posting the job description. We will be focused on identifying an individual that can: (1) serve as a community leader and relationship builder with the ability to inspire, engage, and re-engage community members; (2) manage a large, multi-functional staff; and (3) oversee a multi-million-dollar campaign with a focus on total impact locally, globally, and in Israel. Anyone you think would fit this description please send them our way. The more people that can help us find talent the better.
That is all for now. We will continue to keep the community apprised of our work and we are grateful for everything each of you currently do and will do to make it a warm and welcoming place for all Jews.
B’shalom,
Aron
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