As I move through my eleventh and final year as executive director at the Jim Joseph Foundation, I find it helpful to reflect on key grantmaking principles that inform how I work with Foundation Board members and professionals to help to shape the Foundation’s philanthropy.

From the Foundation’s inception, Directors asked the professional team to collaborate with grantees and evaluation experts to carefully assess grants awarded. The Board believes the Foundation’s major grants (generally, awards of one million dollars or more over multiple years) should incorporate “right-sized” evaluation that produces valuable learning for the grantee, the Foundation, and the field of Jewish education.

Many developments and changes have occurred in Jewish education, the Jewish community at-large, and in the social profit sector as a whole during the past decade. In this blog, I want to focus on progress made in the sector regarding evaluation. In fact, the approach to evaluation that the Jim Joseph Foundation adopted in 2006 now is embedded within a grantmaking framework known as the Performance Imperative (PI).

In this regard, PI “ambassador”[i] Edward Skloot envisioned nearly a decade ago that, “the Foundations’ role needs to be re-imagined. Instead of funders, they become the information resources, brokers (and givers) of money and relationships, ongoing learners and listeners, and active promoters or success” (Beyond the Money, Reflections on Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Sector and Civic Life, 1999-2006, pg. 31).

The Performance Imperative features seven principles that represent the basis on which an organization can embark on this re-imagination and “deliver – over a prolonged period of time – meaningful, measurable, and financially sustainable results for the people or causes the organization is in existence to serve” (Leap of Reason, Performance Imperative). These principles – or pillars – are:

1. Courageous, adaptive, executive and board leadership (the preeminent pillar)
2. Disciplined, people-focused management
3. Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies
4. Financial health and sustainability
5. A culture that values learning
6. Internal monitoring for continuous improvement
7. External evaluation for mission effectiveness

At the Jim Joseph Foundation, due diligence and other interactions with prospective grantees that have been invited to submit grant proposals involve careful consideration of PI factors. While our review is not formally tied to PI pillars per se, the document reviews we conduct; conversations we have with prospective grantees; internal team meeting discussions about the grant seekers’ organizational health, executive and volunteer leadership, history of demonstrated results in programming; and the PI principles discussed previously are integral to this review. For an outcomes-oriented foundation like the Jim Joseph Foundation, the PI presents a platform for philanthropic accountability.

At the same time, we recognize that a 501c3 requires resources to ingrain PI principles into its operations and culture. Organizations that have annual budgets of less than $3 million likely will be hard-pressed to execute on all of the seven pillars. Funders need to be aware – acutely so, I would argue – of the capacity of grantees so as not to hold beneficiaries to unrealistic performance expectations. The Foundation itself needs to develop genuine appreciation for grantees’ organizational structure and finances; its leadership, staffing, and governance; its commitment to execute on strategic priorities of the organization; its project management; and its approaches to both monitoring and assessing its performance. In the same vein, understanding what grantees’ finances actually enable them to do creates the possibility that capacity building funding could be instrumental in positioning a grantee for future success.

At the Jim Joseph Foundation, many grantees benefit from major, multi-million, multi-year investments. It behooves the Foundation to develop trusting relationships with grantees based on conversation, disclosure, transparency, and shared commitment to understanding the extent to which the grantee is achieving what the Foundation’s partnership with it is designed to accomplish.

I have consistently found that acting on the PI pillars impels Jim Joseph Foundation grantmaking professionals to work in concert with grantee project personnel. As a Foundation staff, we grow more confident in our grant recommendations made to the Foundation Board of Directors when our relationship with new grant applicants and existing grantees (for grant renewals) is based on openness, integrity and a sense of joint Foundation–grantee responsibility.

I share this blog now—during a period of transition in the Foundation’s executive leadership and governance—because I have a responsibility as the Foundation’s departing Executive Director to describe the Foundation’s established grantmaking practice within the context of trends and emerging ideas in philanthropy. Certainly, as I look back over the past ten years, this surge in sector sophistication has been amply displayed in field leadership provided by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Fiscal Management Associates (FMA), Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, The Foundation Center’s Grantcraft, The Non-profit Finance Fund, and others. Their efforts offer the Jim Joseph Foundation and funder colleagues frameworks and tools to both measure and to demonstrate philanthropic effectiveness.

Candidly, there is a special connection between this type of accountability and the Foundation’s founder, Jim Joseph, z’’l. It is of great comfort to me that in his real estate business Mr. Joseph concentrated not only on “location, location, location” but also on “results, results, results.” Mr. Joseph would expect that the Foundation bearing his name would nurture a Performance Imperative orientation among organizations providing Jewish education—particularly those that are beneficiaries of his exceptionally generous support. In this spirit, it is both eminently reasonable for stakeholders in Jewish education to ask “how are we doing?” and for funders and grantees to have a thoughtfully constructed basis on which to respond.

[i]A community of likeminded individuals from corporate, governmental, and social profit sectors have organized as “ambassadors” for the PI. Highlighting Mario Morino’s Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity, David E.K. Hunter’s Working Hard – and Working Well, and David Grant’s The Social Profit Handbook as seminal PI resources, ambassadors strive to engage all those who are stakeholders in improving the independent sector to critically consider the application of PI pillars to their work.

Today’s young adults possess passion and energy in abundance. They are ambitious, smart, creative, and driven by a desire to help others. They know how to bring new technologies and networks of peers to bear on the hard work of community building. They are dreamers and doers in equal measure.

All of which makes them integral to any effort to take on our toughest social, civic, and humanitarian challenges. Indeed, the question most grant makers — ourselves included — struggle with is not whether to engage this generation in our work but how to do so most effectively.

But helping organizations adapt to the needs of young leaders while remaining true to the needs of communities — and foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the two — is easier said than done.

We know young adults are attracted to opportunities for social and civic engagement. We also know they have high expectations for the quality and effectiveness of those opportunities and that they want them to fit neatly into their way of life, skills, and values.

A recent study by Repair the World, an organization our foundations both support for their work to promote volunteerism, offers one approach for achieving this intricate balancing act. “Building Jewish Community Through Volunteer Service” looks at the organization’s Communities program, which places full-time fellows in cities to put together projects that work on pressing local needs and involve young Jews in volunteer service.

COURTESY OF REPAIR THE WORLD
Repair the World, an organization that promotes volunteerism, offered various approaches to engage young adults in social work in a recent study.

While the report focuses on what the group learned engaging young Jews, its insights are relevant for any organization invested in taking a data-driven approach to engaging young adults in working for social change. It’s also notable that the group is led by David Eisner, who spent five years as the chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, where he got a national view of what matters most in jump-starting volunteerism.

Here are some of the findings:

Peer leadership is the name of the game. The Communities program rests on the creativity and influence of young adults. Fellows are in charge of forging collaborations with local organizations and recruiting volunteers from their own generational ranks. The study found near-universal appreciation among project participants for the fellows, and three out of four credit fellows with helping them stay involved with Communities.

Periodic and regular participants reinforce each other. One of the strengths of the Communities program is the interplay between occasional volunteers and the fellows who are in it for the long haul. For volunteers, the no-membership, no-commitment approach works: By the second year of the program, half are coming back three or more times for additional opportunities. The open-door policy means volunteers can carve out space in their schedules to do good while balancing other interests and demands on their time — a crucial perk for millennials. And interacting with the fellows gives volunteers a window on opportunities for an ongoing, meaningful engagement in service and Jewish life.

People walk through the door for different reasons. Young adults show up to make an impact for those in need. But the experience serves multiple purposes: Volunteers are there to do good, connect with like-minded peers, meet new people from other backgrounds, and have a positive social experience.

Reflection leads to meaning, and meaning to action. The Communities program helps volunteers put their service in a broader context, drawing parallels between the work at hand and Jewish thought and tradition. The program also allows for reflection at the end of the experience, facilitated by a skilled leader who uses a range of tools and methods — Jewish and secular — to help individuals find personal meaning in the service just completed. For example, volunteers might study a piece of Jewish text, discuss the history of civic engagement in their community, or share personal experiences of how their lives have been changed by service.

Doing this after the service activity is critical so participants fully absorb what they just accomplished and better understand the people they served. Moreover, as the study found, authentic reflection helps volunteers give deeper meaning to the work they have done — and that makes them more likely to return.

Importantly, the report also reflects the very real impact Communities is making. Organizations supported by Repair the World fellows now have additional capacity to pursue their missions, and volunteers and local neighborhoods have developed mutual trust and understanding.

For example, in its second year, Repair the World Pittsburgh recruited 30 percent of the volunteers who serve as mentors at Higher Achievement, allowing the organization to grow from serving 100 youths a week to 150.

In Philadelphia, Repair created the Philly Farm Crew, which provides volunteers to local urban farms, many of which donate their produce to local food pantries and which have significantly boosted their capacity with the additional help. At the same time, the Farm Crew has built community among the volunteers and increasing retention and a sense of belonging.

Building projects that appeal to millennials takes work, and there’s still more to be done. We invested in Communities with the knowledge that the most effective approach will take time to crystallize. But Repair the World is offering a promising path for all of us who want to empower young adults to pursue social change and are willing to speak their language.

Chip Edelsberg is executive director of the Jim Joseph Foundation. Lisa Eisen is vice president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.

Source: “4 Steps to Get Young  Volunteers Involved in Social Change,” Chip Edelsberg and Lisa Eisen, Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 22, 2016

As Jews around the world soon sit down for Seders, we are reminded again of our tradition’s powerful message to welcome the stranger. Some heed this call year-round; others do it once a year; still others maybe never have, but commit to do so now. While we rightfully focus on this message, we also should remember to welcome in those in our community in meaningful, sustained ways.

At the Jim Joseph Foundation, welcoming in others in our community is a core principle of our relational approach to grantmaking. Often this philanthropic approach is interpreted as grantmaking implemented with a funder and grantee coming together for a deep and meaningful relationship. While this relationship is a critical component of this strategy, it is by no means the only one. Rather—and in particular to meet 21^st century challenges—the funder-grantee relationship is just one of many that comprises relational philanthropy. The Foundation is determined to plan for and implement effective grantmaking strategies by welcoming in, and building long-lasting relationships with a range of key funder colleagues, other organizations, and individuals.

Here is a snapshot of what this strategy looks like, and the reasoning behind it:

The Jim Joseph Foundation is continuously experimenting with meaningful ways to engage not only with grantees but with evaluators, technical assistance experts, and other foundations. We are pursuing myriad configurations of stakeholders in problem solving conversations both to hone our critical thinking and to expand the network of resources we bring to our work as well as to that of Foundation grantees. The goal, in this regard, is ultimately to improve the effectiveness of the Foundation’s philanthropy.

 – Working in a Relational Way, Edelsberg, October 2012

This excerpt is from my “madrich” narrative that I presented to the Foundation Board at the 2012 Fall Board meeting. Nine other selected thought leaders did the same, all with the intent of answering the question: What “big idea” for supporting Jewish education would you propose the Jim Joseph Foundation fund?

I tried to present a vision then of a Foundation deeply committed to working with others for everyone’s benefit. Not only do I believe that relationships premised on knowledge-sharing, with different partners bringing different expertise to bear, are mutually beneficial; I believe they are wholeheartedly necessary to achieve lasting success in our field. As I noted in that madrich narrative:

The Jewish people value education and cherish life-long learning. The interplay of accelerating global interdependencies, decentralizing of authority, democratizing of knowledge, and peer networking lead me to propose my big idea for the Jim Joseph Foundation to ponder. It is this: the Foundation and its grantees as well as its technical assistance providers and funding partners must come together in much more highly interactive, problem solving, knowledge producing ways.

As I reflect back three and a half years ago, I can point to substantive progress we have made in our relationship building efforts by welcoming in various members of our peer funder community. In just over the last three months, these relationships have yielded important knowledge sharing, necessary to both advance the Foundation’s specific efforts, as well as the interests of many others in the field of Jewish education.

We welcomed Marina Yudborovsky of the Genesis Philanthropy Group to our offices for a full day of meetings so our professional team could hear directly from her about their approach to Russian-speaking Jews. This is her specific area of expertise. This demographic is the sole focus of the group of funders who she represents. We had much to learn from her in the way of thinking about and developing grants with this demographic in mind.

In another instance, Rella Kaplowitz of Schusterman Family Foundation came to the Foundation to share her deep knowledge about data and evaluation—an increasingly important area of the Foundation’s efforts as we seek to foster our evaluators consortium and the cross-community evaluation of the teen initiatives in which we are involved. I believe that Rella is one of the few individuals in our field with a true expertise in evaluation. The Foundation, I believe, is fortunate to have another in Senior Program Officer Stacie Cherner. The two of them learn with and from each other in an ongoing manner. As always, however, nothing substitutes for face-to-face interactions, offering other members of our team the opportunity to learn from Rella as well.

Finally, the Foundation also was privileged and proud to host Jon Aaron, Board Chair; Darin McKeever, Chief Program and Strategy Officer; and Kari Alterman, Senior Program Officer; of the William Davidson Foundation. The day long meetings allowed time for the foundations to thoroughly familiarize one another with respective strategic grantmaking priorities, to discuss common grantees, and to begin conversation about potentially productive ways to work closely with one another in the future.

These are critical, lengthy interactions among peer funders. Of course they take time, resources, and planning for them to be as rewarding and as mutually beneficial as possible. But again, they are necessary if we as a field hope to achieve sustained success.

Reflecting on these recent meetings on the heels of the JFN conference emphasizes even more the approach to relational philanthropy now engrained in the Foundation DNA. At JFN, the Jim Joseph Foundation was represented by eight professional team members, four board members, and our incoming President and CEO. We participated in four different panels, sharing our experiences in early childhood education, collaborations, evaluation, and organizational and institutional capacity building. We held numerous formal and informal meetings with peers.

Thankfully, none of these interactions feel like an exception; they are how we try to operate every day. As I survey the field, and our involvement in it, there are important developments occurring now in early childhood education and young adult engagement—led not just by one or two key funders, but by a committed larger group determined to build those respective areas in strategic ways, positioned for the long-terms.

Fall 2012 seems like a long time ago. But the rapidly changing and interconnected world I described then has only increased in that manner. On Passover, this world seemingly comes to a head: we ask questions together, we seek answers together, we tell a story together. Whoever is at the table—regardless of age, experience, background, or knowledge—does this questioning and answering and storytelling with the group. Such is the case for the Foundation, as it seeks the big answers in Jewish education while deeply engaged with peers and other stakeholders in the field daily. We know that sharing our knowledge, learning from others, and being transparent about both successes and challenges advances us all.

Chag Sameach.

Editor’s Note: The Jim Joseph Foundation was represented at the Jewish Funders Network conference by eight members of its professional team, four members of its board, and its incoming President and CEO. Below, three members of the Foundation’s professional team share their reflections on the conference—what they learned; what they enjoyed; what surprised them; and how the entire experience will inform their work moving forward. We share these insights with the belief that understanding what individuals take away from conferences and convenings helps all in our field plan and design meaningful, impactful face-to-face opportunities to learn and to share knowledge.

If there was ever an event that combined the simcha of a wedding and the camaraderie of camp, I’d say it was the Jewish Funders Network Conference. My first Jewish communal professional conference – and being a representative of one of 500+ Jewish funders – was at times intimidating and exhilarating. Being part of a large Jim Joseph Foundation contingency made conversations easy. Above all the joyous hugs and kisses, however, what I found most telling was the sense of optimism in the meetings, workshops and conversations. One of my favorite sessions was on Jewish Wisdom, led by the esteemed professionals of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah. The beautiful outdoor setting in the crisp Torrey Pines air certainly added to the bliss, as we discussed the relationships of gratitude, blessings and memory. The workshop weaved together various themes throughout the conference, including those of Jewish values, that struck a chord with me at this time in my life. I feel so fortunate to work in a profession and with a team that shares these same values.  I wake up each day privileged to interact with and support talented Jewish educational professionals, many of whom I met for the first time in San Diego.

One of my takeaways was that while Jewish values of simcha, Shabbat, and tikkun olam infuse my personal life, it is more often the case that discussions of budgets, sustainability, and program outcomes dominate our professional discourse. What if we found a way each day to include a gratitude blessing, or began our meetings with a short D’var Torah—as we do sometimes, but not all the time? These are little things, but given the honor we have to shepherd another’s fortunes to improve the lot of the Jewish people, it is something I hope we as Jewish funders can be more mindful of ourselves. I learned a lot from the JFN Conference – the power of big data, the challenges of Jewish leadership, the opportunities of scaling ideas – yet my biggest lesson learned is the ability to turn inward, to appreciate, to give thanks, and to remember what brought me here in the first place.

– Seth Linden, Program Officer

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As a newer member of the Jim Joseph Foundation team, the Jewish Funders Network Conference contributed to my continued onboarding as a foundation professional. From the thought-provoking plenaries to the informative breakout sessions to the ample networking time, I left the conference better prepared to perform the duties of a foundation program officer. Though I could touch on any number of moments that for me made the conference a success, I will focus here on the people in attendance – both those I knew and those I met.

Upon seeing the names and organizations of the more than 500 people who were present, I had two opposing reactions. First, everywhere I went, I interacted to some degree with professionals whom I have worked with on co-funded projects, foundation teams who had spent a day visiting our offices, or grantees who are in my portfolio. The conference was a unique opportunity to deepen relationships, learn together, and discuss existing or potential projects. And, for those I had not met prior, I was able to put faces to names and learn more about the professional and personal backgrounds of so many whom I will likely work with in the future. Given the number of people I already knew, the conference had a familial feel. As a colleague from another foundation put it, “this is great, we’re with our friends!”

I credit the Jim Joseph Foundation’s emphasis on collaboration for much of the reason why I, as a newer team member, arrived at the conference knowing so many people and feeling at home among my Jewish funder peers. But, I also noticed how many funders I didn’t know. And, how many funders with whom the Jim Joseph Foundation can still develop relationships. This demonstrated an incredible opportunity for the Foundation broadly, and me specifically, to develop new relationships with foundations, big or small, to better understand shared strategic priorities and potential synergies. As new foundations emerge, existing foundations evolve, and new professionals join the field, deepening relationships with other funders remains a priority.

– Aaron Saxe, Program Officer

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It didn’t take long at JFN before I learned something new. In the Pre-Conference Seminar: Scaling Up on the role funders have served to support – and sometimes hinder – successful scaling I learned a new word. The word fructify. What you ask, does the word fructify mean? It is defined as to make something fruitful or productive. Indeed, as a first time JFN attendee as a foundation professional working for the Jim Joseph Foundation, perhaps no word captures the spirit of the three days I spent in San Diego than this word.

What does JFN stand for? Quite literally, Jewish Funders Network. In San Diego at this particular convening, as I would imagine others would agree, the concept of the “Network” was a central, guiding principle. And for good reason. Now 16 months into my work at the Foundation, the relationships that my colleagues and I build are key to the success of the Foundation’s work. At JFN, I met with and fostered relationships with familiar faces, and had the opportunity to connect with individuals and organizations for the first time. Given that this work is fundamentally relational and that the Jim Joseph Foundation sees itself as a relational grantmaker where rapport and knowledge sharing between partners is pre-eminent, Jewish Funders Network provides deep value to me and the work that I do.

I see the JFN Conference as a place continuing to construct, as MIT systems theorist Peter Senge notes, a “field of shared meaning” – a safe space where funders and professionals can reflect on and have conversations about the work in which we all are engaged. Reflecting after the conference, I’m struck by how intimate this space felt, while also thinking how as Jews and foundation professionals—operating with overlapping identities—we as a field co-create value, meaning, and common understandings of who we are as Jewish Funders. Certainly this is an open-ended topic, but I found JFN so refreshing because we were able to learn from individuals and organizations who have neither the word “Jewish” nor “Funder” in their bio. Indeed, I think the future saliency of the JFN conference is to continue to cross boundaries and provide learnings from a big tent being constructed.

– Jeff Tiell, Program Associate

As readers of this blog, you are likely aware that the Jim Joseph Foundation Board has selected Barry Finestone to be the Foundation’s President and CEO. I am excited for Barry; for the Foundation Board of Directors and staff; and for stakeholders in the excellence of Jewish education.

In preparation for the transition, I took a number of steps to bolster the organizational structure of the Foundation. Most important among these moves is expanded management responsibilities for various professional personnel: in supervising and talent management for Assistant Director Dawne Bear Novicoff; in Foundation strategizing for Josh Miller, promoted to Program Director; in grantmaking responsibilities for Stacie Cherner, promoted to Senior Program Director; and Steven Green, whose relations with grantees in a lead role has increased, resulting in a change in his title to Director of Grants Management/Program Officer. We are also accelerating the learning of Program Officers Aaron Saxe and Seth Linden and Program Associate Jeff Tiell to ensure all aspects of the Foundation’s philanthropy benefit from assiduous professional involvement and oversight.

With all the understandable excitement around the transition, I am proud that the Foundation professional team remains focused on and committed to its work. Last month, many members of the Foundation professional team participated in the Summit on Jewish Teens and BBYO’s International Convention. I was fortunate to attend as well, to be a part of these experiences that were remarkable both for their scale and for their substance of content.

At the Teen Summit, philanthropists, lay leaders, foundation and federation professionals, professional leaders, researchers, educators and—critically—teens joined together to learn, to strategize, and to hear about the latest developments in Jewish teen education and engagement. We spent concentrated time together charting a new path forward that essentially places teens at the center of the Jewish teen education and engagement experience. Teens rightfully so had a prominent place at the table in all of these conversations.

This atmosphere, and this emphasis, was completely different from teen engagement efforts of a generation ago. As a community, we are growing to understand the “whole” teen, recognizing that a Jewish journey does not take place in a vacuum; rather, a Jewish journey is part of a greater life’s voyage, replete with peer and parental influences, successes, challenges, hobbies, and all that life offers. Jewish experiences designed by teens, or deeply informed by their thinking, reflect this reality.

The Foundation’s funding partners in the Summit—Maimonides Fund, The Marcus Foundation, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Awards Committee, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation—created an environment that looked towards the future from a big picture perspective. Summit participants were challenged, for example, to double the number of teens engaged in Jewish life over the next five years. Yet, we are careful to balance this “counting of heads” with a goal to continue to enrich Jewish teen engagement and to enhance Jewish learning as part of that interaction. Across the country, communities now offer teen experiences that blend Jewish learning with technology; new media; sports; and guided workplace experiences that teens find valuable.

A key to the effort emphasized at the Summit is the collaboration among different kinds of funders and organizations to enhance the quality and diversity of teen offerings around the country. While the Foundation certainly recognizes the challenges of collaboration, the benefits derived from co-planning, co-funding, and co-implementation we are confident emphatically validate working together. Increased collaboration by Summit participants and others will amplify the increasingly dynamic and diverse teen offerings.

As the Summit was winding down, BBYO’s International Convention (IC) began. For those who have attended IC, they understand how difficult it is to capture in words the exuberance of Jewish life that IC represents. More than 2,500 teens gathered to explore and joyfully express their Jewishness. They heard from world renowned speakers; they dedicated themselves to causes; they planned how to engage more peers. Through it all, just as we had emphasized at the Summit, teens were the leaders of these experiences. And they will be moving forward.

Teens today are smart, inquisitive and unapologetic. They will question, they will affirm, and they will call out those for not being authentic. Teens want to lead—and many are exceptional leaders.

For the Jim Joseph Foundation, which has placed such a high priority on Jewish teen education and engagement, we returned from the Summit and IC with a sense of affirmation in our work—and with a renewed commitment to it. As the Foundation undergoes leadership transition, we will continue to work with our valued grantees, funding partners, and evaluators to foster effective and dynamic Jewish learning experiences.