JFed Connects - June/July '13

JFED CONNECTS AN UPDATE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT JEWISH FEDERATION

JUNE/JULY 2013

JFedSTL.org

From the CEO

INSIDE Planning & Allocations .......... 2 Calling all DVs........................ 2 Millstone Fellows ................... 2 Legacy Shabbats.................... 3 Disability Survey..................... 3 Gerda’s Story ......................... 3 Case for Giving ...................... 3

SUMMER IN THE CITY

CONNECTING COLLEGE STUDENTS LOCALLY Do you know a Jewish college student or recent college graduate (18 to 22 years old) living in St. Louis for the summer? Have them check out Federation's brand new Summer in the City series!

Summer in the City is designed to connect Jewish college students and highlight what a great city St. Louis is, what great people live here and the diverse ways to get involved Jewishly. Events run now through mid-August and are posted online at JFedSTL.org/Summerinthecity.

SAVE THE DATE Jewish Federation of St. Louis Annual Meeting Tuesday, September 17, 2013 JCC Staenberg Family Complex Arts & Education Building

Federation’s Update, sent out by my predecessor, Barry Rosenberg, provided regular overviews of the issues facing our Jewish community, with a depth of analysis unusual for a community newsletter. The Update communicated Federation’s work to secure lives of human decency and ensure the future of a vibrant Jewish community in St. Louis and abroad.

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Magazine

Tax Credits ............................. 2

CONNECTING WITH YOU

With new times come new ways of communicating. Printing and mailing have, by and large, gone by the wayside. And so we bring you Federation’s new newsletter, JFed Connects. Scheduled bimonthly, it will give you a sense of the breadth and depth of the work you support, with digital links for more information.

In this data-rich age, you have multiple ways of connecting to our work. Federation has moved fully to a multimedia, cross-platform approach to our communications.

You can "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to see real-time postings of Federation's work in our community.

I also continue posting about Federation's work through my blog,

Community Conversations. The blog provides a way for me to offer frequent reflections on topics related to our community and the Jewish people. Recent postings have allowed me to explore our work to invest in Jewish identity and engagement among our Next Gen population, highlight our programs to support seniors, and reflect on the increasing issues surrounding pluralism in Israel.

Of course, you can continue to keep up to date with Jewish Federation's website, JFedSTL.org, and engage with our community at JewishinSt.Louis.org.

I hope you will take a minute to look through the highlights in this edition of JFed Connects. Use these articles to expand your vision of what Federation does to enhance our Jewish community, working in partnerships throughout our St. Louis region.

I also hope you will continue to connect through all these avenues with the profound work that your service, financial support and thought-leadership enable. I look forward to connecting with you and sharing the work that you make possible.

Contact me at arehfeld@jfedstl.org.

Sincerely, Andrew Rehfeld

ST. LOUIS NORC FEATURED IN LADUE NEWS Federation’s St. Louis Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) was selected as a finalist in the 2013 Ladue News Charity Awards in the category Health and Well-Being. Although it was not the winner of the category, the weekly magazine featured a full-page story about the St. Louis NORC and another page on volunteer Andrew Goldfeder. If you missed it, you can see it on the Ladue News website.

CAPSTONE DEVELOPMENT FIRST INVESTOR IN TAX CREDITS FOR FEDERATION’S ST. LOUIS NORC Jewish Federation has been awarded $152,334 in Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits from the state of Missouri for the St. Louis Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) for a three-year period. NAP, administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, provides critical assistance to qualifying community organizations by allowing donors to direct their Missouri tax dollars to local projects. In return, they receive tax credits up to 50 percent of the value of their contribution.

According to Bill Luchini, president of Capstone Development Group and the first investor, “Capstone Development Group is dedicated to building thriving, affordable communities in St. Louis and across the country, so our support of St. Louis NORC fits well into our mission.”

2012 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN SUCCESS ALLOWS JEWISH FEDERATION TO ALLOCATE NEARLY $8.5 M IN 2013-14 Planning & Allocations model focuses on programs/services that advance strategic priorities The success in the 2012 Annual Community Campaign resulted in a 1.3 percent increase in new allocable dollars for 2013-14, allowing Federation’s Board of Directors to approve a plan to distribute a total of $8,495,456 to agencies and programs. In this second year of a new Planning and Allocations model that focuses on programs and services that align with Federation’s strategic priorities, total strategic program grants increased by 19.9 percent and now account for 28.4 percent of allocations. Four years ago, strategic program grants accounted for 16.3 percent of the total.

“Thanks to the generosity of our community, we are excited to be able to target dollars directly to areas that have been identified as most critical to achieve our goal of ensuring the future of our thriving Jewish community,” says Bob Millstone, Federation chair. “We’ve been able to continue funding great programs that engage families and young adults, like PJ Library, the Concierge for Families with Young Children and Birthright Israel, and help start new transformative programs like the Innovation Grants. We also continue to support programs that help vulnerable Jews both here in St. Louis and around the world.”

Complete information on this year’s allocations can be found in the 2013 Planning and Allocations Committee Report, which can be accessed online at http://bit.ly/jfedparep. ,

CALLING ALL DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEERS Please join us for a “Campaign Coffee Talk” at Deer Creek Coffee on Wednesday, July 31 at 7 pm. We have some very important information to share with you about the new timing of the Annual Campaign and plans for closing out this year’s campaign. Also, we have some new tools to help you succeed in your solicitations.

We’ll provide appetizers and coffee. You won’t want to miss it! RSVP to Veronica Marshall at vmarshall@jfedstl.org or 314-442-3803.

St. Louis NORC is thrilled to have Capstone as the first buyer. Given their mission of building community as well as communities, this is a natural alignment of interests.

Do you know of a business that might be interested in such a generous tax provision? Call Ken Weintraub at 314-442-3731.

MILLSTONE FELLOWS DEVELOPS LEADERS

Now in its second year, the Millstone Fellows is a new model for collaborative leadership development, bringing together 25 participants from across the spectrum of the entire Jewish Community. Local and national trainers engage participants in exploring values-based leadership, creating shared visions, examining trends in Jewish life and strengthening skills for community building. Together the Fellows create relationships that lead to collaborations and ongoing networks to guide our community in to the future. To learn more about the Millstone Fellows or to nominate a participant for the 2014 program, contact Karen Sher at 314-442-3824 or ksher@jfedstl.org.

MORE THAN 650 ATTEND ANNUAL LEGACY SHABBATS St. Louis congregations host unique events to honor volunteers and donors who gave legacy gifts through the Jewish Community Foundation Eight local synagogues and one agency held Legacy Shabbat programs June 21 and 22 as part of “Create a Jewish Legacy,” an initiative of the Jewish Community Foundation of St. Louis. More than 650 people took part in the activities that recognized the efforts of more than 200 community volunteer solicitors and celebrated the many donors who have made bequest gifts and legacy commitments to their congregations. The message of the weekend was anyone can leave a legacy.

“Our synagogue’s programming made our legacy donors feel appreciated, while also spreading the message that anyone can leave a legacy.”

Lay leader Sherri Weintrop, Kol Rinah

Participating congregations came from across the denominational spectrum and put their unique spin on the weekend events. The congregations included: Bais Abraham Congregation, Central Reform Congregation, Congregation B'nai Amoona, Congregation Shaare Emeth, Kol Rinah, Tpheris Israel Chevra Kadisha Congregation, Traditional Congregation, and United Hebrew Congregation. The Holocaust Museum and Learning Center also held an event in June.

In addition, Nusach Hari B’nai Zion held a Legacy Shabbat on July 6, and Young Israel of St. Louis will hold a Legacy Shabbat on August 24.

Create a Jewish Legacy is a partnership of 18 agencies, synagogues and day schools with a common goal of securing the future and long-term vitality of the St. Louis Jewish community. The program emphasizes the importance of organizations working together to secure legacy gifts for the betterment of the entire community.

Participating organizations receive ongoing training, personal consulting services, marketing assistance and incentive funding to help them implement legacy programs. Learn more at JCF-STL.org.

DISABILTY SURVEY NEXT STEP IN INCLUSION/DISABILITIES INITIATIVE As reported in Andrew Rehfeld’s May 20th Community Conversations blog, the Federation is embarking on a program to identify ways our community can improve services to Jews with disabilities and propose solutions to make services a reality. In June, we created a survey to measure our community’s strengths and challenges in this area and gain consensus on how we should prioritize our response.

The survey was distributed throughout the Jewish community and to many of the major agencies in the secular community that serve this target population. The survey garnered nearly 200 responses. The survey results will be a major focus when Becca

Hornstein, director of the Council for Jews with Special Needs in Phoenix, returns to St. Louis in August to “The survey is a terrific idea. If we get meet with a a good response, it strategic will help us identify planning the community’s committee needs.”

Eileen Schechter, that will start whose adult to translate daughter, Stephanie, our findings has Down syndrome into action.

Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all members of the St. Louis Jewish community are able to participate fully in spiritual, educational, celebratory and life-event activities.

GERDA’S STORY The Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, in collaboration with Congregation Shaare Emeth, will present a dramatic reading, Letters to Gerda: The Story of a Family Shattered by the Holocaust.

Gerda Nothmann Luner was the only immediate member of her family to survive the Holocaust. Her parents, grandparents, sister and the Dutch foster family she lived with were all exterminated by the Nazis in 1943, but miraculously their voices can still be heard today. Their letters and postcards, sent to Gerda and saved by a family friend, tell a heartbreaking yet moving story of the power of the human spirit that will be recreated in a dramatic reading. The reading will be presented at Congregation Shaare Emeth on Sunday, August 18 at 4 pm.

The event is free, but reservations are requested—please call 314-442-3711.

THRIVING. TOGETHER. Jewish Federation of St. Louis recently published Building and Ensuring a Lasting Community, which outlines how Federation fulfills its mission and how donors and volunteers can make a difference. You can access it online at http://bit.ly/jfedcase.