The Jewish Alliance wants to hear what’s important to you

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This fall, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is undertaking a community strategic-planning process to help it develop goals and strategies for the next three years. It will replace the current plan, which set goals through June 30, 2020.

 

“We want to build the Alliance’s goals from what we hear from community members,” said Adam Greenman, Alliance president and CEO.  “We want to hear what makes a Jewish community strong and vibrant, and develop our organization’s goals based on what we hear.”

As part of the strategic-planning process, the Alliance will hold a series of listening sessions to get input from all parts of the Jewish community on the challenges facing the community today, as well as the hopes and desires of the community for tomorrow.  The discussions and information sessions will take place in private homes and synagogues statewide, at the Jewish Alliance, and at partner agencies.

This fall, an informational survey will also be distributed communitywide, and will be available online.

A strategic-planning work group, composed of lay leaders, Alliance board members, volunteers and staff, will sift through the information collected during these listening sessions and in the survey, in addition to examining national data, to develop goals and strategies for the next three years.

The data and suggested strategic next steps will be shared with the community. Outcomes may include new programs and services designed to meet long-term goals, a new funding strategy to meet the community’s needs, and other opportunities for the Alliance to serve as a central hub for safeguarding the community’s future.  

In 2017, the Alliance began implementing a three-year strategic plan designed to set a foundation for future plans and to help guide the organization through the initial years of Greenman’s role as CEO. Much of the work in the current plan has been accomplished, while a few remaining goals and strategies are on their way to completion. This has created a solid base for the Alliance to build upon throughout the next decade; the new strategic plan is an essential next step in that development.

“This process and the plan that comes out of it will build a strong foundation for our entire Jewish community,” said James Pious, chair of the Alliance’s board. 

The Alliance hopes as many community members as possible will engage in the process, either through the survey, or by attending a listening session to provide their thoughts on where the Jewish community goes from here. 

“We hope to hear from people across Rhode Island,” said Greenman. “We encourage everyone to participate in the survey, and are excited for the upcoming interviews and meetings we will be scheduling. A plan is only as good as the data collected, so it’s important we hear from everyone.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Jennifer Zwirn, director of community investment, at jzwirn@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 102.