From reproductive freedom and gender equality to immigration reform, healthcare access and beyond, we stand for social justice. We achieve our goals through
Philanthropy, Advocacy, Community Service and Education
Minutes for August 12, 2015 Board Meeting and Planning Session
Presiding: Beryl Michaels
The meeting was called to order at 4:20 p.m.
Present: Barbara Baran, Anne Eisenberg, Deb Gordon, Joan Gorfain, Lindie Henderson,
Claire Lipschultz, Beryl Michaels, Vicki Rand, Patricia Sturdevant; and Hana Hartman, Scribe.
Minutes of July 10, 2015 Approved.
Report from Barbara Baran on SB 23, repeal of the Maximum Family Grant
There is no money in the Governor’s budget this year to fund additional grants for newborns, but the legislative caucus wants to pass the bill next year. This provides a great opportunity to create a progressive interfaith alliance, which NCJW could play an important role in establishing and helping to lead. See Advocacy Update from Barbara Baran and Claire
Lipschultz for more information.
Review of Purpose of Strategic Planning Session
 Beryl first gave an overview of the topics to be discussed in this assessment and planning session, and the goal of developing a plan for the next two years. Topics include: o Discussion of Section strengths and successes- What provides the basis for engagement and activities? What do we do well or successfully and why? o Discussion of Opportunities and Challenges- What was determined or planned already? Can we manage it all? What are the goals, timing and resources for each? o Formulation of a basic plan that we agree upon and can circulate to our members including goals, strategies, measurables, timelines/dates, and resources (human and other). o Evaluation- ongoing –when, how and who. Beryl asked members to think about our own involvement/committee and the responsibility for supporting others
Discussion of Strengths/Successes, and Challenges/Opportunities, led by Lindie
Henderson
 Planning: how can we make participation in NCJW meaningful, important and rewarding?
 o What can we do for ourselves as members? o We need to make a plan, and then figure out how to implement it.
Strengths: o A dynamic, creative, intelligent Board o The basic philosophy and values of NCJW
 Human dignity
 Responsibility to improve the world

 Social justice
 Civil rights
 Equality

Successes:
Concern for the poorest and least o Advocacy o Education o Community service, acting on successes with others in the community
 Meals, Sister Nora’s
 Crisis nursery
 Blanket project
1
NCJWSAC.ORG INFO@NCJWSAC.ORG

 Wish list for WEAVE, Women’s Empowerment, Wind Youth Services
 Challenges: o How to become more strategic and increase our impact o Lack of sufficient financial resources o Activating membership (150 are involved of 276; 20 Section members are on the Rapid Response Team) o Increasing membership: getting younger members; National is looking at membership and strategies for local sections, and we can build on their efforts o Utilizing social media to support our activities; “join” seems to be a bad word for some age groups o Members need to know what our section is doing right now before we ask for their involvement o Consider how to plug people in to ongoing projects o Ask “What will make us relevant in Sacramento?”
 Opportunities: o Ours to decide based on our strengths o Use SEVEN as a vehicle to make ourselves known, promote the organization, get new members, organize marketing there, and use as a launching pad o Reach out to colleges and universities for SEVEN o Increase our visibility in activities and issues such as human trafficking and SB 23 o Develop materials, both print and electronic to use in marketing at our events and at all meetings with other groups
Formation of two Work Groups
Members were divided into two groups, one to discuss item II (taking advantage of our place in the Capitol by being visible legislatively) and III (developing a robust community service component) on the document called strategic planning for 2015-2016,describing the discussion at the July meeting. The second group discussed item IV (significantly expanding membership and involvement of members) and V (design and implement a viable fund development plan).
The groups were charged with defining goals, creating strategies, identifying measurables, specifying objectives, including what NCJW must do and should do, prioritizing issues, developing back up plans, considering overlap with other section activities and addressing marketing and support.
Reports of Work Groups
 Advocacy, item II The group first recommends rewriting the item as: Fully take advantage of being in the Capitol, be visible and effective legislatively in implementing the NCJW agenda. o Strategies and Goals: Work in coalitions with other organizations with shared mutual interests, such as A Stronger California, the interfaith coalition, and other
Jewish, women’s, progressive, and interfaith groups.
 Connect with other Jewish organizations
 Begin to attend Jewish legislative caucus meetings, Capitol Knesset
 Hold Lobby Day again
 Increase involvement of Rapid Response Team
 Engage key policy makers; have one program with them as speakers, invite them to SEVEN and other events
 Use advocacy work to build membership; take names, develop lists, do outreach
 Develop a Robust Community Service Component, item III o Strategies and Goals:
 Create and develop additional robust projects: Israel, health conference, scholarship for Women’s Empowerment graduates
 Work in coalitions consonant with our values
2
NCJWSAC.ORG INFO@NCJWSAC.ORG

 Use community service work to show that NCJW is THE place to go and to increase involvement of our members
 Significantly expand membership and involvement of members, item IV o Strategies: To be effective, we need a chair for membership, and a working committee. Suggested activities include:
 Targeting women in their 40s and 50s as potential new members
 Hold more events and programs of interest
 Publicize information about what we do
 Invite new members to programs
 Have more, and more personal, contact with members and prospective members, provide “buddy” to new people.
 Possibly raise funds to hire a staff person, or reach out to recent law school graduate to volunteer or college student to do some work, for credit, on work/study or as a volunteer
 Find out what other sections are doing regarding membership
 Make brochures and other literature available at events. Add a second piece to the brochure on which people can indicate areas of interest and volunteer
 Follow up with prompt calls to all who sign up to determine areas of o Goals: interest, and get them involved
 Increase membership by 3-5%
 Focus on getting new members since we have a large number of life members
 Contact existing members with a positive message, thanking them for being members, providing information about our section and encouraging more activity from members
 Design and implement a viable fund development plan, item V o Strategies: Again, to be effective, we need a chair for this function, with a working committee. Suggested activities include:
 Identify chair or co-chairs for fundraising
 Follow up with life members and ask for a for 1 year commitment
 Offer sustaining memberships and set up monthly automatic contributing
 Fund raisers need to show what specific programs are and what the funds will be used for before asking for money
 Give people or groups the opportunity to underwrite some activities in our budget
 At every program, describe what projects the section has, include people at tables showing various projects, and have signup sheets available
 Have a Tzedakah Box for contributions at each activity
 Take time at Board meetings to look at the directory and call ten people each to thank and engage them
 Develop talking points for those calls
Next Board Meeting: o Reports are due at least two days in advance of the Board meeting.
o Next board meeting is September 9, 2015, 6:45 PM at Einstein Arts and Crafts room.
The meeting ended with grateful thanks to Lindie for facilitating the session and to Hana for being the scribe. Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Patricia Sturdevant, Recording Secretary
3
NCJWSAC.ORG INFO@NCJWSAC.ORG