COMMUNITY FORUM CONVERSATIONS Facilitation Guide In the twenty-first century, Jewish community life is changing in ways both large and small. At the same time, we believe we share an enduring aspiration to build a vibrant and resilient Jewish community across Greater Washington a community of meaning, purpose and connection. This facilitation guide is designed to help different groups across our community facilitate a conversation with community members: a conversation to help articulate our communal aspirations and to define the unique roles our Federation should play in helping realize this shared vision. Together, this input will inform the strategy that our Federation develops to support our community for the coming years. 0
Contents About this Facilitation Guide... 2 Objectives for the Conversation... 2 Preparing for the Conversation... 3 Who to Invite... 3 How to Invite Participants... 3 Preparing the Space... 4 Optional materials to have on hand... 4 Facilitation Guide... 5 High Level Agenda... 5 A Few Points of Facilitation Advice... 5 Detailed Facilitator s Agenda... 6 Processing the Conversation... 8 Participant Follow-Up... 9 Appendix A: Trends Affecting Our Community...10 Appendix B: Template for Capturing Insights... 122 1
About this Facilitation Guide Thank you for agreeing to host a conversation with community members in your network about the future of the Greater Washington Jewish community. We appreciate your willingness to have a conversation and share back with our Federation the key insights of your discussion. This facilitation guide offers suggestions and guidance on how you can plan for, facilitate and share back insights from the conversation you host. Objectives for the Conversation In our strategy development effort, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington aims to collect aspirations for our community, and then use data collected to define the unique roles that our Federation can/should play in supporting that vision of community. Your efforts in hosting this conversation will help ensure that we hear from more voices across our community, and that the communal vision we develop is truly reflective of the diverse needs and aspirations of the Jews living in Greater Washington. More specifically, we hope that each conversation will: Gather input and insights from across diverse stakeholders to inform a more robust vision for our community, and, a more robust strategy for Federation Engage individuals who are not in regular contact with Federation or the broader Greater Washington Jewish community 2
Preparing for the Conversation Who to Invite An ideal conversation will include between 5-20 participants in active dialogue. We encourage you to invite participants who: Are (potentially) interested in the future of Jewish community life, and are willing to spend 90 minutes of time in dialogue Are willing to engage in conversation Collectively, represent a diversity of viewpoints from across your specific network (e.g., spanning different generations, different levels of involvement with your organization, different levels of broader Jewish connection) We particularly encourage you to include in your list of invitees those significant supporters of your organization s work (e.g., highly active volunteers, Board members and/or donors) but to not limit your invitation list to this group. One word of advice: use your judgment on how to involve those individuals with the strongest viewpoints. We believe it is critical for this conversation to allow strong viewpoints and counterviewpoints to be discussed respectfully. However, we would discourage participation from any individuals who are unwilling to listen or engage in productive dialogue with others who have alternate viewpoints. In short: invite those who will productively contribute to the dialogue. How to Invite Participants Please feel free to adapt the following language in extending your invitations, or log on to Federation s Strategic Planning website at shalomdc.org/forumresources/ for a template version. We suggest you send invitations at least 2-3 weeks in advance of the conversation. Headline Additional Context We invite you to a conversation exploring the future of the Greater Washington Jewish Community Individuals and organizations across the Greater Washington Jewish community are hosting conversations about the future of our community. In the twenty-first century, Jewish community life is changing in ways both large and small. At the same time, we believe we share an enduring aspiration to build a vibrant and resilient Jewish community across Greater Washington a community of meaning, purpose and connection. We aim to hear from many voices across our community to help develop a community vision that reflects the aspirations of Jews living across the Metro DC area. Your perspective can help us articulate our aspirations as a community and will additionally help inform the next strategy of The Jewish Federation Greater Washington as it seeks to define how it can best support our communal aspirations. This conversation will ultimately help us build more robust ways to connect people to each other and to deepen our connections to Judaism and the Jewish community. We hope you will join us for what promises to be an exciting, stimulating and engaging conversation. 3
Logistics Optional Pre-Read Materials [Insert relevant logistics about date, time, location, and duration. Please use your judgment in setting a date, time and location that will work best for your participants. The facilitation guide we have provided is designed for a 90- minute conversation. If relevant, you may also wish to include details about parking and whether food or drink will be available.] You may find it helpful to circulate the following links as teasers into the content of the conversation: Judaism s Life Changing Ideas: Judaism was and remains a dazzlingly original way of thinking about life. A Portrait of Jewish Americans: 2013 Pew Research Study Changing Demographics in Jewish Families Today: Jewish families today tend not to conform to the image of two married parents living with their kids 2017 Greater Washington Jewish Community Demographic Study, funded by The Morningstar Foundation Preparing the Space The ideal space for hosting this conversation is conducive to good interaction and dialogue for your group of 5-20 participants. Where possible, we encourage you to opt for a space that offers: Flexible seating that allows people to sit in a large group where they can all see each other (e.g., a large square or circle), but also to break apart into smaller clusters. If available, movable small tables to provide participants with a writing surface. However, we recommend you avoid spaces with large immovable tables that block the movement of people (i.e., a room occupied by a central, immovable large table) Some additional floor space around the margins for participants to stand, walk and mingle Good natural light (if you are meeting in the daytime). Additionally, the facilitation guide offers you the option of using flipcharts or whiteboards. For large group discussions of this kind, it can be helpful to note key themes or insights on a flipchart or whiteboard, to allow participants to track the conversation. If you choose to use a flipchart or whiteboard, please plan to have the flipchart or whiteboard at the front or side of the room. If flipcharts or whiteboards are used at your forum, we ask that you take pictures of the sheets and submit the photos with your Community Forum Insight Collection Form. We recommend you do not project slides for this conversation. Our intent is to get people into dialogue with each-other, and use of a projector can act as a barrier. Instead, we recommend you distribute printed handouts of any materials that need to be referred to in-room. Optional materials to have on hand The following list of materials are optional in the facilitation guide, but you may find helpful to have on-hand. Printouts of optional reference materials for the group to reference throughout the conversation. These materials are available on Federation s Strategic Planning website at shalomdc.org/forumresources/ 4
Printout of the insight-collection template for your use as facilitator. Available on Federation s Strategic Planning website at shalomdc.org/forumresources/ Name tags or name tents (if you are using tables) Flipcharts and flipchart markers for use in the meeting Facilitation Guide High Level Agenda Time Duratio Topic n 0:00-0:10 10 min Assume late start, allow time for mixing and mingling 0:10-0:15 5 min Welcome and Review Objectives 0:15-0:25 10 min Brief Introductions 0:30-0:45 15 min Changes in our Community 0:45-1:10 25 min Aspirations for our Community 1:10 --1:25 15 min Input on the Role of Federation 1:25-1:30 5 min Closing Reflections & Thanks A Few Points of Facilitation Advice Below are some pieces of facilitation advice for you to help guide your group s discussion: The most insightful dialogues invite all participants to have voice and contribute to the conversation surface controversial topics drive the group s thinking forward manage time well Facilitation Advice If you find the conversation is being dominated by a handful of voices, we encourage you to state, Let s hear from some other voices in the room, and call on those who may be more reserved to share their opinions. If you feel there is an elephant in the room or countervailing viewpoint that should be raised, feel free to play devil s advocate and put the topic on the table for discussion or reaction If you believe the conversation is starting to go in circles, we recommend you summarize a few key themes I am hearing are to help move the conversation forward If you are having trouble staying on time, please exercise your best judgment. In some conversations where there is a lot of energy for a specific topic, it is better to go deep and just acknowledge you will not get to other topics. In others, it is better to push the group forward and gather less-deep insights across a broader range of topics. One technique you may find helpful is to state, To make sure we have time to talk about all topics, let me take just two more comments on this and then we will move on. 5
Detailed Facilitator s Agenda Below, we provide talking points and facilitation suggestions for each part of the agenda. Feel free to share these ideas using your own words. 0:00-0:10 10 min Assume late start, allow time for mixing and mingling As people arrive and get settled, please welcome them to the session and encourage them to use a name tag/name tent. 0:10-5 min Welcome and Review Objectives 0:15 Thank you for joining this community conversation. Our objective today is to gather your perspectives on what our aspirations should be for the Greater Washington Jewish community. This is one of many conversations being hosted by organizations across MD, DC and Northern VA, sparked by a request from The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Why are we having this conversation now? o Because we know that Jewish communal life is changing in ways both large and small, and it s an important time to get clarity on what we aspire to as a community. o Because the Federation is in the midst of strategic planning, which is an opportunity for us to help define (or redefine) not only our community s aspirations, but also the role that Federation can play. We believe we share an enduring aspiration to build a vibrant and resilient Jewish community across Greater Washington a community of meaning, purpose and connection. We ve designed a stimulating and engaging conversation to delve deeper into these topics. 0:15-10 min Brief Introductions 0:25 If you have convened a small group of 10 participants or less, we suggest using the ice breaker noted below. For larger groups, a simple :30 sec introduction by each participant will be sufficient in order to be mindful of time and get things started quickly. Even If participants generally know each other: we thought we d use this opportunity to ask you to deepen your knowledge of each other. If participants don t generally know each other: Because many of us are new to each other, we d like to use this opportunity for you to get to know each other. Please turn to your neighbor and share one fun fact about yourself that your neighbor doesn t know about you perhaps related to your connections to the Jewish community. We ll then have you introduce your neighbor by name and fun fact. (Allow 5 min for conversation in pairs and roughly 30 seconds per introduction.) 0:30-0:45 15 min Changes in our Community Appendix A contains a two-page summary of different trends that are shaping our community. We suggest you hand this document out or post slides around the room and give participants 5 6
minutes to review, then open up for 10 minutes of conversation. Use the following questions to facilitate this section. Feel free to vary the sequence of questions to better support the flow of conversation. Optional: capture key points from the discussion on flipchart or whiteboard. What resonates about these trends, based on your own experience and observations of our community? What surprises you about these trends? What gives you the most concern as you think about the future of our community? 0:45-30 min Aspirations for our Community 1:15 Use the following questions to facilitate this section. Feel free to vary the sequence of questions to better support the flow of conversation. Optional: capture key points from the discussion on flipchart or whiteboard. Given the changes we are seeing in our community, let s turn to what we aspire to as a community. What is one word that describes for you the kind of Jewish community you want to be part of? Please record each word said on the Community Forum Input Response Form that you will submit at the conclusion of your forum. For you, what is most valuable in belonging to and being part of a Jewish community? What should we seek to preserve no matter what in our Jewish community? Probe on: o Connections and relationships o What Jewish elements are critical: e.g., basic services for Jews in need, Jewish services at important life junctures (e.g., hospice), etc. o What specific institutions or organizations and why? What priority areas should the Greater Washington Jewish community focus on? o Noticeable gaps in the community o Things working well today that could be even better We are each already connected to many different small communities (e.g., our synagogue, our kid s day school, volunteering with a Jewish nonprofit). Is there value to seeing ourselves as part of a larger Greater Washington Jewish community? Why? 1:15-15 min Input on the Role of Federation 1:30 Optional: capture key points from the discussion on flipchart or whiteboard. Federations have historically played an important role in supporting many American Jewish communities, acting as a centralized fundraising body that distributes funds to organizations on behalf of the community. They are one of the few (and sometimes the only) Jewish community organization that has perspective across many different issues a community might face, from issues of caring to issues of Jewish life and education to connections between the local community with Israel. However, the ways people connect to Jewish communal life are evolving, and the way they connect to giving is changing the dynamics in which Federations operate. What role(s) do you believe our Federation should focus on in order to support the vision of community we discussed earlier? Why? 7
1:25-5 min Closing reflections & Thank You 1:30 Thank the participants for attending and sharing their important points of view. Share that you will capture key themes from this meeting and anonymously share back with the Federation to inform their strategy process. After this meeting, we will circulate to you a link where you can offer further input in case there is anything further that you would like to share. Notify them of the three Town Hall Dates (May 6 in MD, May 10 in DC and May 23 in NoVa) and tell them their attendance is welcome and encouraged. Inform attendees that on May 1, Federation will launch a digital survey and they are encouraged to visit the Federation Strategic Planning website to participate at shalomdc.org/communityforum Thank you for sharing your perspective! Your input has helped push our thinking and we think we are better prepared to support our community as a result. Processing the Conversation Community Forum Input Response Form Please use the template in Appendix B to capture the headlines and key insights from this conversation to share back with The Jewish Federation. This form can be downloaded, printed and filled in via print or you may go online and fill out the highlights digitally at shalomdc.org/foruminputresponse/. We ask that you submit a completed response form within three days of completing your forum. Participant Follow-Up After the conversation, we encourage you to send a follow-up email to your participants sharing the following elements or by using the follow up template available on Federation s Strategic Planning website: Thank You Thank you for your participation in our community conversation! Your insights and perspective are invaluable as we help contribute to shaping a vision for the future of the Greater Washington Jewish community. Summary Next Steps If you wish to share back with your participants, the completed template (Appendix B) capturing insights from the conversation: Attached is a 1- page document that summarized headlines and key insights from our conversation. If there was further input that you did not have an opportunity to raise in our discussion but would like to share with The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington to inform our strategy development process, please submit using the link below. Additionally, if you have friends who were not able to join our discussion but who would be interested in the topics we discussed, please feel free to circulate this link to them to share their perspectives. www.shalomdc.org/communityforum 8
Sharing Insights with other Stakeholders We hope that the conversation will generate insights about our communal aspirations that will inform the work of your organization, and encourage you to share any insights, learnings or reflections with other stakeholders in your networks (including staff, volunteers, board members and donors) as you feel is appropriate. 9
Appendix A: Trends Affecting Our Community The 2017 Greater Washington, DC Jewish Community Demographic Study revealed new insights about the Jewish community that resides in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland (that is, the Metro DC area), including: Significant growth in the size of the Greater Washington Jewish community, which currently numbers nearly 300,000 Jewish adults and children in over 155,000 households. As defined by Federation catchment areas, it is the third largest Jewish community in the United States. Greater Washington, DC s Jews constitute about 6% of the area population. The Jewish community s size has grown by 37% since 2003, with a strong center of population in Montgomery County (now 37% of Greater Washington Jewish households), two-fold growth in Washington DC (22%) and significant population growth in Northern Virginia (41%). However, there exists a feeling of separation and distance between these geographic areas. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that our established Jewish institutions were founded in Montgomery County, but as our population has grown in areas like Northern Virginia, current Jewish organizations have not expanded, and few new Jewish institutions have been built in these locations. There are differences as well in the degree to which people engage in Jewish life across the geographies. Moreover, although there are strong networks of connected leaders within our Jewish community, there is little connectivity across these networks. A population characterized by youth and energy. Greater Washington s Jews are younger than the national Jewish population. The median age of all Washington area Jewish adults is 45, younger than the median age (50) of Jewish adults nationally. Compared to the national Jewish population, the Washington-area Jewish community has proportionally more adults ages 30-39 and fewer who are ages 40-64. As a destination of choice for young adults, many of whom have been touched by national Jewish programs like Birthright Israel, Washington, DC has seen an influx of people bringing vitality to places where Jewish life did not thrive in 2003. As with the rest of American Jewry, the community is diverse. Seven percent of Jewish adults identify as LGBTQ, and seven percent as a person of color or Hispanic/Latino. Among households with married or partnered Jews, 53% of couples include someone who does not identify as Jewish. The diversity of Greater Washington Jewry is also seen in the many types of Jewish identification and means of engagement in Jewish life, with a variety of Jewish identities reflecting the fact that Judaism is not only a religion, but is also an ethnicity, a culture, a people and a heritage. While 51% of the population is either highly engaged in all aspects Jewish life or involved in most aspects of Jewish life, others are involved in varied ways -- some through traditional religious institutions and others primarily through more cultural or educational paths. Of note, 14% (or roughly 1 in 7) have little to no involvement in Jewish life. A population that is highly engaged, but less so in formal Jewish activities. For example, some 36,000 Jewish children across Greater Washington are not involved in any Jewish activity (such as a school or youth group). A higher-than-expected number of people are seeking social services and choosing agencies outside the Jewish community, and a significant percentage of Jews volunteer outside of the Jewish community. 10
National trends in American Jewish community life: Significant shifts in denominational affiliation, as well as a growing portion of interfaith families. People are looking for connection and community, but no longer define these by traditional denominational affiliation. The evolution of perceptions about Israel and Israeli politics, from a topic that brought Jews together in previous generations, to a topic than can drive Jews apart. Broad societal and cultural shifts in how individuals relate to the whole, from growing distrust of institutions to shifts in whether and how people join and participate in communities. As observers of American society, such as Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, have observed, people in our society have become increasingly disconnected from our communities. Changes in Philanthropy and Charitable Giving How people give money today to support charitable causes is also undergoing seismic shifts. As income inequality has risen, particularly in the US, charitable organizations have become increasingly dependent on a smaller pool of wealthy donors to maintain their financial health. Technology has also shifted how connected donors feel they should be to the impact of their gifts (large or small). Creating those emotional connections can be particularly challenging for community fundraising organizations whose expertise and unique value often lies in the intangible, i.e. having a community-wide perspective on which issues are most pressing in a specific region and having deep relationships across the direct-service agencies that serve beneficiaries. Many of these umbrella organizations are increasingly faced with the need to choose between supporting broad community goals versus catering to the more specific interests of their major donors. 11
Appendix B: Community Forum Insight Response Form Capturing Insights from Community Forum Conversations Thank you for agreeing to host a conversation with community members in your network about the future of the Greater Washington Jewish community. Please use this form to capture the headlines and key insights from this conversation to share back with Federation. We ask that you submit the form within three days of completing your forum. The form can be emailed to jessica.dishell@shalomdc.org or you can use the digital form available on Federation s Strategic Planning website. ALL COMMUNITY FORUMS & FORMS SHOULD BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED TO FEDERATION NO LATER THAN JUNE 15, 2018 Hosting Organization: Conversation Date: / / Location: Conversation Participants: Please submit names and email addresses of forum participants on the registration form. Email addresses will be used to update participants on the strategic planning process. If they choose not to give their email, that is acceptable. Top Three Headlines from Conversation: 1 2 3 3-5 Additional Insights about Changes in our Community What One Words were used to describe Jewish Community? In this section, please record every word that was noted by participants. [list words here] 3-5 Additional Insights about our Community Aspirations 12
3-5 Additional Insights about the Role of Federation Reflections: What 2-3 takeaways does your organization have from this conversation? 13