Brandeis National Committee National Executive Committee Meeting Minutes November 4, 2016 The meeting was called to order at 9:00am by National President, Madalyn Friedberg. Madalyn opened by thanking the Committee members for their seriousness in regards to their participation in NEC meetings over the course of the previous 2 days. She explained that she was unable to attend them herself as she was attending Brandeis Board of Trustee meetings she said she was both happy and proud to attend and represent the BNC at those BOT meetings and thrilled that BNC was part of the inauguration ceremonies. Madalyn mentioned the recent report by U.S. News and World Report of top colleges and universities, noting Brandeis high standing, stating that BNC can be proud of who we are and what we do for Brandeis University. Madalyn stated her top three goals to focus on for the year: 1. Increase its membership, 2. Improve leadership development efforts, and 3. Improve fundraising. In regards to membership, Madalyn said that it was important to improve and increase the connections of BNC members to BNC and, more importantly, to Brandeis University. She noted that many BNC members don t realize what BNC s purpose or mission is that we are the philanthropic arm of Brandeis University. Madalyn reminded the group what the purpose of the National Executive Committee (NEC) is that they are the policy-making arm of the BNC. Therefore, they will be discussing issues that have been raised since the May meeting that need addressing. Anti-Semitism on campus. One issue that has been raised is the accusation that Brandeis University has an anti-semitic environment. There is no blatant anti-semitism on campus. One reason is the open dialogue. Example, a slide with a picture of a tent appeared on the screen, and Madalyn asked the group if they knew what the tent represented. After several answers were offered, it was confirmed that this is
where Break-the-fast is held on campus every year for the Brandeis community. Hundreds of students come to take part in celebrating the Jewish holiday as a community. There was a continuing discussion about the number of Jewish students and Muslim students. We estimate that there are approximately 40% Jewish students; recently there was a large influx of Chinese students who come to Brandeis because parents believe that Brandeis is safe and an excellent place for education. We believe that the number of Jewish students will go back to 50% because of Ron Liebowitz expressed intentions to return to the foundation of Brandeis University. Brandeis is one of the few universities whose programs are not funded by middle-eastern countries. A request was made about distributing certain kinds of information and Beth responded that she has those materials, however, she did not want them distributed to the broader group of BNC leaders; she feels it would just create negativity. If there is an issue in a chapter, then the information can be sent on an individual basis to a member. The slide that was shown during the closing of the Inauguration ceremony, individuals from the Brandeis community sharing their best wishes expressed by their respective religious beliefs, was very emotional and reinforced the non-sectarian openness on campus. Barbara Sander mentioned an email that she received from a new member she had met at a Sarasota event. In it, the woman referenced the acronym SJP. Barbara asked the group for some clarification on what that is. Jacob Abrams responded that, while we don t have BDS here at Brandeis University like they do at other liberal schools, we do have a chapter of SJP: Students for Justice in Palestine. He explained that the group holds a specific political view, but that they do not trash Israel. This group and their views are not a dominant factor here; Jewish life thrives here. Ruth Bender asked Jacob what types of activities SJP participates in? He replied that none of their activities are obstructionist. Norma asked if that was because Brandeis University frowns upon such activities, or because the group has respect for Brandeis. Jacob said SJP is careful to parse out anti-semitism. They are opposed to Israeli politics, but not to the Jewish people.
Barbara Sander added that the Brandeis Board of Trustees are struggling with determining the extent of free speech that should be allowed on campus. Madalyn then shared that a new Chief Diversity Officer was just hired, and she was very excited about that. Policy on treatment and costs of Personal Care Assistants at event Beth Bernstein shared with the group an incident that had recently taken place at an event in Boca Raton. An attendee, who paid double to sit at a special table, arrived with an aide. Aides have not attended events. The aide sat outside in the hall with other aides. At one point, the woman needed some assistance, so her aide was called in. There being an empty seat next to the paying attendee, the aide was offered to stay and sit next to the woman. This caused pushback and controversy as many complained that the woman should have paid for that seat as well. The woman ultimately paid it, however, she was both insulted and offended. The aide was black and the woman felt strongly that her race was made an issue. Her daughter was upset by this incident and called the chapter to demand that a policy be issued on this matter. The chapter assured her that the additional $200 her mother paid for the aide would be returned, and that the matter would be addressed by the full board. Carol Rabinovitz said that she was at that event, and was horrified the reimbursement needs to be accompanied by a strong apology. She added that while she believes this incident to be an exception, it still needs to be handled publicly, and it should be made clear that aides should be welcomed and treated with dignity. Elaine Bloom agreed, but feels that the apology should come directly from the Boca chapter. Alexis Magid asked what that policy would look like? She said that she was also bothered by the fact that the aides are seated at a table outside the room! Madalyn then suggested that the group not even refer to them as aides; the term caregiver is more dignified. Norma stated that the President of the Boca chapter needed to be spoken to and involved in the solution of the matter.
Madalyn then asked the group whether they thought this should be made a BNC policy, or an individual chapter policy? Lydia argued that this should be made a BNC policy. Tina Levine agreed: it should be a policy set by BNC, which would then get trickled down to the individual chapters. She added that in her chapter they ask that the member pay a fee for the aide if they bring one along. Judy Kendall-Levine insisted that whatever we are planning to do should first be run the Brandeis University legal department to make sure it is even possible. Barbara Sander said she didn t think there should even be a distinction between a guest and an aide, and each of them should pay a fee to attend an event. Ron Levy cautioned that the group should be careful about writing a policy that is based solely on one incident. Lydia assured him that it is not just one there have been others. Carol Abrams argued that there is a larger issue here: if members want to continue their connection to Brandeis, the NEC needs to communicate to the chapters that they need to be sure to hold their events at facilities that are handicap accessible this is the context in which the policy lies. Lori Roth reiterated the idea that there is a need for a broader policy, and that it should be run by the Brandeis legal department. Madalyn then posed the question of whether Personal Care Assistant should pay a special fee, or the regular event cost? Norma responded by stating first that, this was not an issue of cost but rather of respect, but also that they should pay the full cost. In response to a statement by Steve Hill about limiting events to members only, Barbara questioned that, saying events should be open to all. Only study groups can be closed to BNC members. Madalyn said that Gotham calls everything events; they don t distinguish between the two. She said this particular discussion would be continued at a later date.
Meera Kamegai said aides should be allowed at no cost, while Leslie Pearlstein felt they should pay only the true event cost portion, not the donation part, and that there needs to be made a distinction between guest and caregiver. Carol Abrams said that it also becomes a budget issue, because chapters don t want to lose money on an event. Elaine Bloom felt it should be left to the chapters to determine how they want to handle it. Madalyn then took a vote: Do we (NEC) believe there should be a BNC policy, and have it run by the legal department? There were only two dissenting; all others were in favor. Madalyn confirmed that the matter would be taken up with the Brandeis legal department, and once it was determined if they can proceed, they would figure out the details. Policy on How to connect BNC members to Brandeis University In initiating this discussion, the idea was raised that the reading of the BNC mission statement should be included at the opening of each meeting and event as well as the question of whether this could be mandated. Carol Rabinovitz said that it should be mandated because many chapters do not do this. Madalyn took a vote: should we mandate that the reading of the BNC mission statement take place at the opening of each event and meeting? It was unanimous in favor of a mandate. Beth and Madalyn said they would work on drafting this. Goals and Awards Sue Karp started this discussion by talking about checklist submissions for Chapter of the Year. She praised Tamar Vogel for creating a spreadsheet that has been very helpful in keeping track of what was completed by each chapter, and what wasn t. Sue expressed her frustration about having to pursue chapters in order to get them to comply and work on accomplishing their goals. Consequently, after many discussions, the Goals and Awards team have decided to eliminate this
award and instead focus their efforts on the Louie Award. There were some chapters that didn t meet their membership goal by very few members, and other cases where they didn t meet their financial goals by a few hundred dollars! Lydia raised the concern that, if we re no longer going to have the Chapter of the Year award, what vehicle will we have to use to introduce best practices? Sue responded that the chapters need to interact more with regions. Madalyn also pointed out that all bulletins are posted on the BNC web site, and the chapters should use them to learn about best practices and get ideas. Judy Levine offered that her Membership Team sends a monthly membership tip to all Chapter Membership VP s and Presidents. Barbara Sander asked what was important in order to get this award? Sue emphasized the importance in submitting a slate of officers and those who could be identified for leadership positions. It is also important for regions to create their own awards. Ron raised the issue of term limits, saying that in this is also something that should be judged relevant to goals and awards. Carol Rabinovitz stated that the Chair of Special Events could be the Fundraising Chairman, pointing out that this is, in fact, our function. Lexie stressed that simply granting a title to someone does not mean that they are fulfilling their responsibility. She said it is up to the members to determine whether or not those designated individuals are performing their duties. Norma asked if the teams are representative of the national organization, suggesting that, if so, they should instead be made regionally representative. Madalyn responded that they were working on making that happen. Elaine suggested that conference calls are the best way to share information and hold people accountable. It is important to have something in writing that spelled out the roles and responsibilities for each leadership role. Sue asked Alexis to share with the group the document her chapter drafted in regards to this, and for them as a group to decide if it is sufficient to send out to the chapters.
Madalyn thanked Sue for her work on acknowledging the work of the individual chapters. At this point, Myles thanked the group for their wisdom and flexibility, saying it was all very much appreciated, and then left the room for a meeting. Barbara Sander asked if there needed to be any clarification about Associate Members? Madalyn replied that the Membership Team addressed any needed clarification for chapters. Judy Levine said there was a need to reiterate the basics about BNC membership to each of the chapters we assume they know everything but it is clear they do not. Madalyn confirmed for the group that if any chapter member does not want to use electronic communications, that they can be charged an administrative fee to pay the costs of print and postage. Judy said that there is currently a written policy on this administrative cost in her chapter. Partnering with Alumni Relations Madalyn said she had some news to share that she was excited about: BNC has an untapped audience with the alumni group, adding that both the alumni membership and the BNC membership need to continue to feel connected to Brandeis University. Consequently, Alumni Relations is going to partner with BNC on a pilot program, to be launched in Florida: They are going to invite Brandeis alumni to take part in Florida chapter programming. Beth said she has met with Patsy Fisher and Myles about this, and they decided that they will start emailing all alumni and inviting them to all future BNC events. She told the group to send to her any and all event information and she will be sure it gets emailed out as well, as posted on the alumni web site. Event Ads The discussion then evolved to one about events costs: what is the policy on deductions, and how to properly determine event costs? Madalyn referred to the handout of sample event flyers, stating first that the average profit earned
by the chapters as determined by a study conducted by Ron Levy and Tom Hutchings is 42%. She then pointed out that the tax deduction disclaimer on the flyers shown is wrong. She reminded the group that any amount above the cost of the event is deductible that is the contribution portion. In regards to determining cost, she also reminded the group to be sure to use the budget sheet that has been made available to them. It is important for the NEC to communicate this information to the chapters. Beth expressed her frustration about the numerous issues she has come across with event flyers and asked if it was necessary to require chapters to submit draft ads to her team before publishing and distributing? Again, Ron Levy cautioned against creating a policy in response to a few mistakes. He agreed, however, that there needed to be some procedure put in place for chapters to follow. Carol added to this by also cautioning the group about creating a feeling among the chapters that the National organization is telling them what to do. Lori suggested that it should be the responsibility of each chapter President to take this on and ensure the quality and compliance of the ads. Carol argued that the Committee can t rely on presidents judgement because they, themselves, may not know what s best or appropriate. She instead suggested a checklist. Madalyn liked this idea and delegated the task of creating a checklist to Lynne Groban s team. Leslie then suggested that there was also a need for a checklist for new presidents, and Beth assured her that they will include that. Judy suggested that, in addition to a checklist, new Presidents should have a conference call for the purpose of orienting them to the nuts and bolts of the organization and to the responsibilities of their new roles. Norma said her new presidents get such orientations via conference calls and have responded positively to them. Fundraising Madalyn started this discussion by reminding the group that their responsibility as members of the NEC is to contribute a minimum of $1000. She would like to ask the group to go beyond that and make a stretch gift. She then turned the discussion over to M Lissa Brennan to talk about Giving Tuesday. Brandeis
alumni have been involved with Giving Tuesday before but this was the very first time that BNC was being approached to be involved in this campaign. The notion of Giving Tuesday/Matching Gift led to some confusion, as some admitted that they had never heard of it. M Lissa tried to explain the program, and the concept of a matching gift, but the confusion continued. In the end, it was decided not to refer to this as a matching gift, and people understood the program as one that provided incentive for people to give. In order to reach their chapter memberships, the ask would have to be at the local level, especially since this program is inherently a social media campaign and many of their members do not use social media. They needed to find a way to reach their respective membership. Planned Giving was explained to the group and how it works, and NEC members were encouraged to consider it as part of their individual giving to Brandeis. Ron concurred, praising the program Charitable Gift Annuity program and supported the idea of other Committee members making such a gift to the University. M Lissa offered to send information to anyone who was interested. On-line Learning Beth announced the partnership that BNC has been working on with the Rabb School to offer online learning to the members. There will be a three (3) sessions online course planned to be offered in January Jewishness in Israel with David Ellenson, the director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. This is hopefully the beginning of online lifelong learning for the group. Term Limits Madalyn moved to the next agenda item on term limits. The concern was that some chapters were simply recycling their leadership and so they missed opportunities to get better leaders. However, Barbara Sander argued that many chapters have trouble building their membership, or having leadership roles filled, and therefore, keep those leaders in place. For these reasons, Barbara suggested that this discussion be tabled for one year; Tina agreed with delaying it. Alexis countered that suggestion by stating that the reason this issue has come up is because some chapters have people who are refusing to give up their positions.
Steve offered that his synagogue has term limits but that there are exceptions for times when there are no nominations or replacements available. Sue stated that if there are no limits put in place, there are no opportunities for new people to move into those roles and, therefore, for chapters to grow. Madalyn ended this discussion due to time constraints and stated that they will help those chapters now who desperately need it, and they will revisit this matter in the spring. Mentoring Program Madalyn also said she would like to discuss the establishment of a mentoring program during their spring meeting, and so, asked the group to think about that. Beth provided the group with the next NEC meeting dates, it is to be held the first week of June. She explained that they don t yet have a concrete time because they are coordinating it with Alumni College. Once they have a time established, she will let them know. Finally, Madalyn asked the group to think about who should come to the chapter leadership training? The meeting was adjourned at 11:25am.