[by Stew Bromberg, Vice President and CDO, Jewish Federation of Louisville]
When I started working in the Jewish community 20 plus years ago I remember everyone telling me that ‘things’ are quiet during the summer and it is the time for us to catch up. I’m still waiting for that quiet summer!
The 2013 Federation Campaign finished strong as we raised over $2.1 million to support the essential programs and services our agencies provide to the community. This represents a 9 percent increase over the 2012 Federation Campaign. One of the most important facts about this campaign is that we have 199 new donors who collectively contributed $239,000 to show their support and express their confidence in the decisions we are making and the populations we are serving.
But let’s get back to summer. Summertime is a different time. Our Federation Campaign is over; most of our events have been wrapped up until next season, and now is the time to reflect on our successes.
Really?? Who has time to reflect? Now is the time to develop and add the details to everything we have planned for the community for the coming year. And let me tell you, we have quite a year in store for the Louisville Jewish community. Let me begin by sharing a few important dates with you.
On Sunday, July 14, we will be offering an appropriate and timely “Day at the Range” event where participants will have a chance to ‘trap shoot’, schmooze, eat (after all, this is a Jewish event) and have the opportunity to interact with a local community member, Keren Benabou, who served in the Israeli military.
The excitement ignites again in October with our King David Society (KDS) event on October 8. Details of this event to follow.
On Thursday, October 17, we officially kick off the 2014 Federation Campaign season with special guest speaker Rae Ringel. Ringel, a leadership trainer with an expertise in transforming professional performance, will motivate and excite us with her experience and wisdom. A former director of professional and volunteer development at The Jewish Federations of North America, Ringel now presides over the Ringel Group, with clientele including Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and government agencies.
On Sunday, November 3, , we invite our major donors (those who contribute $5,000 or more to our annual campaign) to join us for a special elegant Champagne Brunch with our very special guest, Dottie Bennett. Among her many accomplishments, which we will share with you soon, Bennett has chaired Project Interchange, an Institute of the American Jewish Committee that sends influential non-Jews to Israel for educational purposes, including members of Congress, governors and others.
She is a 2004 presidential appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council where she chaired the Collections and Artifacts Committee and now chairs the Education Committee. Bennett is also a member of the Jewish Funders Network, and has also served as a Board member of the Harold Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations.
With the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Bennett has worked with Planning and Allocations and serves as co-chair of Outreach and Engagement. We look forward to sharing more about her many accomplishments as the event gets closer.
We ask our Lion of Judah and Pomegranate donors to hold Tuesday, November 19, for a special event we’re planning now. More details coming soon.
Sometime in November or December (date TBD) we look forward to inviting the community to learn about the History of Bourbon in Jewish Louisville at the new Heaven Hill Visitor’s Center to be located on Main Street. As our kick off for the Uniquely Jewish Event Series, this promises to be a spectacular event and will be presented on a limited space, first come, first served basis. Please watch Community for more details.
We have other Uniquely Jewish Event Series events in the works, but I will tell about those events as we finalize the details.
Summertime is not a time to sit back and reflect. It is a time to plan a wonderful year full of events, programs, services and recognition opportunities. It is a time to build excitement and expectations.
Together we do extraordinary things. Please join us as we build the future of the Louisville Jewish community.
