Cincinnati 2020:
Cincinnati's Jewish Community Coming Together to Create Shared Community Strategic Plan

Effort conceived to create dynamic, sustainable community into the future

See more photos from November 30 Leaders Forum

For the past several months, a Strategic Plan Steering Committee made up of Jewish Federation of Cincinnati board members has been working in collaboration with congregational rabbis and agency executives to develop a shared community vision that will provide a basis for the development of this long-range plan.

“Every organization and congregation will have an opportunity to sign on to the process and to the emerging vision,” said Rabbi Sigma Faye Coran. “Ultimately, it is our hope that this process will help us engage more Jewish people from within our community, serve them, uplift them and have them feel a sense of ownership and investment in the community.”

Andy Berger, Vice-President of Strategic Planning for the Jewish Federation, is leading the effort to develop the community strategic plan.  “The plan is to have tactics and measurable objectives that form the framework for all the organizations and synagogues in the community to pull in the same direction, and work to achieve this vision together,” said Berger. “We need to ensure that what we develop is something that absolutely can be implemented. Measurable objectives will help us know when we have achieved the success we are planning for.”

Now, with the working draft of the community vision in place, seven long-term strategic goals  have been identified as necessary to achieve the vision of making Cincinnati a “Jewish Destination”—an engaged community that retains and attracts Jewish individuals and families and increases the region’s Jewish population.  For each of these goals, a small representative “goal team” of community members will work to develop measurable objectives and strategies for achieving the goals. See vision and goals

On Tuesday, November 30th and Thursday, January 13th, Leaders Forums—which will include lay and professional representatives from every community agency, congregation and organization—will be held at the Mayerson JCC. During the forums, the designated representatives will be asked to contribute their thoughts and ideas about ways to achieve each strategic goal. The November 30th session will focus on three goals; and the January 13th session will address the remaining four goals.  A process is also being developed to permit  all those in the community who would like to do so, to share their thoughts and opinions about the strategic goals, or the Cincinnati 2020 initiative, either through their organizational leadership or the Jewish Federation; details will be announced in the near future.

“After each Leaders Forum, the goal teams will reconvene, consider the input gathered at the Leaders Forum and then develop a draft that will detail the strategy for achieving their specific strategic goal,” said Berger. “By engaging our community’s organizations in this process, everyone can play an important role in shaping the strategic plan, and then working together to achieve it. “

Bret Caller, President of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, believes that although this is an ambitious process, its aspirational approach is one that will pay large dividends in the future. “When no one goes hungry; when every member of our community has a roof over their heads, ample educational opportunities; and secure jobs in a community where social service needs have been met and everyone has access to synagogue and JCC membership, then we will truly have a first-class community well into the future.”

The Strategic Plan Steering Committee—for which the Jewish Federation’s Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Stern, is serving as lead staff—is also planning to meet with members of The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati to clarify the intersections of Cincinnati 2020 with The Foundation’s concurrent strategic planning process as they work to identify key community funding needs in the future.

Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati said “We are looking forward to collaboratively implementing the strategies and tactics that will be the fruit of this rigorous planning process. And along the way, we will keep the community well-informed of our progress and milestones.”

Background

This community planning process began in 2008 when the Cincinnati Jewish community conducted its first statistically accurate community demographic study of Jewish Cincinnati.  Even before the data was analyzed, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati brought together all the pulpit rabbis and agency executives to begin planning a collaborative community response to what was learned in the study.

This group of rabbis and executives developed a draft community identity statement.  They also had begun to plan community-wide efforts for expanding engagement and providing better access to services, when the economic crisis occurred and the focus switched from long-term planning to short term survival.  Although economic problems have not ended, focus has returned to the community-wide planning that began in 2008. 

For more information, contact Sharon Stern at 513-985-1517 or sstern@jfedcin.org.

Why Cincinnati 2020

““The plan is to have tactics and measurable objectives that form the framework for all the organizations and synagogues in the community to pull in the same direction, and work to achieve this vision together.”

- Andy Berger, Vice President of Strategic Planning for the Jewish Federation and lay leader of the effort to develop the community strategic plan

“When no one goes hungry; when every member of our community has a roof over their heads, ample educational opportunities; and secure jobs in a community where social service needs have been met and everyone has access to synagogue and JCC membership, then we will truly have a first-class community well into the future.”

- Bret Caller, President
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

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