It’s been a full couple of weeks. Pantry lines. Freshly scrubbed sidewalks. A packed room learning to argue together. Talent work with our partner agencies. This is how we show up.
…This is the rhythm of community.
We mobilize.
SNAP remains in the headlines. When safety nets wobble, we show up. Our partner agency, Jewish Family Service, is helping families with food, hygiene items, and emergency support through the Barbash Family Vital Support Center and the Heldman Family Food Pantry (start here if you or someone you know needs food). To meet this moment, we are helping JFS mobilize donors to bolster pantry capacity, quietly and quickly, because hunger cannot wait.
- Statewide: With Ohio Jewish Communities, we are advocating for SNAP and state food aid so our community’s needs are clearly on the radar.
- Nationally: We’re joining Jewish Federations of North America to urge Congress to safeguard SNAP (Action Alert).
We are monitoring next steps and coordinating with statewide and national partners, including on HB 188, the Ohio–Israel Trade & Innovation Partnership that passed the Ohio House this week.
We respond.
Multiple incidents of anti-Israel vandalism were reported to our JCRC this week. We log each report, route it to the right jurisdiction for removal, and follow up with law enforcement as needed. Some sites are clean and others are in process; please keep reporting so we can help the city prioritize. (See the P.S. for how to report.)
We deliver.
At our IsraelLENS gathering on Wednesday, we did not come to win. We came to practice staying in hard conversations. More than 200 community members filled the room for an evening with Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras from For the Sake of Argument. We learned healthy-argument tools, then tried them ourselves. One story, “I Was Born Here,” follows a child who asks his parents, “Why keep us in danger? Why can’t we move?” The parents make their case in the story. Our prompt was simple: do we agree with the child or the parents, and how sure are we about that choice? For example, “I’m 70% sure.” Choices can look binary, but they rarely are. Humility makes room to learn and grow.
We plan.
Over the past few weeks, I met with every senior congregational rabbi and every agency executive, alongside Brian Jaffee, CEO of the Jewish Foundation, to hear priorities and funding gaps. The good news is that our community is healthy. The work now is to focus on what will move the needle. Next up: we will bring lay leaders in for input. Then, in March, together with the Foundation, we will share our communal priorities, shaped by the headwinds we face (rising costs, growing service demand, security needs) and the tailwinds we can harness (trusted partners, strong networks, a community that shows up), so we can plan wisely together for our future.
We cannot do this without strong professional talent. That is why this past month, we convened nine partner agencies and congregations for a community talent diagnostic. The goal is simple: make sure we can attract and retain the talent our community needs to thrive.
We fuel community.
Day to day, we mobilize, respond, deliver, plan, and fuel the work by building capacity, co-investing, and connecting people to purpose and agencies to resources. That is the engine that keeps community work moving all year. Over the last five years, program investment is up 40 percent while fundraising and management costs stayed steady, so 87¢ of every dollar supports the programs and organizations that sustain our community. See the full picture: jewishcincinnati.org/about-ourfinancials
We need you to help sustain and build a strong Jewish community. Please consider making or renewing your Annual Campaign gift now (give here). Thank you.
This is the rhythm of community. In a noisy time, steadiness wins. Some days we respond. On other days we plan. But, every week, we deliver on what we promised, and we fund the work so it lasts. Then we get up tomorrow and do it again, together.
Shabbat Shalom,
Danielle V. Minson
CEO
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Your Support Matters: jewishcincinnati.org/give
P.S. If you see antisemitic graffiti or flyers, please report first so crews can remove it.
- Report to JCRC with the exact location and a photo: jewishcincinnati.org/connect/report-antisemitism
- If it’s inside Cincinnati city limits also submit through 311 Cincy (web or app). More reports mean faster cleanup.