REPORT ON THE DECEMBER 11, 2011 COMMUNITY MEETING
Nearly 50 people - both members and non-members - attended the community meeting on December 11th to share ideas about how to make Chochmat more financially sustainable. There was a great deal of energy from all participants and we are gratified that so many people took the time to show that they care about Chochmat.
After an opening meditation, Kevin Morgan, our Treasurer, presented a report showing the financial situation at Chochmat. The Board has cut expenses as much as prudently possible, including laying off two staff members and minimizing other items. Our bottom line is that we need to raise approximately $93,000 between now and June 30, 2012 (the end of Chochmat’s fiscal year). This includes money that will come from our Hanukkah and Passover drives, as well as all other fundraising.
The assembled group then spent some time brainstorming ideas to increase sustainability. A wonderful list of ideas came out of this process. All of these ideas will be considered by the Board. [The full list can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page.]
Then everyone was given dots to vote on what each person considered their top ideas. Out of this process, four ideas emerged as ones to work on immediately:
1. Increase membership
2. Submit grants and encourage the community to sign up for eScrip
3. Build the Chochmat brand
4. Start a Music Academy to offer classes and events for kids and families
We then broke into small groups to develop these ideas in more detail. As a result of the small group meetings, four new committees are now forming to implement these ideas. We encourage anyone with interest in any of the committees to join and participate in helping to keep us going. On-going meetings will be posted on the website calendar and listed in the newsletter.
The new committees are as follows:
1. Membership
Co-Chairs, Ray McLaughlin and Jill Nagle
Contact jillcnagle@gmail.com or sfray13@gmail.com
Next meeting Feb. 26th, 11am.
2. Fundraising and Grant-writing
Chair, Daniella Saltzman.
Contact daniellasalzman@hotmail.com
3. Communications
Chair, Neil Goldberg
Contact neil@praxisdesign.com
4. Music Academy
Chair, Marla Kolman-Antebi
Contact marlakomanantebi@gmail.com
Thank you all for your wonderful energy and enthusiasm. Please join in on these committee efforts or call the office to start implementing an idea of your own. We also need many volunteers to help with other tasks - Please visit our Volunteer page now. We encourage all members to come to the Annual Meeting, which will follow up on these issues.
Together we can make Chochmat sustainable and help it to thrive. Stay tuned for more to come!
After an opening meditation, Kevin Morgan, our Treasurer, presented a report showing the financial situation at Chochmat. The Board has cut expenses as much as prudently possible, including laying off two staff members and minimizing other items. Our bottom line is that we need to raise approximately $93,000 between now and June 30, 2012 (the end of Chochmat’s fiscal year). This includes money that will come from our Hanukkah and Passover drives, as well as all other fundraising.
The assembled group then spent some time brainstorming ideas to increase sustainability. A wonderful list of ideas came out of this process. All of these ideas will be considered by the Board. [The full list can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page.]
Then everyone was given dots to vote on what each person considered their top ideas. Out of this process, four ideas emerged as ones to work on immediately:
1. Increase membership
2. Submit grants and encourage the community to sign up for eScrip
3. Build the Chochmat brand
4. Start a Music Academy to offer classes and events for kids and families
We then broke into small groups to develop these ideas in more detail. As a result of the small group meetings, four new committees are now forming to implement these ideas. We encourage anyone with interest in any of the committees to join and participate in helping to keep us going. On-going meetings will be posted on the website calendar and listed in the newsletter.
The new committees are as follows:
1. Membership
Co-Chairs, Ray McLaughlin and Jill Nagle
Contact jillcnagle@gmail.com or sfray13@gmail.com
Next meeting Feb. 26th, 11am.
2. Fundraising and Grant-writing
Chair, Daniella Saltzman.
Contact daniellasalzman@hotmail.com
3. Communications
Chair, Neil Goldberg
Contact neil@praxisdesign.com
4. Music Academy
Chair, Marla Kolman-Antebi
Contact marlakomanantebi@gmail.com
Thank you all for your wonderful energy and enthusiasm. Please join in on these committee efforts or call the office to start implementing an idea of your own. We also need many volunteers to help with other tasks - Please visit our Volunteer page now. We encourage all members to come to the Annual Meeting, which will follow up on these issues.
Together we can make Chochmat sustainable and help it to thrive. Stay tuned for more to come!
DOWNLOAD THE FUNDRAISING SUGGESTION LIST IN PDF FORMAT HERE
| fundraising_suggestions_12.11-2.pdf |
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