I can’t believe it is already 2020. We are entering this New Year very strong after surpassing our 2019 Annual Campaign goal – the first time we have reached and exceeded $4M in nearly a decade! Thank you to all our 2019 Annual Campaign donors! More on our Annual Campaign can be found on pages 14 and 15.
We are centering this year’s Annual Campaign with the theme “2020: A Vision for the Future—Where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going.” When the Federation started in 1904, and for much of its existence, its operations were primarily for fundraising and allocating purposes. We have transformed into an organization that focuses on strengthening our community through engagement, learning, social services, and securing our Jewish community, in addition to being a philanthropic partner to support our community and Jews in need in Israel and around the world.
We are proud of creating opportunities for everyone to get involved, not just those who donate their financial resources, but also those who donate their precious time and talents. We welcome volunteers, mentors, committee members, and program and event attendees. Through our Shalom Indy program we are reaching out to new Jewish community members who have moved to our community, as well as those who have been here and aren’t involved in the Jewish community yet. I see the Federation as a connector that touches so many lives in our community and overseas through all that we do, from our PJ Library program to our scholarships and internships to all of our educational and social service programs and events.
In 2020, we will continue to implement our strategic plan by developing deeper relationships and connections with the community, building partnerships, and collaborating with all of our synagogues and organizations. We will examine the analytics of our digital and print materials in order to develop focused target audiences for better engagement. We will collect and analyze data on the impact of our programs, events, and services. All these efforts will help us build a community for our future young leaders and a place to learn and play for our children. In 2020, we will begin working with a new cohort of 16 Prystowsky ATID V Advanced Leadership Program participants. We are excited to learn with and from them and to share them as the next generation of leaders with our Jewish community. Throughout the year, we will highlight this cohort so that you can share in our pride of these emerging Jewish community leaders.
Reaching our Annual Campaign milestone has allowed us opportunities to continue the great work we are offering – something we can’t do without you. We learned through our Planning & Allocations process that in order to thoughtfully and securely care for our Jewish community, we need to raise even more dollars for our community; in 2019 we received nearly $1M more in grant requests from our local agencies and programs than we had available to allocate. With your help we can do much more to strengthen and engage our entire community. I am so proud of this community for all that we have accomplished so far. The passion here in Indianapolis across our synagogues and organizations for a strong Jewish identity and community is powerful. This is a new decade and our future looks bright.
Warmly,
Debby
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