What’s so Jewish about a farm? A lot it turns out. A new study reveals new metrics on the effectiveness of Jewish farms in engaging with new generations of Jews and addressing important social justice  and community food system goals. Learn more in this Feb. 23 webinar with leaders in the field (pun intended).

We are in the midst of a major demographic shift in leadership in the Jewish community. By some counts, 75-90% of our leaders are turning over right now. And a CEO transition can be a time of great potential risk or reward for an organization. So what makes for a successful CEO transition? How can lay leaders ensure a smooth leadership succession process?

Leading Edge, an organization founded in 2014 to address the leadership pipeline challenges in the Jewish community, recently published six case studies that break down successful CEO transitions at American Jewish World Service, Bend the Arc, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a JCC in the Midwest, Spertus, and Tufts Hillel.

Join Gali Cooks, President & CEO of Leading Edge, and Eben Harrell, Senior Editor at the Harvard Business Review and author of the case study series, for a conversation about the stories they unpacked and the lessons they learned from these case studies.

The startling spike in antisemitic crimes in Brooklyn in the past few months is part of a larger trend occurring more broadly across the country and the world.

Faith and community leaders representing populations in New York’s diverse neighborhoods have banded together to find solutions and reverse this trend. What are some of the best practices that are working and can they be replicated in other communities nationwide?

Up to 40% of the food produced in the United States is wasted, while one in five Americans is unsure where their next meal is coming from. Similar statistics are true in Israel and throughout much of Europe.

This webinar brings together field experts Lisa Moon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Food Banking Network, Michal Bitterman, CEO and Co Founder of The Natural Step, and Aviva Paley, Senior Director and Co-Founder of Kitchens for Good, to discuss models for changing how we approach food waste and food rescue, and explore how philanthropy can work towards a more sustainable food system. Mitchell Davis, Chief Strategy Officer of the James Beard Foundation, moderates.

When you think about adult Jewish education, what comes to mind? Is it Jewish literacy? Jewish History? The weekly Torah reading? Hebrew? 

While the enterprise of adult Jewish education may provide different things for different people, there is one significant benefit that is generally not considered:  

Rich Jewish learning can actively build community. 

Join Ruth Messinger, former president and CEO of American Jewish World Service and inaugural JTS Finkelstein Institute Social Justice Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Rabbi Morey Schwartz, International Director of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, for an interactive discussion on the impact of Jewish adult learning. JFN member Susan Weiss Firestone will introduce the discussion.

The Jewish landscape is changing. Join us to learn about how adult Jewish education can deepen engagement and strengthen the very fabric of our Jewish communities. 

Watch Yohanan Plesner, former Member of Knesset and current president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), analyze the September 17 election results in Israel. Plesner explains who won, who lost, and what are the long-term policy implications for Israel and the Jewish People.

Joining Plesner is former Justice Ministry official Edna Harel-Fisher, Director of IDI’s anti-corruption program, who explains the unique legal reality in Israel as the country faces the possibility of a sitting prime minister serving while under indictment, and the implications of such a situation for the political system.

The future of North American Jewish life is evolving more quickly than ever, and in order to help the Jewish community thrive, funders need to embrace new approaches and perspectives in order to re-position our institutions and initiatives for greater impact.

This webinar shares a high-impact case study piloted with a cohort of Hillels, using quantitative and qualitative data results to show the impact of applying a Design Thinking methodology. With an eye to the future, we can re-imagine how and what we fund and support as community builders.

Speakers:

	Karyn Cohen, Director, Jewish Life and Israel, One8 Foundation
	Yonah Schiller, Executive Director of Tulane Hillel, and Founder & Senior Project Advisor of the Organizational Design Lab

Just days before Israel’s unprecedented second national election this year, former Member of Knesset Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute, provides a deep dive into the latest trends and issues impacting this historic vote. This presentation features new polling and data presenting insights into what Israelis are thinking as they enter the polling station and the possible scenarios we can expect to see as the results come in.

Arts and culture are the natural habitat of the human heart and mind. Culture frames, reflects, exposes, enhances, and changes everything about the lives and actions of people and societies, and the arts play a vital role in how cultures evolve.

For funders who want to drive social change, therefore, arts and culture are a powerful and under-appreciated vector.

This video features three leaders engaging deeply with arts and culture to make change for a webinar in which we'll discuss their work in particular and principles of social change through culture in general.