Over the last few months the issue of Synagogue Financial Sustainability has been on the forefront.  The discussions have been fascinating and energizing for everyone involved.  Of course this discussion has morphed into several interesting strands including: 

1.       How do we form the new “vision” of our synagogues/communities which reflect current trends of affiliation/membership/belonging?

2.       How do we make financial decisions which will support and sustain the future vision of our synagogues?

3.       What could the synagogue/community of the future look like as it reflects the new networked mindset?

Read this most recent article from e-Jewish Phillanthropy and tell us what you think by posting a comment below. http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/scrapping-synagogue-dues-a-case-study/

With synagogues adapting to the social media revolution it is time for rabbis to add a new role to their job description: Network Weaver.  According to Beth Kanter and Allison Fine's new book, The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change, Network Weaving is “a term coined by Valdis Krebs and June Holley in Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving and describes a set of skills that help strengthen and build social networks. These online efforts mirror the kinds of engagement, relationship building, facilitation skills that are crucial elements of community organizing on land.”  The rabbi’s role has always been critical in creating sacred community.  For years congregational rabbis have functioned as community builders even without technology (usually with a little help from their fellow clergy or “rebbetzins”). However, in most congregations the very ratios are simply against them (in a 600 member congregation with 3 clergy the ratio is 200 to 1).  How can clergy possibly maintain relationships with all of their congregants?  The nature of a social network is that there is not a single hub but that there are connections that exist across the entire network.  The role of the network weaver is critical to introducing and connecting people, building relationships, empowering other weavers, bringing fellow congregants into conversations about sacred purpose, learning about and connecting with what they care most deeply about.  Social media is a tool which can help facilitate meaningful connections in order to build community.  Recently, some rabbis have begun transferring their skills to incorporate new technologies.  If you consider yourself a rabbinic network weaver let me know who you are. I’d love to connect frydmana@ujafedny.org.

This groundbreaking book shows nonprofits a new way of operating in our increasingly connected world: a networked approach enabled by social technologies, where connections are leveraged to increase impact in effective ways that drive change for the betterment of our society and planet.

Named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company and one of BusinessWeek's "Voices of Innovation for Social Media," Beth Kanter is the author of Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media (http://www.bethkanter.org) and the CEO of Zoetica.

Allison H. Fine is the author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, which was the winner of the 2007 Terry McAdams National Nonprofit Book Award. 

The archived Webinar can be found at http://bit.ly/9gtlN0

The slides from the Webinar can be found at http://bit.ly/9FHarB

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