The Jewish Federations of North America were to be a central address not just for the federations but for the professional cadre who lead and support federations' work. Under the leadership of a succession of former Large City CEO's JFNA either remained as a continuing resource for the federation professional or retained the potential to be just that. Not any more. No more.
At one point in time, during the few years of Howard Rieger's professional leadership, the support for communal professional leadership was elevated to the extent that almost the totality of JFNA's (then "UJC's") domestic functions were subsumed within the silo of "Consulting Services." At that time in the now distant past, the professional leader of the continental financial resource development effort, to preserve her job (if only for a moment), acquiesced in the diminution of her own role and that of FRD itself.
And, that moment in time occurred in te aftermath of the resignation of a superb National Campaign Chair, ultimately replaced by a succession of lay leaders willing to be part of (or ignorant of) the assisted suicide of JFNA Financial Resource Development.
And, then, the continental consultancy withered and died as well. In any other organization the disappearance of its two critical functions -- FRD and community services -- might have raised the fundamental question: "What the hell is the organization doing for the communities?" Not at JFNA, of course; never at JFNA.
JFNA as the continental organization decided (where and by whom?) that the entire continental cadre would be left to their own devices. FedCentral emerged as a sorry "answer" to questions serious and not so much -- JFNA professionals either had no answers or had no interest in finding them. The leadership of JFNA Community Consulting met the same fate as that of FRD only a few years earlier. Excellent professional leaders left JFNA; there was nothing to offer.
And, after years of neglect, two and one-half years ago JFNA FRD, now being led by a "senior consultant" began an embryonic community consulting effort, implemented by a four-person team of part-time consultants, each assigned 20+ communities to which they were assigned.
Then, in a sudden quest for the relevance with the federations from which it had walked away, JFNA professional leadership determined to "expand" the consultancies beyond the four part-time consultants to an expanded cadre of part-timers teamed with some JFNA professionals with an expanded role beyond FRD. Somebody...somebodies...had this brilliant idea that FRD expertise would automatically extent to community service expertise and all would be happy...somehow...just like a decade ago. But then, Community Consulting was led by respected professionals dedicated to the task; today...not so much.
FedCentral was not the disease, it was a symptom of the metastacized cancer that had eaten away at the body of JFNA'swork and purpose. FedCentral was and is window dressing -- an attempt to paint over JFNA's abysmal failure.
It didn't work.
Rwexler
So there was a "merger."
ReplyDeleteUJA was "merged" and is gone, along with any FRD of national campaign mechanism.
Now they want to complete the "merger" of UIA, first killing its independent lay leadership and its role in advocacy and then "merging" its functions.
Once the "merger" is complete, there will be nothing left of any value to our federations, our overseas partners or to anyone except for the well paid architects of this "MERGE AND DESTROY" mission.
And we just allow them to continue drafting position papers and committee reports that are really nothing more than suicide notes for our collective communal system, signing our names to them and saying "aye" when asked.
If we don't all wake up soon we are going to get what we deserve for sleeping through this systematic destruction of everything that we believe in - "merger" into oblivion.
Anon 11:00 AM has it correct. Just look at how many younger federation development professionals don't know what UJA stands for. Merge and destroy was successful.
ReplyDeleteBut Richard, just to clarify one of your observations, consolidating of FRD into Consulting Services was 'mandated' by Rieger; it was not an issue of acquiescence in any sense at all.
And yes, that national campaign chair who resigned saw what was happening all too clearly and acted like we only wish JFNA campaign leadership would have acted since.
But you need to know that what started under Rieger was an act of retribution.
What continued under Silverman for the past 7 years is the real shanda.
Rieger had an agenda; Silverman just doesn't care.
And the irony is that here was a guy who came out or retail sales. One would think that he would instinctively understand the need for a strong salesforce, which was the cadre of FRD professionals.
Instead, he just let the department atrophy under his watch.
Just take a look at the organizational chart when he started, and what it looked like just prior to the hiring of the outside consultant back in 2015.
That National Campaign Chair saw it all coming....hats off to him.
Why is there still a National Campaign Chair when there is no longer a National Campaign?
ReplyDeleteWhy is there still a CEO when the national organization does nothing except waste valuable resources that the federations work so hard to raise.
Why is there still a national organization at all when almost everything it should be doing has been "merged" to death?
Instead of continuing to "merge and destroy", as anon 11:00 righty refers to it, the time has come to stop fixing what isn't broken and to start rebuilding the damage that we have done, or at least allowed to be done by our apathy and silence!
Our continental organization needs to be replaced by rebuilding from the bottom up and with active lay leadership in charge.
Richard,
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about requesting a meeting with Mark Wilf?
Although given the results of Sunday night's NFL game, perhaps you should wait a bit.
Dear Anon 11:23 -- Done!!
ReplyDelete