At this week’s Jewish Learning Venture board meeting, our board members unanimously approved a new three-year Strategic Plan, including new vision and mission statements.

Why did we do it? Because it was the right time and the time to do it right!  Since the merger of ACAJE and JOP we have written two 18-month strategic plans, or, more correctly, operational plans that identified what we needed to do to blend two agencies into one agency.  This fifteen-month planning process was different; we wanted a plan that would be longer in duration (3 years) and a process that would really give us a chance to truly step back to vision and to dream.

Dr. Meredith Woocher, our consultant for this process, started by collecting data from agencies like Jewish Learning Venture around the country and speaking with local stakeholders.  In August 2014, we held a board retreat to get a sense of how these dedicated volunteers saw the agency and its future.  Over this past year, we dedicated several staff meetings to make sure that the “on the ground” reality was aligned with the vision of the committee.

And then there were hours of drilling down, with staff, committee and board members, to clarify the “why” of our work; why does Jewish Learning Venture do what it does?

What has been most exciting, and a strong indicator of success, is that both our staff and our volunteers believe that this Strategic Plan is an accurate reflection of where Jewish Learning Venture should, and can, be going over the next three years.

We want to thank our co-chairs, Richard Busis and Carol Einhorn, our board member Martin Cohen whose professional expertise was invaluable, Dr. Meredith Woocher, our consultant, and the other members of the committee: Amy Falk Russel, Marilyn Kutler, Marcia Shulman, Sherrie Willner, and our president Jon Broder.

Now comes the hard part: Putting the plan into action.

We invite you to take a look at the new Jewish Learning Venture Strategic Plan.  We would appreciate any feedback you have and, even better, if the plan inspires you to get involved as a volunteer and supporter of Jewish Learning Venture, let us know.