We’ve had a complete reorganization this past year of how we plan and allocate.
We really needed it. I’m grateful for my colleague Jessica Mehlman, our Chief Planning Officer, and for the leadership of Ken Heyman, Unified Allocations Chair, and Steve Levy, Strategic Priorities Council Chair.

By the way, two new professionals have joined us in recent months – one for planning and allocations and one as a full-time assessment and impact director. Click here to read more about how these new members of our team are helping to make our allocations process more transparent and purposeful.

We really need the assessment and impact function. We’ve done some one-shot evaluations of programs and platforms. But the message that we’re committed as an organization to having consistent built-in evaluation and assessment is a huge statement of progress. It builds in feedback-loops and new ways of thinking for us.

We've started to move everything online with our allocations and agency reports, and we now have four clear criteria for allocations that are simple and precise: OVCO.

•    Everything we do has to be the unique obligation of Federation and the Jewish people.
•    It has to contribute to the vibrancy of our community.
•    It must connect us to Jewish communities in Israel and around the Jewish world.
•    And it has to have tangible outcomes. OVCO.

All programs must aspire to meet these basic criteria, or we shouldn't be doing them.

Adding is always easier. Making tough decisions is what we have to do. We’re blessed to have thoughtful and strategic lay and professional leadership who are guiding us who are guiding us through this process.

 

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