Together, Strengthening our Community

By Marni Allen, AVP, Board & Volunteer Leadership & Engagement and Joanna Feldman, Manager, Board Relations

On Friday, January 10, organizations from across our community came together for the second LEAP (Leveraging Expertise to Advance Partners) session, focusing on strategic partnerships and the importance of collaborating to make a bigger impact. The group gathered in the beautiful space at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline. This venue demonstrated firsthand for attendees how a mission-aligned shared space model can make the whole community stronger. 

The diverse stories showcased how organizations across our community are partnering effectively to further their missions and increase their impact. These partnerships experience both successes and challenges in bringing together organizations with distinct cultures to realize a common vision.

CJP President and CEO Marc Baker welcomed LEAP guests for a morning of learning and collaboration. He shared his enthusiasm about the potential that could be unlocked by working together strategically. 

Through the morning’s featured speakers, professional and volunteer leaders explored a variety of collaborative efforts, including strategic partnerships, programmatic collaborations, and mergers.

Sarah Abramson, CJP’s SVP of Strategy and Impact, introduced Edward Shapiro, Trustee, The Shapiro Foundation and President, Shapiro Investment Company, LLC, to share his experiences on the leading edge of largescale mergers and strategic ways organizations can work together to produce bigger and better results. 

Later, during breakout sessions, panelists joined additional community partners to dive deeper into the real aspects of what it takes to work together. The conversations included examples of the challenges that came up along the way and the creative and productive ways they moved forward. Each session offered a perspective on the power of collaboration. It was clear from the energy throughout the sessions and the many informal conversations carrying into the hallways that the potential to work together holds great resonance.The LEAP Initiative is a new partnership between CJP professionals, volunteer leaders, and community organizations to strengthen collaboration and organizational capabilities across the Greater Boston Jewish community. Through LEAP, community professionals and board leaders can access knowledge and advice through best practice seminars, targeted breakout discussions, and on-site brainstorming sessions. We are accessing the best talent in our community and leveraging it to advance our communal vision and strengthen our organizations.

CJP welcomes an open dialogue!  Please refer to our policy for more information.

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