Dear Community,
Since the announcement about Kadima’s dire financial situation and its impacts on our staff and programming, the board has received many messages from community members. We are taking the time to read each and every one and we appreciate your patience as we navigate all of your questions, feelings, concerns, and offers. We value it all and seek to address them with intention and care.
We are struck that the majority of messages are supportive and caring, expressing concern and a desire to help. We are extremely grateful for the ways in which our beloved community is showing up for one another at this moment. Today, we want to share some updates about what has been happening in recent days.
The board and staff have been in contact daily and have been meeting in different configurations 2 to 3 times per week, plus many hours of asynchronous communication. This is far from the usual and represents not only staff and board commitment to managing this crisis, but also response to staff requests for increased board-staff communications. We appreciate all the gracious support, feedback and constructive criticism from staff and community. We are trying to operate from a spirit of humility, listening to you while also increasing communication, operating more transparently and practicing accountability to our community. We remain incredibly grateful for staff’s commitment to Kadima, their wisdom and knowledge, and for their willingness to work closely with us now and going forward.
We have seen an increase in monthly dues and Nadiv Lev giving as well as many one-time donations. We are grateful that those of you with employer matching have been donating that way to double or triple your impact. At this time we are on a good trajectory to bring Rabbi David back from furlough on March 1st. We hope that with your continued support we can make this a reality. We understand it is not easy to give at a time like this when the future is uncertain, but every dollar gets us closer to reinstating staff hours and building toward a sustainable future. Board members with the financial ability to do so have also given additional one-time contributions and increased monthly Nadiv Lev commitments this week.
In lieu of the space that Rabbi David was planning to hold last Saturday, Hila and Michael stepped in to be present with whoever was at Kadima School that day and wanted to talk. They talked with about a dozen community members about the financial situation and ways we are trying to move forward. We were buoyed by the love and passion parents have for Kadima School and their desire and commitment to seeing the school succeed. We heard from some parents that they feel disconnected from the wider community, and know that members unaffiliated with the school also feel that gap. Through our family programs, concerts, and other intergenerational offerings, our education team is actively working to provide spaces for community members of all ages to gather and learn from one another. We hope that when we are able to reinstate more programming, that these offerings can continue to support our community as a whole.
We have also heard the community coming together with strong voices to share their investment in Kadima School, even if they are not directly participating in the programming. There is clear unity among staff, board, and the wider Kadima community to maintain our incredible education program and to continue supporting students and their families.
The board is so thankful for the ways in which all of you have advocated for and supported the Kadima community in recent weeks. Coming together in these ways is a true testament to the passion, power, and love we all hold for the Kadima we have and are creating. There is more work to be done, there are more things that must change and we are looking forward to collaborating with the many community members who have reached out to take up work supporting Kadima during this time.
Please stay tuned for a date and time announcement for our next community meeting which we are hoping to host in early March.
Thank you all --
Chelsea, Hila, Guy, Marion, and Michael
Kadima Executive Board
Since the announcement about Kadima’s dire financial situation and its impacts on our staff and programming, the board has received many messages from community members. We are taking the time to read each and every one and we appreciate your patience as we navigate all of your questions, feelings, concerns, and offers. We value it all and seek to address them with intention and care.
We are struck that the majority of messages are supportive and caring, expressing concern and a desire to help. We are extremely grateful for the ways in which our beloved community is showing up for one another at this moment. Today, we want to share some updates about what has been happening in recent days.
The board and staff have been in contact daily and have been meeting in different configurations 2 to 3 times per week, plus many hours of asynchronous communication. This is far from the usual and represents not only staff and board commitment to managing this crisis, but also response to staff requests for increased board-staff communications. We appreciate all the gracious support, feedback and constructive criticism from staff and community. We are trying to operate from a spirit of humility, listening to you while also increasing communication, operating more transparently and practicing accountability to our community. We remain incredibly grateful for staff’s commitment to Kadima, their wisdom and knowledge, and for their willingness to work closely with us now and going forward.
We have seen an increase in monthly dues and Nadiv Lev giving as well as many one-time donations. We are grateful that those of you with employer matching have been donating that way to double or triple your impact. At this time we are on a good trajectory to bring Rabbi David back from furlough on March 1st. We hope that with your continued support we can make this a reality. We understand it is not easy to give at a time like this when the future is uncertain, but every dollar gets us closer to reinstating staff hours and building toward a sustainable future. Board members with the financial ability to do so have also given additional one-time contributions and increased monthly Nadiv Lev commitments this week.
In lieu of the space that Rabbi David was planning to hold last Saturday, Hila and Michael stepped in to be present with whoever was at Kadima School that day and wanted to talk. They talked with about a dozen community members about the financial situation and ways we are trying to move forward. We were buoyed by the love and passion parents have for Kadima School and their desire and commitment to seeing the school succeed. We heard from some parents that they feel disconnected from the wider community, and know that members unaffiliated with the school also feel that gap. Through our family programs, concerts, and other intergenerational offerings, our education team is actively working to provide spaces for community members of all ages to gather and learn from one another. We hope that when we are able to reinstate more programming, that these offerings can continue to support our community as a whole.
We have also heard the community coming together with strong voices to share their investment in Kadima School, even if they are not directly participating in the programming. There is clear unity among staff, board, and the wider Kadima community to maintain our incredible education program and to continue supporting students and their families.
The board is so thankful for the ways in which all of you have advocated for and supported the Kadima community in recent weeks. Coming together in these ways is a true testament to the passion, power, and love we all hold for the Kadima we have and are creating. There is more work to be done, there are more things that must change and we are looking forward to collaborating with the many community members who have reached out to take up work supporting Kadima during this time.
Please stay tuned for a date and time announcement for our next community meeting which we are hoping to host in early March.
Thank you all --
Chelsea, Hila, Guy, Marion, and Michael
Kadima Executive Board
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