Federation Continues To Seek Opportunities for Growth and Expansion

Two Federation task forces remain hard at work drafting a long-range plan for Federation dubbed, "Leap into the Future." An outline of the plan will be released just in time for the annual meeting on June 4. Items on the agenda include long-range, integrated fundraising goals that are donor oriented and new ways in which to invigorate supporters.

The plans entail strategies that will allow Federation and Atlanta's Jewish community to achieve quantum change in the not-too-distant future. The two task forces, working in conjunction with staff, leadership and consultants from United Jewish Communities, are centered on developing the highest quality programming and services. They are also focused on exploring innovative methods by which to expand Federation's financial resources and generating more personal relationships with volunteers.

"Our goal is to maximize our volunteer and staff resources to generate more money for local and overseas needs," says Marc Lewyn, a member of the Financial Resource Development Task Force. "While we are pleased with the ongoing success Federation has achieved over the years, there is value in exploring new business strategies that will ensure we continue to build on that success."

Ongoing strategy sessions have involved inviting others from various Federations across the country and other non-profit organizations to share their "best practices." Federation volunteers and staff have met with officials from United Way, The Atlanta Community Foundation and Westminster School. From these meetings, the task forces walked away with creative ideas for expansion that others have found beneficial as well as strategies that proved unproductive.

"Our goal is to create a challenging yet viable plan to be fully implemented by the year 2008," says Howard Feinsand, a member of the Community Needs Task Force. "We feel comfortable with the way in which we conduct business but realize that we must adapt and improve our practices if we wish to continue to grow. The benchmarks we are setting for our Federation will bring us to a whole new level."