This January marks the tenth year of Keshet’s existence on the Jewish organizational scene. Idit Klein and her team have grown the organization over this decade from a one person $35,000 non-profit into a booming national organization with an annual budget of almost $1 million. While this financial growth is impressive, and recognized by many (including the last five issues of the Slingshot Fund), there are many aspects of this organization that have yet to develop. Growth is definitely on the horizon, but in which direction? Where will this organization be in ten years? I venture to explain Keshet’s organizational history and where Keshet’s path is situating it for its future in the landscape of Jewish organizational life.
Context
Still being led by Idit Klein (Keshet’s first executive director), Keshet has the atmosphere and culture of a start-up organization. When the whole staff is present in the office, three dogs are also in attendance. This “bring your dog to work” policy seems to create an atmosphere of openness. Employees with dogs genuinely appreciate the flexibility and Keshet’s internal atmosphere is softened by the puppy-talk in the halls. The staff is also relatively young, all trying their best to save resources. This could be because the general attitude of this area in Jamaica Plain is one of reinventing by reusing and recycling resources. The space itself reflects Keshet’s relative youth, as it is a small office (five work spaces with doors) and five cubicles with one cubicle being rented out to another non-profit organization (GLSEN). The office is located in the Brewery building in Jamaica Plain which situates it as a hip new-age organization, but also means noisy neighbors, tight spaces and loud HVAC.
Even with the atmosphere of a new start up organization, Keshet is on the rise to becoming the national headquarters of Jewish gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusive organizations across the country. Currently 10 staff members are employed by Keshet. They work under their three pronged mission of education, advocacy and programing. This mission means that Keshet creates educational templates and trainings for educators to use in schools. Keshet is also involved in advocacy which means they work towards inclusive policy on the state and national level. Keshet’s community programs include holiday parties, text studies and workshops.
As the small staff is managing these three different fronts, Idit Klein and the Director of Finance and Administration, Rich Feczko, are looking at the organization on a larger scale. This spring Keshet acquired Jewish Mosaic, a center for gender and sexual diversity in Denver, Colorado. Until that point, Keshet had affiliates around the country who relied on support (financial and other resources) from Keshet. Each affiliate contributed their mailing list to Keshet and sold Keshet educational materials to its local community. Each time Keshet would put on an event, such as the annual Cabaret, the affiliates would advertise it and recruit attendees. Rich Feczko describes the relationship between Keshet and its affiliates as a collaborative one, not competitive.
Now that Keshet has a more formal merger with another LGBT inclusive organization, and is moving beyond the affiliate-relationship model, it is beginning to move faster towards becoming an organization with a strong national presence. The board’s make up has changed to reflect the national quality of Keshet, and Idit is in close contact with Gregg Drinkwater, the Executive Director of Jewish Mosaic. She is frequently traveling around the country and is in the process of setting up a new Keshet office on the west coast. Although the Keshet office may look and feel like a start-up organization, its nature and scope have changed drastically over this past decade. As Keshet evolves, it is changing the LGBT inclusive sector with it.
The Sector
The sector of American Jewish organizational life consisting of LGBT inclusive organizations is brand new. Until recently there were college clubs, local organizations and political activists that made up this population of Jewishly active LGBT Jews. Organizations such as Nehirim (2004) and Jewish Mosaic (2003) are very new and together with Keshet they are building the LGBT sector in the modern Jewish organizational landscape. Traditional organizations like synagogues and federations are playing a significant role in funding LGBT inclusive organizations, as well as inviting them into their traditional spaces for programming.
These sprouting LGBT organizations are just now realizing that they are laying the foundation for a brand new organizational sector. In June 2010, the first “LGBT Jewish Movement Building Convening” was held in Berkley California. The convening consisted of four main parts. The first was to gather the leaders of important foundations and organizations to discuss where they want to take the movement in the future. These leaders spent two days collaborating and exchanging ideas on how to best build capacity, and work together on a common agenda. The second part of the conference was focused on the local Bay Area’s needs and capacities, in addition to sharing best practices with the rest of the professionals present. Thirdly the conference convened funders of LGBT organizations and gave them the space to collaborate and discuss strategy. Finally the fourth component of the conference included a public keynote address and shabbat programming.
This historic event was the first public acknowledgment of an American Jewish LGBT organizational movement. It has been a historic time for the sector and Keshet has played a lead role in the transformation of the sector’s growth and status. The convening was organized by Keshet, Jewish Mosaic, Nehirim and NUJLS. Keshet’s role in the national presence and structuring of the LGBT movement is fundamental, and it is not fading.
Looking Forward: Keshet Staffing
Idit Klein has rich experience in entrepreneurship, community organizing and advocacy. She has facilitated Keshet’s growth and national reach in addition to creating a strong presence for the organization in Boston’s local community. In the following phase of Keshet’s development, it is going to be facing different kinds of challenges. Already Keshet has put plans into motion to hire staff in San Francisco, creating an office on the west coast. By the end of 2011 Keshet expects to have a budget of approximately $1.2 million and a staff of 14 people in two offices. With an office on either side of the country, scattered affiliates, and a new merger Keshet has growth and change on its horizon.
In the coming years Keshet will need to become extremely standardized in its procedures. As it expands, in order to maintain quality and control it must have organized methods of handling issues that arise. In October 2010 Keshet transitioned to an online database. This allows affiliates and staff around the country to access and update contacts, event tracking information and organizational information. This means that a new system of quality control and standards must be created and communicated to all people with access to the database. Currently Keshet is in the process of figuring out this transition, and there is no extra staff dedicated to facilitating the transition and regulating the database. The Director of Finance and Administration has been the contact for the database consultant and he has been facilitating training and trying to keep the data in the best format possible.
This is one example of a transition that Keshet is experiencing that seems like a mark of growth, but has not been accompanied by a growth in staff. In the coming years I expect to see additional staff added to the team, regardless of the new direction that Keshet pursues. As Keshet becomes an even bigger player on the national scene for Jewish LGBT organizational life it will need to add a few more positions to its staff structure.
The first addition to the Keshet team will need to be a national administrator. This person would need to regulate the combined database and report to the executive director in order to ensure that she is receiving streamlined information. The staff will also need to see the addition of a marketing and communications director. As the organization spreads out, it is crucial that its brand stay unified and that its mission stays clear. The marketing and communications director would manage a Keshet listserv, website, and marketing materials. When the Director of Finance was asked about possible directions of growth the organization is considering he immediately answered in terms of finances and staff. He confirms that the organization will grow financially by approximately 30% in the next year and staff (administrative and marketing) will increase by 40% as well. One element that Rich Feczko did not assert the need to grow was fundraising and development. I expect that as the donor base grows and more affiliates share donors with Keshet, it will need to hire more than the existing one staff person to manage donors and fundraising.
The final area where Rich Feczko predicts growth in staffing for the organization is in Keshet’s education branch. Education is the area of the organization that has a profit-center aspect to it because it sells trainings and resource materials to educators across the country. In order to better create and distribute these materials, more staff will be added to this department. Currently only one staff member in the organization makes up the education department, and as its reach grows, so too will the staff.
Differentiated Model
As Keshet goes national and really kicks off the start of a new sector in Jewish organizational life it will need to make choices as to how to manage all of its projects. As of now Keshet has one staff member dedicated to each of its missions’ three prongs: education, advocacy and programming. Above I explored the need for future growth of staff structure in each of these departments. Now I further explore what Keshet “branches” may look like in the next 10 years if Keshet decides to differentiate the the three parts of the organization as it manifests itself as a national organization..
Differentiated Model: Education
One option that Keshet has for future structure as it expands is creating an educational brand. By giving its education department a sub-brand of the greater organization it can open up education centers around the country. These centers could have spaces for educator trainings as well as the sale of Keshet educational materials. Local organizations could shop for these resources at these centers and learn about trainings there. National clients could shop online for these materials on the Keshet educational website. These centers could hold screenings of Hineini and even offer courses to be held year-long (such as Torah Queeries etc.) These centers could also provide space for communal LGBT programming, because currently, there is no one space that is designated for Keshet programing. This option would leave the behind-the-scenes work of programing and advocacy in the office, but bring education to the visible front. It would also separate the educational component from the other two facets of the organization.
Differentiated Model: Programming & Advocacy
Expanding on this idea, Keshet has the opportunity to expand its programming and advocacy facets nationally. In order to create a brand for itself and serve the Jewish LGBT community across the country it needs to hire staff members in many major cities. This model could include a community programmer being responsible for Jewish LGBT programming in a certain region. Similarly a couple Keshet advocates could be designated to major cities. They could share ideas with other Keshet advocates and programmers through Keshet programming or advocacy listservs, and receive templates and best practices from the national Keshet office. This way the programming and advocacy is community-tailored but also connected to a larger movement. This is a structure that uses a hub with many affiliate sites and operates similarly to Hillel, JFC or Teach for America.
Federation Model
A second option that Keshet can choose to pursue is a federation style model. Keshet could set up local Keshet branches around the country. This way each community could have a designated organization that addresses the needs of the LGBT community. These Keshet branches would operate independently but would convene annually and be networked through a central national Keshet office. This model would lead to more differentiation and less cohesion. That approach would mean more branding work for Keshet to keep the unified front and the mission clear. Currently, Keshet's model of creating affiliates is similar to the federation model, but affiliates do not take on the Keshet name or mission. The federation model just be an expansion of the current affiliate model. A twist on this model would be for Keshet to be integrated into the different Jewish federations. This way they could benefit from the larger Jewish communities resources and network. Keshet would still be able to work towards its three pronged mission, but its autonomy and cohesiveness may be compromised in this structure.
Conclusion
Keshet has made enormous strides in its organizational reach geographically and financially over its first decade of existence. The sector that Keshet is helping to shape will provide even greater opportunity for the organization than previously available. On the brink of major growth decisions, I predict that Keshet and other LGBT inclusive organizations will choose not to merge with Jewish federations because the risk of losing empowerment, visibility and direction may be too great. Keshet will most likely continue to fund affiliates while building offices around the country. The educational branch in particular has the opportunity to become a significant player in the LGBT organizational scene, possibly supporting each LGBT organization in existance. In the next decade I see Keshet being able to make a presence for itself in major cities across the country. The organization will continue to be a major player in shaping its sector.
Because of its unique and practical three pronged approach, Keshet has a particular advantage in its sector. It offers hope and connection to LGBT Jews on many different fronts. As the organization grows, it must take care to keep that mission in mind and not lose sight of its goals. Funders and stakeholders nationally are realizing that the organization is on the brink of large scale expansion. Keshet is an organization that potential investors should be aware of, because the next decade's opportunities look extremely promising.
Sources
http://www.jewishinclusion.com/
http://www.keshetonline.org
http://www.nehirim.org/
Interview: Rich Feczko, Director of Finance and Administration.
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