As our JCC continues to grow and adapt to meet the evolving needs of Jewish Pittsburgh, we’re often asked: What makes a great partner in this work? One of the most important qualities we look for—and deeply value—in our funders is this: they are tight on vision and loose on execution.
What does that mean?
It means they care deeply about where we’re going—whether it’s supporting youth development, championing wellness, responding to urgent needs, or fostering connection and belonging. That’s being tight on vision.
And at the same time, they trust us—our team, our expertise, and our on-the-ground experience—to determine how best to get there. That’s being loose on execution.
This week, our Senior Director of Jewish Life, Rabbi Hindy Finman and I traveled to New York along with 7 other JCCs participating in The Tepper Foundation’s JParent Engagement Program, which officially launched last fall and aims to provide classes, social opportunities and get-togethers centered on Jewish life specifically for parents of children ages 1-7 years old. Instead of focusing on the children themselves or the entire familial unit, The Tepper Foundation seeks to leverage JCCs’ strong track record in programming and engagement to help parents find their own Jewish journey and build meaningfully Jewish homes.
Over the course of our time together, JCCs shared a number of experiences they have curated for their respective cohorts of parents – from Family Shabbat Dinners, Shofar House Calls, Happy Hour in the Sukkah, Mahj & Mingle, Exploring Our Jewish Journey Through Art, Take & Bake Challah Braiding, Mom’s Trivia Night Out, and Dad’s Shvitz & Schmooze – and we were encouraged by the Foundation and fellow experts in the field of Jewish engagement to continue pushing the boundaries and to bring what is in our imagination to life. We were challenged to “up our game” in the second year of funding and to begin testing strategies in bringing our efforts to scale.
This kind of partnership we have with The Tepper Foundation is powerful. It allows us to be flexible, responsive, and innovative in how we carry out our grant obligations. It gives us the room to try new ideas, adjust our approach when needed, and make decisions that reflect real-time realities—without losing sight of the greater goal we’re working toward.
When funders lead with vision and trust us with execution, the impact is greater and the relationship stronger. We are deeply grateful to The Tepper Foundation and other funders who partner with us in this way—it is how we build not only successful programs but also a more empowered and activated community.
If you are a parent with a child between 1-7 years old and you’re interested in participating in our JParent program, please reach out directly to Rabbi Hindy Finman at [email protected]. We’d love to have you!
Wishing you and your families a Shabbat shalom,
Jason
