Ammud: Jews of Color Torah Academy Strategic Plan, 2024-2027

Ammud

Strategic Plan

Learn. Lead. Belong.

2024 - 2027

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

2

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Table of Contents Introduction

5

Strategic Planning Process

6

Timeline

7

Our Purpose

8

Our Values

9

Theory of Change

11

Ammud’s Methodology

12

Our Core Pillars

15

Our Three-Year Strategic Focus

16

Appendix A: Implementation Timeline &

20

Key Milestones Appendix B: Staffing

22

3

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

1. Belzer, Tobin, PhD, et al. “Beyond the Count: Perspectives and Lived Experiences of Jews of Color.” Jews of Color Initiative, by Jews of Color Initiative, 2021.

2. Mitchell, Travis, and Travis Mitchell. “Jewish Americans in 2020.” Pew Research Center, 14 Apr. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020.

4

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Introduction S

ince 2019, Ammud has been empowering Jews of Color (JOC) by creating safe and inclusive spaces where we can bring our fullest selves to Jewish learning and Torah. Because our classes have mostly been held online and are accessible from anywhere, Ammud has been able to make an outsized impact on JOCs over the years through a JOC affinity-space model. Ammud members value both the community and high-quality content and curricula as essential for building Jewish knowledge and literacy and allowing for authentic engagement in Judaism.

At the same time, we know from the most recent Beyond the Count survey (1) that 45% of JOCs change the way they dress, speak, and present themselves in predominantly white Jewish spaces.

We ask, what do Jewish learning spaces look like when JOCs bring their fuller selves to learning Torah?

We’re finding this answer at Ammud by creating innovative JOC affinity spaces where JOCs can lead in culturally-sustaining and affirming Torah. Not only does this unique learning empower JOCs to learn, lead, and belong within and outside of Ammud, but it also leads to the creation of new Jewish wisdom that can be shared with the wider Jewish community and that ultimately leads to a better, richer, and more representative future for Jewish life more broadly.

According to the 2020 Pew study (2), 15% of Jews under the age of 30 identify as multiracial. This number is growing, and, as a result, Jewish learning frameworks and spaces that support JOCs will become increasingly important in the years to come.

In the next three years, as outlined in this strategic plan, we are seeking to bridge our past to our future by continuing to grow and refine our core work — our affinity spaces — while also exploring new ideas within the container of the strategic plan that will allow us to scale our impact. As we do so, we will be rooted in nimbleness and flexibility.

Ammud is deeply grateful to our funders, partners, and members, who continue to make Ammud’s impact possible.

5

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Strategic Planning Process This strategic planning process was a labor of love with JOC member engagement throughout. The process was led by social impact consulting firm Third Plateau.

THIS STRATEGIC PLAN WAS CREATED & INFLUENCED BY:

6

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Timeline

7

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Purpose

Vision Jewish communities and Jewish life are made whole through inclusive wisdom and practice that is representative of our full racial and ethnic diversity as a people.

Mission By creating and cultivating a community that is for us by us where Jews of Color are able to build resilience and bring their fullest selves to Jewish learning and Torah, Ammud affirms, educates, and builds leadership among Jews of Color, supporting them to be empowered members and leaders of Jewish community and peoplehood.

8

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Values IM EIN ANI MI LI

‫ֲאִנ ִי ִלִי ִמִי ִלִי‬ ֲ ‫ִאִם ֵאֵין‬

For Us, By Us: We center JOCs by creating spaces that cater to the specific needs and experiences of JOCs. We provide support and care to JOCs and cultivate a sense of belonging and authentic connection to Judaism.

TALMUD TORAH KNEGED KULAM

HEVRUTA

‫תלמוד תורה נגד כולם‬

Jewish Education: We focus on building Jewish knowledge and literacy and understand the immense value of Jewish education — particularly when paired with community-building — as a key to personal and spiritual growth and communal engagement.

‫ֲחֵבֵרּותא‬ ֲ

Partnership and Collaboration: We believe in working with and learning from others who share our values and vision for the future to make the greatest impact possible.

YOTZER

SHIVIM PANIM LATORAH

‫שבעים פנים לתורה‬

‫יוצר‬ Creative Leadership: Cultivating leadership among JOCs is an essential piece of the puzzle in creating the change we want to see. And we know that JOCs need bespoke support to be able to grow and thrive as creative and adaptive leaders.

Multiple Pathways: We believe our work can have an impact in many different ways. We aspire to give JOCs the tools, skills, resources, and support to go wherever they want to go next on their Jewish journeys.

9

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

10

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Theory of Change Ammud affirms, educates, and builds leadership among Jews of Color, supporting them to be empowered members and leaders of Jewish community and peoplehood.

Amplification of Jewish Wisdom

JOC Educator Support Community-Centered Torah Learning for and

by JOCs

Jews of Color will have the tools, skills, and support they need to engage authentically with Judaism.

Jews of Color will become leaders and educators, imparting Jewish wisdom to the broader Jewish community.

Jews of Color will feel affirmed in their Jewishness and held in loving community.

Jews of Color will feel belonging in Jewish communities and spaces.

Jewish communities and Jewish life are made whole through inclusive wisdom and practice that is representative of our full racial and ethnic diversity as a people.

11

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Ammud’s Methodology Methodology in a Nutshell •

We center the complex, innovative and rich ways Jews of Color take our multiple identities, heritages, cultures and how it interacts with our Judaism.

•

Our culturally-rich identities and experiences, that make us who we are, are valued, honored, and explored when we connect it all back to Torah learning. JOC are empowered throughout this learning process.

•

The core of Ammud’s methodology is about love, sustaining JOCs in this generation and in the future, with opportunities to see ourselves as whole versus broken when we enter Jewish learning spaces as we interweave all parts of ourselves to Torah study (1). The core of Ammud’s methodology is deeply inspired by the trailblazing work of Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Dr. Django Paris, and Dr. Samy Alim. We take years of research in culturally-sustaining pedagogy, ethnic-racial identity development, social-emotional learning, and andragogy and thoughtfully layer and connect it to a Jewish education context.

•

Ammud’s contribution of supporting Jews of Color to bring our whole selves will keep our wider Jewish learning community whole, adaptable, and relevant for years to come, as outlined in Ammud’s Theory of Change.

1. Alim, H. S., & Paris, D. (2017). What is Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Why Does it Matter? In Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies (pp. 14–14). essay, Teachers College Press 2. Hatchimonji, D. R., Branch, K., Perry, D., & Barnes, T. N. (2022, May 31). Actions against racism:: Bringing together trauma-informed practices, social-emotional learning, and racial socialization to combat racism in schools. Delaware journal of public health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9162400/

12

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Ammud’s Learning Frameworks •

JOC Affinity Model/For Us By Us: JOCs are the leaders, teachers, students, and creators of our programming.

•

Asset-Based Empowerment: We appreciate and validate the unique experiences and cultural backgrounds of all learners in the room, benefiting greatly from their deep wells of knowledge which are so vital to understanding and making sense of Torah.

•

Social Emotional Care: We prioritize the social and emotional lives of Ammud learners.

•

Andragogy: We take the science of adult learning and integrate it fully into our classes.

•

Jewish Texts at the Core: We read every word of the Torah. Together, in community, we wrestle with, delight in, and make connections to every passage.

•

Relationship Building: We intentionally design classes so that learners not only gain deep knowledge and insight, but also build friendships and feel nurtured

by Ammud.

W

hy do we need affinity spaces? Often JOCs are attracted to Ammud for the social and emotional safety as many of us have experienced the interrogation of how we’re Jewish, assumptions of not being Jewish, or implicit to explicit racist remarks in Jewish learning spaces. The JOC affinity-based model was created at Ammud as a response to experiences of racism and feelings of isolation.

What is FUBU? For Us By Us (FUBU) is a concept gaining traction globally with plenty of FUBU spaces and organizations across the world. For example, a local mom group can have their motto be “for moms, by moms” or a teen group might say their programming was “created for teens by teens.” At its essence, it means that the space was created by and for the people the space is serving. The FUBU model lessens tokenizing and out-of-touch damage that can be caused when something is created for a particular group without being connected to the group being served. At the core of Ammud’s model, especially our Community-Centered Torah Learning pillar, JOCs are the leaders, teachers, students, and creators of our programming.

Why FUBU and Jewish Learning? Countless studies show that there exists a direct link between students’ experiencing racism or being afraid of experiencing racism and negative physical, emotional, and health outcomes as well as a negative impact on learning (2). At Ammud, the fear and reality of experiencing racial and ethnic discrimination is lessened and learners are able to access Jewish learning in a comfortable environment.

13

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

14

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Core Pillars T

o achieve our vision and deliver on our mission, we organize our work within three pillars that encompass the full scope of our activities and programmatic offerings. These three pillars are Community-Centered Torah Learning, JOC Educator Support, and Amplification of Jewish Wisdom.

These three pillars are interconnected: some Ammud members who engage in community-centered learning will go on to become Jewish educators, and our community in turn will be fueled by these educators as they return to support Ammud in various ways. These educators will also produce and amplify their own culturally-responsive Jewish wisdom, which will in turn enrich not only the broader Jewish community but also Ammud’s community-centered learning, helping to attract new members to our spaces as we grow Ammud’s public presence as an organization that distinctly serves the religious and spiritual lives of Jews of Color.

These three pillars are sustained by our internal operations — everything that we do to ensure that we remain a strong and resilient organization that is equipped to serve our communities for many years to come.

Community-Centered Torah Learning Amplification of Jewish Wisdom

JOC Educator Support

15

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Three-Year Strategic Focus W

ithin each of our core pillars, we will prioritize and pursue the following strategies and tactics over the next three years to grow our impact on both JOCs and the broader Jewish community. We believe these strategies and tactics leverage our unique strengths as an organization for and by JOCs while also filling gaps in the communal landscape and meeting the most pressing needs of those we serve.

Community-Centered Torah Learning Since its founding, the heart of Ammud’s model has been a dedicated “house of learning” for JOCs to explore and engage with Torah and Jewish life. Through this work, we know that Ammud has created a profound sense of safety and belonging for JOCs — and that there is a deep yearning among community members for even more opportunities to build Jewish knowledge and literacy with Ammud and to create Jewish wisdom. In the next three years, we aspire to become a center of innovative culturally-sustaining Torah as we attract more JOC members across the country. To continue to scale and thrive as a well-known and active house for Torah learning for and by JOCs, we will: 1.

Increase depth of engagement with our community through in-person programming. a. Launch programs in multiple cities across the country. b. Leverage partnerships to represent Ammud at existing Jewish conferences or major events.

c. Host a national JOC Torah convening and/or lay the groundwork to be able to do this in future years.

2. Enhance and refine our content and programmatic offerings. a. Create online recurring cohort-based Torah learning programs to help JOCs build community, create Torah wisdom, and learn deeply. b. Relaunch our Hebrew-language offerings. c. Launch an additional Parasha Study hour. d. Develop and codify internal quality control standards for all Ammud content and programs to ensure we are offering a consistent, high-quality product. e. Provide spiritual Torah nourishment to JOCs to strengthen their leadership inside and outside the Jewish community.

16

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

3. Increase the accessibility and scalability of our programs. a. Offer online programs multiple times per week with the goal of reaching people in different time zones. b. Offer programs in partnership with Jewish organizations with wider reach to increase awareness of Ammud.

JOC Educator Support While creating our own Torah learning spaces for JOCs is core to what we do, we also know there is tremendous opportunity to support JOCs to thrive as teachers and leaders in a wide range of contexts within the Jewish community — both within and outside of Ammud’s “doors.” Our programs and offerings in this area can help Jewish educators to amplify their profiles, reach their dreams and potential, and share their Torah with the world.

This pillar also doubles as a lab for JOC Torah leaders trained in Ammud’s framework of culturally-responsive Torah, allowing them to create and share new Torah wisdom while also refining their teaching and learning skills. By investing in JOC Torah leaders, we catalyze their Jewish thought leadership in ways that impact the larger Jewish education ecosystem.

In the next three years, to develop and build the knowledge of JOC Torah educators, we will: 1.

Build knowledge and community among JOC educators. a. Create a dedicated teaching and learning cohort to develop JOC Torah educators to build skills in both teaching excellence and creating culturally-responsive Torah learning environments. b. Launch and/or partner with existing cohorts and/or communities of practice for JOC educators, rabbis, or rabbinical students to support professional development, teaching and learning, community-building, and the creation of culturally-responsive Torah wisdom.

2. Increase access to information and material support. a. Host or co-host regular informational sessions for JOCs interested in becoming Torah educators or rabbis, with a focus on transparency and open communication about the challenges encountered as a JOC in many mainstream Jewish spaces.

3. Support Jewish institutions to better meet the needs of JOC educators and rabbis within their programs. a. Offer tailored guidance and counsel to Jewish educational institutions so that they are equipped to create environments that nurture culturally responsive Torah and enable JOCs to thrive.

17

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Amplification of Jewish Wisdom In order to achieve our vision of complete and whole Jewish communities, we need to create and disseminate the culturally-relevant Torah and inclusive Jewish wisdom by JOCs, making it available not just within the Ammud community, but also to the broader Jewish community.

In the next three years, to make Jewish wisdom and thought leadership by JOCs more available to everyone, we will:

1.

Produce and disseminate Torah-centered content by JOCs through a variety of channels. a. Leverage social media to share Jewish wisdom created by JOCs with wider audiences. b. Launch JOC Torah commentary that documents and shares knowledge created

by JOCs. c. Build partnerships to further increase distribution channels.

18

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Organizational Health & Sustainability To enable our organization to thrive and deliver on all of the above strategies in the next three years, we will focus on the following key areas: 1.

Financial Sustainability a. Significantly increase the volume of foundation grants and Ammud’s major gift portfolio.

New programmatic hires and working with an institutional fundraising consultant will bolster Ammud’s capacity to increase the volume of foundation and federation grants. In addition, it will increase overall capacity so that the team can further focus on increasing donor engagement.

2. Organizational Structure and Team Growth a. Hire and grow our staff team in line with our organizational priorities and current capacity gaps.

3. Board Governance and Lay Leadership a. Grow the size of our board and attract members with key skills and competencies that are relevant to our work. We will continue to recruit experienced board members to ensure a strong governance structure aligned with our strategic vision.

4. Communications and Marketing a. Elevated focus on communications and marketing. We plan to dedicate more resources to elevating Ammud’s brand awareness.

5. Data Collection and Evaluation a. Formalize our data collection protocols. We will continue collaborating with measurement and evaluation consultants to create evaluation frameworks for our new programs, ensuring their effectiveness and impact. b. Invest in program evaluation data collection. We will implement more direct follow-up strategies to encourage members to complete evaluation forms, ensuring we gather essential feedback to inform program improvements.

19

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Appendix A Implementation Timeline & Key Milestones Community-Centered Torah Learning FY25

• • • • •

FY26

• Launch in-person Ammud learning programs in at least 2 more cities.

• Host in-person affinity spaces for JOCs at 2-3 major Jewish conferences or •

FY27

Launch in-person Ammud learning programs in at least 2 cities.

Launch recurring online cohort-based Torah learning programs.

Represent Ammud at 1-2 major Jewish conferences or gatherings.

Add additional Parasha Study.

Develop and codify internal quality-control standards for Ammud content.

gatherings.

Relaunch Hebrew-language offerings.

• Launch in-person Ammud learning programs in at least 2 more cities.

• Host in-person affinity spaces for JOCs at 2-4 major Jewish conferences or gatherings.

JOC Educator Support FY25

• Create a dedicated teaching and learning cohort for JOC Torah educators.

FY26

• Explore partnerships with existing cohorts and/or communities of practice for JOC •

FY27

educators.

Host or co-host regular informational sessions for JOCs interested in becoming rabbis.

• Explore offering consultation to Jewish educational institutions as an earned-revenue source.

20

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Appendix A Continued ...

Amplification of Jewish Wisdom FY25

• Leverage social media to share Jewish wisdom created at Ammud with wider

FY26

• Leverage communications strategy to increase Ammud’s brand awareness with wider

FY27

• Launch JOC Torah commentary that documents and shares knowledge created by

audiences.

audiences.

JOCs.

Organizational Health & Sustainability FY25

• Add one new board member

FY26

• Add one new board member

FY27

• Add one new board member

21

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

Appendix B Below are key hires we hope to achieve in each year of execution of the strategic plan (subject to change as needs evolve over time).

Staffing FY25

• Community and Program Manager: Will handle day-to-day membership engagement • • • •

FY26

• Jewish Learning Program Director: Will be a strategic and hands-on role that will lead •

FY27

and program management, which will be an essential role as Ammud expands programming.

Development Support (consultant): Bringing on an experienced, part-time, long-term fundraising consultant is essential for strengthening our fundraising efforts, ensuring strategic and sustainable financial growth as well as providing much needed capacity.

2 Ammud Ambassadors serving 2 cities (part-time contractors): Hiring for part-time Program Leaders provides us with a scalable, localized in-person presence, laying the groundwork for expanded reach and impact as we grow.

3-5 Ammud faculty (part-time contractors): Hiring long-term faculty enables us to maintain quality control over our programs and demonstrates our commitment to investing in talent to deliver exceptional educational experiences.

Rabbinic Student Intern: For Ammud to mentor and support, and for them to contribute to Ammud’s programming.

Ammud’s core education programming through faculty support, building strategic partnerships, and new program creation.

2 Ammud Ambassadors serving 2 cities (part-time contractors): Hiring part-time Program Leaders provides us with a scalable, localized, in-person presence, laying the groundwork for expanded reach and impact as we grow.

• Operations Manager: This role will be essential in keeping Ammud organized as a scaling organization.

• 2 Ammud Ambassadors serving 2 cities (part-time contractors): Hiring part-time

Program Leaders provides us with a scalable, localized, in-person presence, laying the groundwork for expanded reach and impact as we grow.

22

AMMUD STRATEGIC PLAN

23