• YOUR NOMINATING COMMITTEE
  USE IT AS A YEAR-ROUND TOOL FOR DEVELOPING LEADERS
• A NEW GUIDE TO BUILDING MANAGEMENT
  THE SYNAGOGUE FACILITY AS A VALUABLE ASSET
• YOUR ROLE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS
• REGISTER FOR THE 2001 SMALL CONGREGATIONS CONFERENCE
  

Your Nominating Committee
Use It As A Year-Round Tool For Developing Leaders

Most temple bylaws mandate the composition of the Nominating Committee but not the schedule. Consider empowering your Nominating Committee to embark on a yearlong plan to discover potential leaders, sanction a board covenant, and implement board training.

Composition

Working within any existing guidelines, it is important that the composition of the Nominating Committee reflect its significant mandate. Make sure that the members represent a broad cross section of the temple membership, including new and seasoned members, men and women, and those whose connection to and interest in the synagogue range from ritual to religious school, repairing the world to repairing the carpet, and social action to social events. At least one member should have served on the preceding Nominating Committee, and it may be enlightening to recruit a retired member of the committee who can furnish a history of its process and procedures.

Schedule

Assemble at the beginning of your working year, when all the other committees convene. At that point, meetings need not be held monthly, but the committee can outline its plan for the year, establish a schedule, and start doing its research.

Responsibilities

The function of the traditional Nominating Committee is to identify and select new leaders. Consider adding two more tasks: (1) creating or affirming a covenant that delineates the responsibilities of new leaders once they have been selected and (2) implementing board training in the form of a retreat or another session to educate new leaders about how to fulfill their role.

Identifying and Selecting New Leaders

• Determine how many positions you must fill and all applicable term limits. Check with each board member about his or her plans for next year. Do not assume that because a member’s term is not expiring, he or she will remain on the board.

• Once you have ascertained the number of vacancies you must fill, look at the current composition of the board. Determine which constituencies and characteristics you want represented. Try to achieve a balance of strengths and interests. Remember that there is always next year for the terrific, committed person whose skills and interests are too similar to those of present board members.

• Seek input from the synagogue staff and current leaders.

• Interview those who are leaving the board about why they are doing so and what their experience was like; what was good about it and what was not; what they believe they have accomplished; and any additional information that they feel they could have used.

• Obtain notes from last year’s chair regarding who was and was not interviewed for the board and why. You do not want to tap the same people every year. On the other hand, some of those individuals may have asked to be deferred for a year and you do not want to forget about them. Although it is inappropriate to preserve formal minutes, make sure that your chair maintains notes of your work: Records should be kept about everyone who was interviewed, what his or her response was, and who should and should not be re-contacted next year.

• Once you have a group of potential board members, pre-interview them: Tell them what serving on the board will be like, explain what is expected of board members, and get a sense of whether they are interested and what they would like to accomplish as board members. Make it clear that many candidates are being interviewed so that they understand that although they may not be a match for the board this year, they will certainly be appointed to a committee and will be considered for a board position next year. By interviewing in an orderly fashion over the course of several months (rather than with the last-minute, "we must fill this position" phone call), you will help members understand the significance of being on the board and the responsibility that this honor entails.

• If you are unable to identify the appropriate person for the position, consider re-assigning the critical tasks, and leaving a position open for a year. This sends a positive message about the importance of board service and can help ensure the long-term health and growth of your leadership team.

Creating a Covenant of Board Service

Before they accept a position, prospective board members should know what will be expected of them. Since the Nominating Committee is empowered to identify and select new leaders, it is entirely appropriate for its members to also assume the task of defining the role of these new leaders.

This definition can be quite specific and should be written since it is expected that board members will sign and adhere to it. A member could sign the covenant at his or her installation or on a yearly basis. Some presidents use the occasion of the covenant renewal to review and underscore the congregation’s expectations of the board.

Responsibilities for the new board members should be delineated with regard to:

• Attendance at board-related events

• Board involvement

• Participation in the temple’s religious life

• Committee work

• Financial obligations

This covenant of board service can be published in the bulletin to highlight the fact that the board’s mission is to serve the congregation.

Implementing Board Training

The Nominating Committee can also assist the board in assessing its needs and then planning a retreat or another type of training session with a specific agenda and goals in mind. Such an assessment can be achieved using the initial and exit interviews and a self-assessment form completed by the current board members to ascertain what they think would make them more effective leaders. Consider the following survey to determine the areas on which board training should focus.

How satisfied are you that the board

• Understands and conveys the temple’s vision, mission, and purpose?

• Has sufficient knowledge about the temple’s committees, auxiliaries, and programs?

• Has the necessary information to devise policies and procedures?

• Communicates effectively with the congregation?

• Provides financial oversight for the temple, which includes having the ability to approve a realistic budget?

• Has adopted an appropriate fund-raising strategy?

• Has a clear policy on the responsibilities of board members?

• Acts as an appropriate Jewish role model for the congregation?

• Has a mechanism to periodically assess its own performance?

An ongoing, vibrant, and independent Nominating Committee can be an essential tool for leadership development. It can serve as an important pipeline for identifying new leaders and educating them about their recently acquired role.

A New Guide To Building Management
The Synagogue Facility As A Valuable Asset

As a temple board member, it is incumbent upon you to appropriately manage and preserve one of your synagogue’s most valuable assets—its facility. The Synagogue Facility As a Valuable Asset, a comprehensive guide to the management of synagogue facilities, is now available to assist you in this important task.

This publication covers the following topics: Building and Maintenance Supervision; Establishing Policies for Facility Use; Forms, Policies, and Rules; and Emergencies. It provides an Emergency Checklist and a lengthy Appendix that contains sample forms from a variety of congregations. Written by Stephen E. Breuer, Executive Director, Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, CA, this publication can serve as a handbook for the Board of Trustees, Building Committee, administrators, and all those associated with maintaining the temple building.

The Synagogue Facility As a Valuable Asset is a joint project of the National Association of Temple Administrators (NATA) and the UAHC Ida and Howard Wilkoff Department of Synagogue Management. It is the second in a series of monographs to be prepared by experienced NATA members and will become part of the new NATA/UAHC Temple Management Manual.

To obtain The Synagogue Facility As a Valuable Asset, contact the UAHC Ida and Howard Wilkoff Department of Synagogue Management by telephone at 212.650.4040 or by e-mail at synagoguemgmt@uahc.org.

If your congregation contains 250 or fewer households, be sure to send a delegation to the UAHC Small Congregations Conference, which will be held Friday, April 20 through Sunday, April 22, 2001 in Colorado Springs, CO.

This biennial conference will enable you to

• Attend workshops and other activities that are especially geared toward the unique needs of small congregations

• Converse with Rabbi Eric Yoffie, UAHC President, and Russell Silverman, Chairman of the Board

• Meet representatives from other small congregations and UAHC professional and lay leaders to share insights, concerns, and solutions to common problems

Group hotel rates and airline discounts are available, so book early since space is limited!

To register or for more information, contact the UAHC Small Congregations Department by phone at 212.650.4080, by e-mail at smallcong@uahc.org.

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For our January-February issue: Share how you have used your Web page to promote your temple.