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The Next Generation Initiative: Involving the Next Generation of Jews

In 2006, Rose Community Foundation embarked on a new project in the Jewish community – The Next Generation Initiative, geared at deepening the connection of Jews in their 20s and 30s to Jewish life in the greater Metro Denver area. The Foundation uses the term “NextGen” to refer to this demographic and has explored their Jewish needs in the Denver/Boulder area by reaching out to hear from them directly.

Following is an interview with Lisa Farber Miller, the Foundation’s senior program officer in Jewish Life, and Shawna Friedman, former Jewish Life initiatives manager, describing some of the work.

Q: What is the Next Generation Initiative?
SF: The Next Generation Initiative is designed to engage Jews in their 20s and 30s in Jewish life in their own ways and on their own terms. Specifically, we’ve sought out a diverse group of young Jews, brought them together to have Jewish conversations, exposed them to new Jewish ideas and given them resources to create programs and activities that are interesting to them and, we hope, to other Jews of the same age. We’ve reached a point where we can look back at what we’ve done use that to inform our continuing work with NextGen Jews. Our report, Legwork, Framework, Artwork: Engaging the Next Generation of Jews summarizes what works, what doesn’t, and what we’ve learned so far.

Q: What led Rose Community Foundation to create this initiative?
LFM: The project fits directly into our outreach priority. Nationally, and in Denver, Jews in their 20s and 30s are not participating in Jewish life, and their vitality is missing. As a foundation, our grantmaking is often purposely responsive – we listen to what the community tells us it wants and support programs and organizations that will address those needs. But we also want to be proactive. We don’t often get grant proposals aimed at 20- through 30-year-olds that are planned by them. The lack of engagement among Jews in their 20s and 30s was enough of a concern to warrant the creation of this initiative.

Q:What has happened involving The Next Generation Initiative in Denver so far?
SF: The first step was to interview lots of young Jews. By engaging in one-on-one conversations, without a specific religious or institutional goal, we were able to learn a lot about NextGen Jews, how they see their Jewish identity, their connection to Jewish life, and what type of programming interests them. We convened a summit in Estes Park, Colorado to encourage dialogue among young Jews from the Denver/Boulder area. That summit began to create a network and a sense of community began to form. We’ve created programs and events for NextGen Jews inspired by their articulated interests and the connection they feel to Judaism.

Q: What do those programs and events look like?
SF: This generation places a high priority on self-defined Judaism that leads to a strong DIY, or “do it yourself”, ethic. To nurture that desire, we involve them directly in the planning and organization of events and programs. We have sponsored two Social Justice Passover seders, hosted by NextGen Jews. We also convene an ongoing salon series to bring young Jews together for conversations about identity, culture and experience facilitated by visiting scholars. In response to an expressed desire to shape their community outside of traditional institutions, we created Roots & Branches Foundation, a grantmaking group comprised of NextGen Jews. Rose Community Foundation has also sponsored stand-alone cultural events of interest to this demographic.

Q: What is the next step?
LFM: GrassRoots and Branches, or GRAB, is a group of NextGen Jews that grew out of Roots & Branches’ first group of members. Their mission is to work with institutions and organizations to help them engage this demographic. Since publishing our Legwork, Framework, Artwork report in June 2008, we have also been exploring new ways that we can support Denver’s growing network of engaged young Jews and ensure that they find meaningful experiences in our Jewish communities. Jews in their 20s and 30s are the Jewish community’s future. We see The Next Generation Initiative as a great opportunity for them to find their own voice; so far they’ve had very interesting things to say.