The Gordon Schools of Beth David Congregation were recently awarded a grant from the Legacy Heritage Fund to participate in the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education’s (PEJE) Leadership and Fundraising Academy (LFA), which launched last week. The LFA is a very competitive program with a challenging selection process. PEJE has selected South Florida as one of two locations for its new Legacy Heritage LFA cohorts, and is partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), a subsidiary agency of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
The LFA is designed to advance a school’s financial sustainability by creating a holistic development effort that combines best practices in governance, professional leadership, and fundraising. The initiative’s 18-month curriculum engages the head of school, development professional, and lay leaders in communal workshops and individualized coaching. The result is transformative cultural change towards sustainable financial growth.
“In the past, we have generated substantial funds for our school on a project-specific basis. We look forward to building a more holistic and forward-thinking approach by developing a formal development structure,” says Caroline Waldmann, Co-Chair of the Gordon Schools’ Board and an LFA team member. “We are excited to engage in the Leadership and Fundraising Academy with the help of PEJE to ensure the future of Jewish day schools in our South Florida community.”
The Gordon Schools of Beth David Congregation is one of 11 Jewish day schools in South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) chosen to participate in the LFA. The Gordon Schools encompass an Early Childhood Center, Jewish day school for children through fifth grade, and most recently the Tikvah Center, the only autism-specific program within a Jewish Day School in Florida.