By Stacey Dresner

Amanda Katzman, 36, has been a member of the Mandell JCC her whole life. 

“I went to the nursery school and I’m still friends with people who I met there,” she says. 

Today, Katzman’s two small children attend the JCC’s Early Childhood Center that she attended as a child. This year, she joined the JCC’s Board of Directors, which her father Mark Seltzer sat on for many years and is now a life director.

“As I got older, I wanted to get involved and was kind of waiting for the right time. So I’m new to the board this year. It’s kind of cool to have this JCC continuity full circle with my family,” she notes.

But not all people in Katzman’s age group – the millennials – are necessarily as focused on giving to JCCs and other Jewish institutions as she is.

Now, in a move to instill in the next generation a commitment to philanthropy and empower them to become Jewish community leaders, the Mandell Jewish Community Center has created The JNext, a group of young JCC members working to raise funds and awareness for the organization’s philanthropic causes. 

Co-chaired by Katzman and Josh Feldman, JNext is a group of mostly millennials – 30 to 45 years old – who are dedicated to giving back to the Mandell JCC community by contributing their resources, skills, digital literacy and innovative thinking to spark new forms of engagement and philanthropy in their demographic.

“The Mandell JCC recognized that millennials are an important group to engage,” says David Jacobs, executive director of the Mandell JCC. “They represent about half of the U.S. workforce and have immense purchasing power. Most importantly, they are focused on creating positive impact in their communities. But it was critical to understand that they engage in fresh new ways.  Because of this, the JCC created an advisory committee comprised of Millennials and we listen deeply in order to understand these current approaches to philanthropy.”

And those fresh new approaches to Jewish philanthropy may be different than their parents’ and grandparents.’

“I think it used to be in this community that if your parents gave, you gave. It was just automatic. It wasn’t questioned… The way this generation wants to give and the way they want to engage is very different. Just because their parents or grandparents gave didn’t mean they were going to,” Katzman says. “So, we knew we had to take a completely fresh approach and be more deliberate about it if we really wanted to attract this generation.”

A strategic plan undertaken by the Mandell JCC and completed during the pandemic confirmed differences in generational involvement.

“As part of the strategic plan, one of the things we identified was the fact that younger cohorts, our age group, was not really participating philanthropically in any meaningful capacity really,” says Josh Feldman, 33, Katzman’s co-chair. “So, the idea was broached to do something different to engage the younger generation.”

The group’s committee has been working on how to do that since the first JNext meeting was held last July. The result is a number of social, educational and volunteer events for members and their families as well as networking events for young professionals in the group. A number of events have been scheduled through 2022.

The first event, held in October, a Fall Fest with beer and cider tasting was attended by 70. “That’s a lot of people on a Sunday night. We kept it fun,” Feldman says.

Other JNext events include a Family-Fun Day in January; a “Javanese” Purim Spiel in March; a Networking event; A Food Truck Fest; a family event at the JCC Swim Club; and even a gala celebration set for March of 2023.  

To be a member of JNext, donors must give at the JCC’s Pacesetter level – a minimum of $365. JNext members receive a set of benefits specifically targeted toward this age group, including discounts on family programs, babysitting services, and birthday parties. 

Both Katzman and Feldman says it has been pretty easy to attract JNext members. So far JNext counts 60 families as members and the number is growing.

“The nice part for us is we’ve been able to show that our generation is willing to get involved. We just need to do the work to get these people to the table. We’ve been expanding our group through people’s social circles and using Facebook and Instagram to try and get the word out since that’s where our age group is plugged in all the time,” Feldman says. “We’ve had 100 percent participation from everybody in the group…We’ve raised $30,000.”

“It was super easy for all these people that we called to join because they were getting benefits from the JCC, they’re getting the opportunity to meet all these new people or do all these new things,” Katzman adds. “We can be part of this blank canvas and shape the way young people start giving to the JCC. Our age group has such high earning potential and we’re such an untapped resource in this community. Already we’ve raised $30,000 literally by talking to our friends.” 

Non-members – and potential recruits – will be invited to some JNext events, but more exclusive special events will be only for members who have made the $365 contribution.

“We’re having a virtual event on a Saturday night, post-kids bedtime in a couple of weeks, a trivia night. So for that you have to be an a member which means you will have made your gift to the campaign,” Feldman says.

But these young adults are interested in more than just social events – they want to know more about where their philanthropic dollars are going.

“So one of the things we knew we have to do is really talk about impact and where their money is going; impressing upon them that JNext money is helping not just the JCC   the institution – but the people, like the special needs adults and the seniors. And it’s talking to them about sustaining this community,” Feldman says.

“The idea is to create a pipeline for the JCC of people who will become future leaders. 

I think I think it’s nice that our group is a mix of people like Josh and me, who grew up here and came back to raise our families. That connection is really great to continue. But I think it’s also really important that we have fresh new blood in the mix,” Katzman said. “Not only are they going to help, hopefully, financially contribute to the JCC. But the idea is they might be future Jewish leaders in the community.” 

For more information about JNext, please visit the mandelljcc.org. 

Main Photo: From left to right, Matt nd Tracy Gelles, Stefanie and David Ochs, Emily and Ben Stoner, share a laugh at the Mandell JCC’s JNext’s October Fall Fest. (See Laschever Photography)