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Temple Shir Tikvah has begun working on a process of developing a long-range plan for our future. Why now? As a vibrant, growing Jewish community, we need to respond to changing realities. Over the past 2½ years, we have had the pleasure of welcoming 91 new member households! These members make up approximately 27% of our membership. Along with a large new membership, we have more programs that taking us in a variety of directions. In the face of growth and change, how do we hold onto the values and qualities that have made this community an important home to so many who want to connect through Judaism? That’s where the long-range planning (a.k.a. strategic planning) comes in. It’s a chance to take stock of where we stand, and then look forward to imagine what we hope to become and how we can get there.

The planning process has 3 phases. Click on each phase to learn more.

	√ Done! Read all about it!
	Community Conversation 12/10/06 √ Done! Read all about it!
	Read about: See the Members’ only section of the Community Page for a May 2008 Strategic Planning Update Temple Survey Results help inform Action Plan

To contact the Strategic Planning Team, email Trustees@shir-tikvah.org.

The Snapshot of Our Present

Who are we now? The Snapshot Report is a depiction of the current state of Shir Tikvah, reflecting our strengths, challenges and the concerns of both lay and professional leadership. The report integrates survey data and other information with opinions gathered during a set of conversations with a cross-section of our membership, including special conversations with our newer members and our entire lay leadership. By taking a close look at our Jewish community today, we will be better able to assess what we need to do to turn our hopes for the future into realities.

The snapshot topics include: Our Strengths and Challenges; Guiding Questions; The Challenges of Growth; Sustaining a Culture of Inclusion; Building the Infrastructure and Tools for Success.

To prepare for our Community Conversation: Imagining Our Future Together, please take a look at The Snapshot Report.

December 10^th was a beautiful, sunny Sunday with temperatures that allowed for numerous activities. Over 65 temple members chose to use this clear day to look into our future. To help us envision what our future might be like, our consultants, David Trietsch and Terry Rosenberg, asked us to imagine Shir Tikvah as a restaurant. What kind of restaurant would we want it to be? What kind of ambience, menu, and staff would our restaurant have? Who would decide the menu? Who would the restaurant serve? How would the restaurant be financed?

One theme predominated: The “restaurant” should be warm, comfortable, and intimate; it should be concerned with the needs of the individuals who dine there.

Other important themes included cooking lessons to allow people to participate at a higher level, and using restaurant resources to feed the needy. Take a look at the notes from the visioning meeting to see what other ideas the nine discussion groups generated.

The entire group worked together to develop a list of values implicit in the qualities of their restaurants. These values will help guide us later as we figure out how we go about meeting the strategic goals we choose.

Want to know more about the outcomes of the visioning workshop and see how you can help develop an action plan for Shir Tikvah? Join us for the next step: The Task Group Kick-Off Meeting on Sunday, January 21, 2007.

2006 Membership Survey Results

In the spring of 2006, our Membership Committee conducted a congregation-wide survey to understand more about why people join Temple Shir Tikvah (TST) and what we value most about our community. Over 230 members responded, representing well over half of our households. Most of the respondents (66%) were female. The respondents’ ages, geographic distribution and length of membership reflected our full membership fairly well. As a result, the survey data provides a rich picture of our communal experience that helps us better understand who we are. Below are highlights from the survey. You can also see more detailed results by choosing the following options:

If you have questions, please contact VPLeadership@shir-tikvah.org.

Highlights from the 2006 Membership Survey

1. Members are very satisfied with Temple programming and events.

Overall satisfaction with TST is 91% with a small percentage (7%) feeling neutral.

2. The top 3 reasons people join TST are:

Child’s education (33%); to be part of a wider Jewish community (16%); and sense of community/feeling for extended family (15%).

3. Services are the most common way members fulfill their top reason for joining regardless of their age or the age of their children.

To fulfill their primary reason for joining, 78% of members participate in services, 58% participate in religious school and 48% in social and networking events.
88% find that their activities do a good or excellent job meeting their main reason for joining.

4. Members value 4 key aspects of belonging to TST.

The most valued aspect of TST membership is a sense of community and family feeling (69%). Other highly valued aspects include: child’s education (54%); Jewish identify (48%); and worship/spiritual practice (46%).

5. Overall, members are informed about activities, although less so about TST governance.

74% of those who have been members for 5 or more yrs. report being well/extremely well informed as do 57% of those who have been members from 1-4 years. Only 33% of respondents 40 years old or younger report being well/extremely well informed about activities.
A minority of respondents (36%) feels well/extremely-well informed about how the temple is run. An additional 36% feel that they had some knowledge in this area. Only 14% of those who have belonged 4 years or less report being well/extremely well informed about temple governance.
88 percent say they know how to get involved in Temple leadership and committee work.
At the time of the survey — before our new website was launched — members report using temple email (93%), the newsletter (88%), and mailings (62%) to say informed. Asked what their preferred method would be, assuming a current website, a majority chose email (51%), with 24% preferring the newsletter, 21% a hypothetical new website, and 4% temple mailings.

6. Members support TST’s continued involvement with Jewish and interfaith groups working on community issues.

73% of members feel it is important to engage with the larger Boston community in coalition and advocacy both Jewish and interfaith.
This support does not translate to clear consensus about increasing social action. 36% are for increasing, 43% are unsure and 21% see no need for increase. A split is also seen in taking a public stand on certain public policy issues (40% for, 28% against, and 32% not sure).