2. We love a good partnership.
We live for those magical moments
when our powers combine with another
organization, agency or congregation to
create a meaningful, Jewish experience for
our participants that we just could not have
achieved as a solo act.
Putting the NEXTGen Detroit
stamp on something isn’t a
matter we take lightly, and we
know you feel the same way
about your brand. Our hope
is that this document, which
outlines our core values, serves
to help determine if a program
is the right fit, at the right time,
for the right audience for both
of our organizations. We also
hope this document works
to ensure that any program
we partner on furthers our
mission and goals as well
as your mission and goals.
So, what makes a
program right?
The ideal partnering program is when:
• It aligns with both NEXTGen’s
and the partnering organization’s
values and mission
• There is added value for our
audience
• The cost is feasible
• Staff and/or volunteers are
available
• We can get attendees to show up
• The timing makes sense in
relation to other community
events
The not-so-ideal program is when:
• It doesn’t meet our core values
or align with our mission
• There’s a lack of resources
(humans, dollars, etc.)
• We know we can’t get our
audience through the door
• The calendar is overloaded
and the timing is off
1 2
3. Because
“You Should”
Isn’t A Reason
Good Isn’t
Good Enough
Core Values
NEXTGen Detroit’s
NEXTGen Detroit is on a mission to be
the hub of a vibrant Jewish community.
By serving as a connector for all things
young and Jewish, we help native
Detroiters navigate the Jewish community
and newcomers find meaning and build
relationships in all facets of life, from
professional and religious to cultural and
communal. Every program and event we
produce or collaborate on must contribute
to our mission (and yours). To ensure we
are constantly working towards our shared
goals, we hold tight to a core set of values
that serve to remind us of the standards
that our constituents expect. As we develop
programming, we use these values to guide
us, and now, we’re sharing them with you.
We understand that much of our
core demographic sees Judaism
as a choice, not an expectation.
Therefore, we never tell people that they
have to do anything. It’s our job to be
aware of what is important and of value to
our audiences, and it is our challenge to
create experiences around those issues
and ideas. We design events that people
want to attend, not events that they
“should” attend. As we develop programs,
we focus on how we can make living
Jewishly attractive with the hope that
it will ultimately lead our attendees to
genuinely care, give and value community.
Our competition is not
other nonprofits. Our
competition is literally
anything else our audience
could be doing, and that
includes watching Netflix.
That’s why our programs
are not good if they are just
“good.” We’re obsessed with
the details. We always want
to offer something that our
attendees can’t get anywhere
else and that goes above and
beyond their expectations of
Jewish communal life. With every
program we present, we know
that we have one shot to knock
it out of the park. It’s go big
or go home — every time.
Behold, our core values:
➲
43
4. It’s not what
you do...
It’s how
you do it.
Fridge
Worthy
Marketing
Marketing is a first
impression. Those initial
messages and artwork set
the tone and the expectations
for an event. Fridge-worthy
collateral gets people talking
and sharing. We get it, and
we have fun with it. We create
marketing that is as memorable
as our events, speaks to
our audience, bypasses the
recycling bin and makes a
b-line for the front of
the fridge.
No one rejects our mission.
You can’t say “no” to building
a vibrant Jewish community.
Try. See? Impossible.
Our methodology, however, is
sometimes up for debate. A small
glitch in registration, one too many
email blasts — any annoyance can
make people forget what we’re
here to do and ultimately shy away.
From streamlining processes and
taking to-dos off of our partners’
plates to learning from mistakes
and soliciting feedback, we
continually work to present perfect
experiences that let our mission
take center stage.
By Peers for Peers
Where’s the Wow?
Age, lifecycle events, location, profession, background
— tons of factors create sub-demographics and
micro-communities within our 21 to
45-year-old age pool, which is
why we micro-target for
certain programs and
events. We make
ourselves the
experts on
generational
trends.
To ensure that our offerings are applicable and
on-point for the audiences that make up the
NEXTGen community, we enlist
the insight of our staff,
Board, lay leaders and
participants, who are
the constituents
themselves and
in relevant
stages of life.
Metro Detroit has no shortage of educational, social and
spiritual experiences for Jews. So we have a challenge — how
do we attract thousands of young adults? By striving to give attendees
something that they want, something that they can’t get without us
— be it a special rate, entry into an exclusive location or the ultimate
“Facebookable” moment.
5 6
5. openness
togetherness
identity
relationships
inclusivity
It’s Not About the Booze
Create Measureable Goals
In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, “the haters
gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” We have our
critics who think that we draw our large crowds simply with the
promise of alcohol. Let’s be real, a beer costs five dollars. No
one comes to an event for a beer. Do we have alcohol at some
of our events? Yes. Most adult events do. But booze is not a
draw, and it certainly won’t bring people back. It is never about
drinking, and it never will be. Put out a great event, and people
will come. Then, if appropriate, have a drink.
Sure, we’ve got some things on lock down,
but NEXTGen Detroit is really a research and
development department. Our programs must have
quantifiable goals, and methods for measuring those goals. All
partnering programs complete a goal-setting tool that clearly
outlines the measurable outcomes and how we plan to achieve
them, making it easy to assess if an event was successful.
While we are here to serve the
young Jewish adult population of
Metro Detroit, we are not here to
determine who is Jewish.
Our programs are open to those who are
“halachically” Jewish, identify as Jewish, are
curious about Judaism, are in a relationship
with someone who is Jewish or are not
Jewish at all. We do not discriminate, and we
will not partner on programming that does.
8
And those are our core values. Now we can take a
closer look at what it means to partner on a program. ➲
Our sole purpose is to build our Jewish community
by providing meaningful experiences, creating
connections and making people happy. We are proud
to be a force within the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and an avenue for bringing the next generation of Jewish
Detroiters into Federation’s meaningful work.
Inclusivity for All
7
The bottom line is:
we are here for good.
6. Catering
What we can bring
to the party...
or performance,
lecture,meeting,etc?
Catering
What we can bring
to the party...
or performance,
lecture,meeting,etc?
Space
Our building is huge and
full of rooms, so that’s an
option. But when an extra
special place is needed,
we scout and source the
best venues in town.
Money
It sure doesn’t grow
on trees. So, when
necessary and
appropriate, we can
help with capital and
subsiding costs.
Below is a breakdown of what’s on NEXTGen’s Super Jew utility belt.
Not every program warrants our entire arsenal, but here is a list of
potential items we can offer:
Program
Development
We design and develop
programming all day,
and we can no doubt
create something that
is beneficial for all
partnering parties.
Marketing
From the branding and
design of collateral to the
strategy and execution of
promotion and outreach,
our marketing team is a
creative machine.
Technology
Online registration,
payment processing,
data collection and
sharing — it can be
overwhelming. Fear not.
We have geeks.
People
We’ve built up an
impressive roster of
professionals, lay leaders,
volunteers and security
that never let us down.
Vendors
We’re great. You’re
great. But we can’t do
everything ourselves,
which is why we’re
connected to the
best caterers, valets,
entertainment and more.
9 10
7. What you can
bring to the party...
or volunteer opportunity,
trip,class,etc?
What you can
bring to the party...
or volunteer opportunity,
trip,class,etc?
Money
Are you willing and
able to contribute
some capital?
11 12
Unique Idea
Have an innovative idea
for a program or event
and just need some help
making it a reality?
Promotion
Can you help get the word
out with your Facebook
page, your email list and
your mailers?
Space
Do you have a building
with many rooms too? Or
perhaps a hook up for
the perfect location?
People
Are your staff members
and/or volunteers on
board to make this
happen?
Answer “yes” to three or more of the following,
and we’ve got the start of a great conversation:
Entertainment/
Speaker/Educator
Do you have someone
for the spotlight?
Exclusive Access/
Resources
Do you have something
extra special that only
you can add?
Inclusion
Can you help us reach
a new population that
we haven’t worked
with before?
8. Let’s discuss
amongst ourselves.
Let’s discuss
amongst ourselves.
Timing & Flow
What is a date and time that makes
the most sense for this event?
What is the timeline for promoting
the event? What is the schedule of
the actual event?
Then What?
Follow up is equally as important
as the event. All participating
organizations need to establish
next steps that include connecting
with attendees, agreeing on how
attendee information will be shared
and used, balancing payments,
debriefing and assessing
our success.
13 14
Core Values
Does this program
or event align with
NEXTGen Detroit’s
core values and your
core values? If not,
how can we fix this?
Here are a few things we need to chat about
before we both give this thing the green light:
Goals
What are the goals of all
participating organizations?
What methods are we using to
measure our goals? What’s the
plan if it becomes obvious that
our goals are not being met?
What will make this successful,
and how will we
define success?
Resources
Do we have the people, the
money, the hours, the skills
and the materials to make
this a success?
Recruitment
How many attendees do
we want to recruit? What
does each organization’s
recruitment plan and
timeline look like?
Who Does What
How are we
dividing roles and
responsibilities? What
people from each
organization are the
final decision makers?
Now that we’ve laid it all out on the
table, let’s start to talk business… ➲
9. So what’s the
NEXT step?
6735 Telegraph Road • P.O. Box 2030 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
248.642.4260 • Email: nextgen@jfmd.org • jewishdetroit.org/nextgen
Give Julie Zuckerman
Tepperman a call or
shoot her an email to start
discussing what we can do
together to grow a vibrant,
young Jewish Detroit.
Julie Zuckerman Tepperman
Interim Director
NEXTGen Detroit
tepperman@jfmd.org
248.203.1497
Know exactly who you are looking for?
Jessica Goodwin
Associate Director
NEXTGen Detroit
goodwin@jfmd.org
248.203.1470
Sarah Snider
Community Outreach Associate
NEXTGen Detroit
snider@jfmd.org
248.502.2865
Brittany Karson
Associate
NEXTGen Detroit
karson@jfmd.org
248.203.1494
Becky Hurvitz
Online Content Strategist
Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit
hurvitz@jfmd.org
248.205.2532
Amy Brody
Associate Director
NEXTGen Detroit
brody@jfmd.org
248.203.1486
Sara Aronovitz
Associate
NEXTGen Detroit
aronovitz@jfmd.org
248.203.1485
Shosh Cohen-Silberstein
Israel Experience Associate
NEXTGen Detroit
silberstein@jfmd.org
248.203.1483
Rachel Taubman-Glickfeld
Associate Director, Events
Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit
taubman@jfmd.org
248.205.2545
