To: The Jewish Community of Detroit

From:

Mark E. Schlussel, President
Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit

Graham A. Orley, Past President
United Jewish Foundation
of Metropolitan Detroit

he Strategic Plan for the Jewish Federation and the United Jewish Foundation was launched with a
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sense of excitement, and some trepidation, 18 months ago. Since then, more than 50 volunteers from a
broad cross-section of our community have spent hundreds of hours in discussion, debate, development
and writing of this report.

What an 18 months it has been!

Federation Vice-President David Page chaired the process. Each of four subcommittees -- mission and
governance, agency/community relations, financial resources and human resources -- met six times in a spirited and
thoughtful exchange of perspectives and ideas.

We were assisted by Dr. Jack Ukeles, of Ukeles and Associates, New York, who had worked with us earlier
on the Jewish Population Study of Metropolitan Detroit.

It is no exaggeration to say that development of this Strategic Plan has been the most time-intensive and
important project of our respective administrations. And, yet, the goals of the process were simple:

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To assess where we are as a Federation and where we are going

•

To examine objectively the way in which we make decisions, raise money and involve people

•

To recommend ways of creating a more effective Federation and United Jewish Foundation

We believe we accomplished what we set out to do. Now, our leadership must respond with determina-
tion and commitment.

Some recommendations can be put into place soon; others require more detailed planning. All will
contribute toward changing our communal organizations for the better.

Federation and the Foundation share an enduring partnership. Together, they have written a long and
proud history of service to the community and support of Jewish life throughout the world. With the adoption of this
plan, our two organizations step into position for the 21st Century.

We wish to acknowledge particularly the committee chairman, David Page, and the leadership of his four
subcommittees, Robert Naftaly, Peter Alter, Penny Blumenstein and Stuart Hertzberg, for bringing a level of critical
excellence to the process. We thank all the committee members and our Federation senior staff who shaped this plan
and brought it to completion. Their names are listed at the back of this summary.

The following can only briefly summarize the full plan. It touches on the major themes and gives a sense
of the changes we feel must be made.

We are confident that our Federation and Foundation will put this plan into action and that we will
continue to move from strength to strength.

October 1992

Let us be like the lines that lead to the center of a circle uniting there...
and not like parallel lines which never join.

-- Hassidic saying

