Mishkan at 13: Our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan

When Mishkan Chicago started in 2011, we aimed to engage young and unaffiliated Jews. Thirteen years later, our community has grown in every possible way. We undertook this Strategic Planning process to continue investing in the people and practices that have brought us this far and to deepen our investment in the areas where we’re seeing growth.

After 18 months of focus groups, and in collaboration with consultants, our Board, staff, and community, we are excited to unveil the next chapter of our story: our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. We remain committed to inspiring and supporting you, breathing new life into Judaism, raising the next generation of inspired, down-to-earth Jews, and changing the world.

The Big Why

In a world where there are vanishingly few spaces for building the spiritual and social muscles needed for a healthy society, where Americans are increasingly polarized, lonely, and struggling with mental health, and where many Jews are disengaging from Jewish community, our mission is more crucial than ever. Mishkan’s remedy for all of this has been and will continue to be joyful, serious Judaism. We are committed to creating a vibrant, inclusive, and courageous space that challenges our minds, enriches our lives, inspires our souls, and helps us navigate our differences with respect and love. Within this community, we will cultivate the skills we need to nourish ourselves and heal the world around us.

At Mishkan, we embrace our ancient practices, wisdom, and rituals, transcending denominations and drawing from the deep well of global Jewish tradition, in our own inspired, down-to-earth way.

The Pillars of the Plan: Deepen, Invest, and Support

Our strategic plan is pretty simple: over the next five years we’ll hold onto the magic that has brought us this far, as well as we’ll invest in the places where we’re seeing growth, so we can continue to bring purpose, connection and inspiration to as many people as possible, and be here for the long haul.

 

Deepen the Mishkan Experience

As we grow organically, we will remain focused on the intimacy, joy, music, community building, and opportunities for intellectual and spiritual growth that each Mishkanite treasures.  

We will:

  • Expand the presence of music that defines the Mishkan experience, from services and holidays to lifecycle events and kids’ davening team.
  • Increase our focus on adult learning, helping build relationships while exploring the big questions about Judaism and life.
  • Create opportunities to build community and deepen connections by growing our small groups; create spaces for affinity groups around multiple identities and common interests in our large and diverse community – helping you “find your people.”
  • Pursue more opportunities for tikkun olam, healing what’s broken, helping connect our community to volunteering, social activism, and local and national campaigns.
  • Connect with our virtual audience through our best-in-class live stream, virtual morning minyan, and digital content offerings including social media and our Contact Chai podcast.
  • Continue to develop our voice and leadership around Israel and Palestine, empowering our community with the skills for practicing pluralism and civil disagreement on the most charged subjects.
Invest in the Next Generation

We embrace our opportunity to inspire, nurture, and grow the next generation of inspired, down-to-earth Jews! So we will:

  • Grow enrollment of Mensch Academy to engage new, unengaged families, serving all families who want to join.
  • Strengthen our Shabbat and holiday-focused family programs for kids of all ages,  alongside Mensch Academy.
  • Focus on nurturing a sense of community amongst families while also integrating our next generation of Jews into the wider Mishkan community. 
  • Launch and grow the Cohen Kadima Program: a new suite of pre-and post-BMitzvah teen programs to keep our future leaders engaged and growing in their Judaism.
  • Develop a strategy for teaching about the global Jewish community, including Israel, and equipping kids and teens with skills for communicating across tough topics.
Support our Operations

We aspire to be best-in-class when it comes to how our organization runs.  We need to ensure that we always have the resources to deliver on our strengths and our promises while we continue serving our growing community.

We will: 

  • Develop strategies to invest more in managing our physical space, build long-term space-sharing partnerships with other organizations, and reconfigure our office and programming spaces for maximum efficiency and usefulness.
  • Recognize the foundational role of music in our community, and support our ability to consistently weave music into our programs as a source of inspiration, joy and learning.
  • Build out our operational capacity for Finance and Human Resources consistent with the growth of the organization.
  • Determine a strategy, goals, timeline, and priorities for securing our long-term future through legacy giving and endowment gifts.
  • Expand our clergy team, encouraging every Mishkanite to have a meaningful relationship with someone on our team.
  • Align our staffing structure with our strategic priorities and develop career growth opportunities in order to retain and grow our talented staff.
  • Develop and monitor contingency plans that help us to flex and pivot with agility and strength as our complex world continues to rotate on its own axis!