In the midst of a year that defies ordinary timekeeping, TC Jewfolk is celebrating our 11-year anniversary!! We’re still relatively young as an organization, and we’re very proud of how far we’ve come since our inception in August 2009. But do you know what fills us with even more pride? It’s you! The community that we’re so privileged to reside in, report on, help connect, and provide with a platform is our everything. You are a constant source of inspiration.
At the risk of stating the obvious, a ton has changed this year. Work looks different, as does maintaining social and familial connections. Virtual events aren’t a novelty; they’re par for the course. For many, our physical realms have shrunk while the digital horizon has broadened so that which is physically distant is now more accessible than ever. Through all the changes, Jewfolk has worked hard to adapt and connect you with the resources, news, and community you need.
We’ve come into a number of our strengths as this—G-d willing—one-of-a-kind year has unfolded. As a lean and local organization, we’ve found ourselves surprisingly well-equipped to meet this moment to the benefit of our community. Our digital and social media services are in particularly high demand as our peer agencies transition and keep their programs digital because we offer an affordable and specifically Jewish consulting service. More of you are engaging across our website, social media, and the hyperlocal virtual groups we’ve been nurturing for the last several years. We are serving this increased demand by generating more content, launching a new podcast that explores nonbinary, female, and genderqueer Jewish leadership across the globe, and serving as a central broadcasting platform for our own and other agencies’ content. Since the onset of the COVID pandemic in March, 35,000+ folks have come together and enjoyed over 720 hours of community content.
We just learned, in preliminary results from the 2019 Twin Cities Jewish Population Study, that 54% of Jewish adults in the Twin Cities learn about community news and programs from online sources like TC Jewfolk. And this was before Coronavirus! We know Jewfolk brought great value before the pandemic; in this time of rapid shifts and development, our model enables us to be responsive and our human-centered approach vests us with the nimbleness and flexibility that this moment requires. We are proud to be the virtual glue holding our community together; it’s clearer than ever that we were built for this moment.
If Jewfolk has added information, insight, culture, humor, togetherness, or other value to your life this year, we hope you’ll consider supporting our work at any level that’s meaningful to you. We exist for you, and we exist because of you. Donate quickly and securely to Jewfolk, Inc.
For taxpayers who do not itemize their taxes, the CARES Act creates a new above-the-line tax deduction that applies to taxpayers, for total charitable contributions of up to $300. Jewfolk, Inc. is a 501(c)3 and your donation up to $300 is eligible for this deduction.
