Makom
Cultivating leadership for vibrant Jewish life in small, rural, and remote communities
Mah nora ha’makom ha’zeh! – How awesome is this place! (Genesis 28:17)
What is Makom?
Makom is a two-year cohort-based fellowship for rabbis and senior-level professional leaders new to serving synagogues or other Jewish communal organizations in rural and under-resourced communities. As a fellow, you’ll learn how to understand the needs and dynamics of your community and how to create sustainable, transformational change.
What’s Involved?
- Twice-monthly cohort-based learning sessions on Zoom
- Twice-yearly in-person leadership retreats. All travel-related expenses are fully subsidized by the Center for Small Town Jewish Life.
- One-on-one mentorship from a seasoned professional with experience in a role similar to yours
The direct per-person cost of this program is approximately $6,000/year. We expect the organizations that fellows serve to make a yearly financial contribution toward these costs in a manner consistent with the organization’s resources, and we understand that some organizations can make only modest contributions.
What Will I Learn to Do?
- Build strong relationships within your community
- Strengthen your community through storytelling
- Use your community’s sense of place as an asset
- Foster a shared sense of belonging that bridges generational, ideological, and socioeconomic differences
- Create sustainable structures within your organization
- Forge durable, mutually beneficial collaborations
- Introduce strategic change
- Engage lay leaders while building a strong leadership pipeline
How Can I Join?
If you have questions or would like to speak to a member of our team about the program or about applying for the next cohort, please reach out to [email protected]—we would be happy to schedule a conversation.
Email [email protected] for more information.
Meet Our Makom Fellows
