Committees and Groups

Youth Education and Family Life Committee

Purpose: To guide the youth educational lifecycle at CNK and support the Director of Family Life through bringing innovative Jewish learning opportunities to CNK and integrating those with the community’s needs and interests.

Primary Activities:

• Organize family support for religious school activities. 
• Develop and sponsor activities aimed at enhancing school enrollment (e.g., open houses, social gatherings, etc.)
• Coordinate with the Marketing Committee to market school and family activities in alignment with the growth trajectory set forth in the strategic plan.
• Collect community feedback regarding programming related to youth education and family life.
• Develop and sponsor intergenerational projects and experiential learning for CNK congregants.
  
  Committee Chair: Lori Berman

Sacred Art Committee

Purpose: Create a beautiful internal environment for the CNK building by creating artistic displays and other projects that improve interior spaces.

Primary Activities:

• Create/select an art installation for the CNK lobby twice a year.
• Interact with ad hoc and standing committees and members of the Board to provide input for art and artwork to the sanctuary, lobby, social hall, and outdoor spaces.
• Direct donations of artwork and money to ensure high-quality additions to the physical spaces of CNK.
• Provide opportunities for CNK members to offer feedback on installations.
  
  Committee Chair: Penny Perlman

Outdoor Beautification Committee

Purpose: Create a beautiful external environment for the CNK synagogue by developing and continually improving the landscaping around the building and the outdoor grounds.

Primary Activities:

• Organize volunteers to conduct spring clean-up of garden areas each year and to weed garden areas during the warm weather months.
• Organize volunteers to prepare outdoor gardens for winter each year.
• Develop and implement plans to: (1) continue to beautify the CNK outdoor spaces and (2) promote optimal use of CNK outdoor areas.
  
  Committee Chairs: Deb Skovron and Elizbeth Otto

Fundraising Committee

Purpose: Support the financial well-being of the CNK community through: (1) planning and executing fundraising activities according to an annual plan and (2) working strategically with other committees and the CNK Board to ensure the financial sustainability of the congregation.

Primary Activites:

• Generate an annual fundraising plan to align with the approved CNK annual budget.
• Provide direction and oversight to fundraising projects and activities conducted over the course of each year.
• Track fundraising activities and ensure that the annual plan is carried out.
• Generate quarterly progress reports on fundraising activities and outcomes.
• Strategize with the CNK Board and other committees as appropriate regarding approaches to meeting any budgetary gaps.
  
  Committee Chair: Kris Moore

Welcoming Committee

Purpose: Support building a joyful and expanding community at CNK by creating a welcoming culture for all first-time visitors, return visitors, and new members.

Primary Activities: 

• Develop an annual calendar of welcoming activities.
• Welcome new visitors at Shabbat services and other events.
• Conduct intake and triage for all newcomers within 2 weeks of their visit to CNK, which includes providing information about CNK and classifying newcomers as prospective members (to be cultivated), people who are ready to join (refer to CNK Rabbi or staff), or people who are inactive (keep on file).
• Cultivate prospective members through the Personal Contact Program and special newcomer events.
• Alert prospective members to events and groups of most interest to them.
• Maintain Welcoming records and integrate them into the CNK database.
• Ensure CNK participation in outreach activities, such as the booth at the Boulder Jewish Festival.
  
  Committee Chair: Peter Wengert

Bikkur Cholim Committee

Purpose: Provide support to members of the CNK community in need (e.g., meals, visitors, transportation, and regular check-ins).

Primary Activities:

• Set up calendars on Meal Train when needed to coordinate meals.
• Provide meals as needed.
• Coordinate visits, transportation, and other needs.
• Check-in regularly with CNK members in need.
  
  Committee Chairs: Doris Fasbender and Elizabeth Otto

Adult Education Committee

Purpose: Bring a variety of classes and workshops to the CNK adult community by offering enriching content and experiences that align with the Jewish values, teachings, and spirituality of Congregation Nevei Kodesh.

Primary Activities:

• Coordinate ongoing adult educational and experiential activities that promote Jewish learning and spiritual development (such as weekly Torah study, Yoga Nidra, and other offerings).
• Plan two semesters (Fall and Winter/Spring) of adult classes and workshops. (This includes all communication with teachers/presenters about contracts, publicity, scheduling, fees, equipment, and materials.)
  • Each semester we will consider all class ideas presented to us by a deadline determined by the committee.
  • Once each semester is planned and scheduled, any additional events/classes/workshops will be considered on a case-by- case basis.
• Plan one Shabbaton per year. (This includes coordination of communication, scheduling, marketing, and meals and transportation and lodging for the presenter, if needed. Other volunteers and paid help will be used to help with set-up/clean- up, food service, etc.)
• Evaluate committee offerings by asking participants to fill out evaluation forms after each class or workshop and by sending out a Survey Monkey after each Shabbaton.
  
  Committee Chair: Tracy Patch

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors oversees our practical operations, including our employees, our building and our budget. But equally important, it holds our unique vision and guides us toward our future, by developing goals and policies consistent with Jewish renewal in Boulder.

Board President: David Simon, (303) 448‐1441 dasboulder@comcast.net

Chevra Kadisha

The Boulder Chevra Kadisha, which means “holy or sacred society,” serves the entire Jewish community by preparing the dead for burial. Guided by our community rabbis, we serve affiliated and unaffiliated families. Email Evie Cohen, (303) 507‐7001 

Strategic Implementation Committee

Purpose: To facilitate the execution of strategically-prioritized activities to help the CNK Board achieve its goals, reduce the executive burden on staff and the Rabbi, and elevate the capacity of the congregation to accomplish amazing things.

Primary Activities:

• Prioritize activities and tasks that need to be accomplished according to criteria of cost and benefit.
• Brainstorm how best to accomplish those tasks and who best to recruit from the congregation in task completion.
• Monitoring the tasks as they are completed.

Committee Chair: Ian McPherson

Marketing Committee

Purpose: To build awareness of CNK’s unique offerings and create positive differentiation for the synagogue within the Boulder Jewish community; to attract new people to CNK and facilitate their journey towards material support of the community; to generate materials/messaging that make financial support of CNK appealing to as many people as possible, creating a context to expand fundraising beyond the Boulder Jewish community.

Primary Activities:

• Create strategic branding assets and marketing materials.
• Advise staff and the Board on communication policies and marketing strategy.
• Advocate to staff and the Board for awareness, engagement, and financial participation opportunities, and create such opportunities for the community in concert with other relevant committees.
• Generate specific campaigns for particular events and holidays.
• Measure and report the return on investment the committee generates for the congregation.

Committee Chair: Ian McPherson

Jewish Broadway Committee

Purpose: To plan and execute the primary annual fundraiser for CNK, Jewish Broadway, which includes entertainment, refreshments, and live and silent auctions.

Primary Activities:

• Produce the Jewish Broadway show each year, usually in the spring.
• Oversee all activities related to the event, including auctions (live and silent), food, decorations, marketing, registration and check out, and volunteer activities related to the event.
• Coordinate all dates and rehearsals with cast and direct each act so that it flows with the rest of the show.

Committee Chair: Wendy Miller

Inclusion Committee

Purpose: To ensure that everyone, regardless of abilities and other individual differences, will feel welcome, comfortable, and able to participate in all CNK religious services and activities.

Primary Activities:

• Identify situations where members or potential members are being excluded from full participation in any aspect of CNK life because of disability or individual differences.
• Develop and recommend accommodations to address any issues of exclusion (working within available CNK resources).
• Identify and promote basic changes in our building, practices, and policies that will support access and inclusion.
• Educate ourselves and the CNK community about inclusion issues.
• Monitor and support the identification of CNK as a welcoming and inclusive community in our internal documents and our public outreach.
• Coordinate the Accessibility Angels to provide individual support to participants, as needed, at CNK services and activities.

Committee Chair: Andrea Jacobson

Green Team

Purpose: To ensure that the CNK building and grounds are as eco-friendly as possible, given available resources, and to promote environmental responsibility among CNK members.

Primary Activities:

• Explore the possibility of placing solar panels on the roof of the CNK synagogue.
• Create raised bed gardens on the CNK grounds.
• Enact food waste diversion policies.
• Continue compost and recycling programs.

Committee Chairs: Elizabeth Otto and Thea McPherson