Benefits of Partnering with JOI
Please download the JOI RFP for Placement Organizations 2010
JOI helps maximize the potential and buffer the risk of hiring someone early in their career by providing professional training, a support network, and additional mentorship. For many of our previous organizational partners, getting a Fellow through JOI is considered an affordable way to add a new community organizing position to your staff, and providing existing staff with free, in-depth organizing training and mentorship.
Benefit #1: Recruitment of Talented Organizers
By recruiting a pool of talented emerging organizers, JOI adds value to your organization’s next hire. Traditionally, JOI has attracted smart young leaders who are hungry for justice, both recent college graduates and more experienced recruits, with a particular emphasis on people who are looking to stay in the organizing field in the long run. Over the past 2 years, the number of applicants and the quality of our applicant pool has increased dramatically. Last year, 120 applicants applied for one of 10 positions. An in person, three day interview and matching weekend allowed us to thoroughly evaluate the 40 finalists from 22 states and 3 countries.
In our 2010 recruitment cycle, we expect to generate a pool of well over 100 applicants, whom we will selectively pre-screen before sending them into our matching process with our partner organizations. Thus, by the time your organization interviews JOI applicants, only the top candidates will have made it through a rigorous set of phone, in-person, and group interviews through JOI.
Benefit #2: Training and Professional Development
JOI Fellows add value to their placement organizations by undergoing a year of focused training in community organizing and other professional skills necessary for high-functioning non-profits.
JOI’s training curriculum has been honed over a decade of implementation and evaluation, and it continues to evolve based on the changing needs of our partner organizations and Fellows. Fellows participate in interactive and practical trainings led by experienced organizers and social change leaders, centered on skills ranging from recruiting leaders and mounting campaigns to facilitating meetings and raising funds. Trainings are designed to be relevant to a range of organizing settings, including unions, neighborhood organizations and CDCs, issue-based organizations, electoral campaigns, and interfaith or broad-based organizations. More information about our training curriculum is available upon request.
Additionally, JOI provides our Fellows with regular, structured opportunities to reflect on their work and professional growth, to engage in best-practice sessions with other Fellows, and to seek mentorship from their peers and more experienced organizers.
Finally, the Jewish component of the fellowship encourages Fellows to connect their social justice work to their heritage, traditions, sense of spirituality, and community. Grounding the challenging work of organizing in a Jewish context helps Fellows to see the work as a sustainable career path, and to connect their work to a rich heritage of organizing for justice. Fellows do not generally “wear their Judaism on their sleeve” in secular settings, but are willing and eager to share this connection with others when asked.
Last year, we changed several crucial program components to make our training curriculum more competitive and efficient, including meeting fewer hours a month for Friday training sessions. This change in our program from previous years allows Fellows to effectively serve as full-time staff members at their placement organizations while retaining the training and community benefits of participating in JOI.
Benefit #3: Funding
Many social change organizations that would value a JOI Fellow are limited by budgetary constraints. JOI is aware of the challenges of funding social change work, and responds to this need by subsidizing some of our Fellows’ positions. Pending available funds, for organizations that meet our general criteria and subsidy eligibility, JOI can provide averaging $1,000 to $5,000. Subsidies are awarded quarterly. In some cases, we are able to jointly fundraise for additional funds.
