Mergers and Separations w/ Howard Lipman, Kerry King, Hannah Peters, and Laura Mandel
Below is a list of resources that came up during the conversation:
The Art Preservation Fund supports conservation and preservation projects at cultural institutions, prioritizing underserved collections and organizations with limited resources. Through grants, professional connections, and public engagement, it helps institutions protect significant objects while demonstrating the importance of preservation to their communities.
2. Partnership Power: Essential Museum Strategies for Today's Networked World, Marsha Semmel
Semmel explores how museums can develop meaningful partnerships, collaborations, and professional networks. Addressing institutional culture, governance, resources, and evaluation, the book offers practical strategies for building sustainable relationships and measuring their impact. Particularly relevant to museums seeking to expand their reach without significantly increasing organizational capacity.
3. The Wondering Jew - Jewish Museum of Florida
Opening November 18, 2026, The Wondering Jew explores Marc Chagall and Jewish artists associated with the School of Paris. Through artwork, migration histories, and contemporary interpretation, the exhibition reclaims a historical antisemitic trope, transforming it into an exploration of curiosity, creativity, displacement, and belonging.
An international collaborative textile project involving 1,500 participants who spent a decade creating a monumental cross-stitched Torah. Combining Jewish text, artistic interpretation, and community participation, the project demonstrates how traditional materials and collective making can inspire meaningful engagement with sacred texts. A traveling exhibition makes the project accessible to additional communities.
5. Washington Jewish Museum - Digital Exhibits & Collections
The Washington State Jewish Historical Society's digital museum presents regional Jewish history through photographs, oral histories, archival collections, and online exhibitions. Topics range from Sephardic communities to Jewish women in public life. Its digital-first approach offers a useful model for expanding access and storytelling beyond a physical museum.
6. Recruiting Young People to Nonprofit Boards - Stanford Law School
This article outlines seven strategies for recruiting and retaining younger nonprofit board members, including mentorship, meaningful responsibilities, flexible commitments, and recognizing nonfinancial contributions. Particularly relevant for Jewish museums balancing fundraising expectations with generational diversity, the authors emphasize inclusive board cultures and pathways to leadership beyond traditional recruitment networks.
7. How Are We Taking Care of Staff?
Discussion question: How can Jewish museums build organizational cultures that support staff well-being, professional growth, and sustainable workloads? Consider compensation, burnout, workplace flexibility, leadership accountability, and the often-invisible emotional labor of museum work.
Suggested resource: Museum Workers Speak, for conversations about labor conditions, equity, and workplace culture.
8. How Does the Jewish Federation Work?
Discussion question: How do Jewish Federations raise and distribute philanthropic funds, establish communal priorities, and collaborate with local Jewish organizations? What opportunities and challenges arise when museums seek Federation support, particularly when cultural heritage priorities compete with other community needs?
Suggested resource: Jewish Federations of North America, for an introduction to the Federation network and its philanthropic activities.
9. How to Make Being on a Nonprofit Board Fun
Discussion question: How can nonprofit boards foster connection, creativity, and genuine enjoyment while fulfilling their governance and fundraising responsibilities? Explore approaches such as engaging meetings, collaborative learning, museum experiences, meaningful volunteer opportunities, and celebrating collective accomplishments.
Suggested resource: BoardSource, for nonprofit board engagement, recruitment, and governance resources.