the Den Collective: Six-Month Report

June - November 2021

Overview 

During the past six months the Den Collective continued to see significant growth. In response to increasing demand for the unique learning, spiritual, and social spaces we create, we took important steps towards both expanding and strengthening the organizational infrastructure that supports our continued growth; we hired a new community rabbi living in Northern Virginia to address our growing community as well as efforts engaging the fast growing community in that area, expanded the role of one of our staff members to include technology and communications, and also updated our tools, policies, and procedures. Despite the ongoing pandemic that shaped so much of the year, the Den continued to find innovative ways to build intentional community, connect with our community members to offer spiritual and pastoral care, as well as engage people in an array of deep and authentic Jewish study in multiple contexts. In  June we began to safely integrate meeting in person, while keeping with the Den’s COVID health and safety policy.

Staff Team Update

Since June we welcomed 100 new people to Den classes and gatherings, demonstrating the increasing demand among 20s to early 40s for a sense of Jewish community centered around personal, meaningful, and accessible learning, connection, and spiritual practice. The rabbinic, pastoral, and programmatic needs of our community have only grown, with a dramatic increase observed throughout the pandemic, translating to the need for multiple rabbis. In July 2021, after a long and thorough national search, we were delighted to welcome Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow to the Den team. Rabbi Jenna hit the ground running in the Northern Virginia community to continue the momentum of the work we have been doing there over the past several years, an area where it is clear more growth and rabbinic support is in high demand.

As our organization continues to grow to its next phase, with the increasing numbers of participants, along with their needs and learning groups emerging, we continue to pivot and expand the ways we operate on the ground as well as behind the scenes in the areas of communication, development, and administration. As a result, Yona has moved into a new and more expanded role, as our Technology and Operations Whiz, supporting our Executive Director in the areas of communication, development, and administration. Linor, who has been working part-time at the Den and part-time at the Ramah Day Camp of Greater Washington for the last several years, has recently announced that she will be moving to a full-time position with Ramah Day Camp as of January 1, 2022. As a result, we thoughtfully assessed the Den’s needs at this time as we continue to expand the ways we operate behind the scenes to enable strong and steady growth as an organization.

We have embarked on an exciting and thoughtful hiring process to seek our next skilled team member to join our staff team and support our Executive Director and team members as they focus more of their time on high-level direct engagement (educational, pastoral, life cycle), as well as strategic planning and development. 

COVID-19: In-Person Gatherings

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we successfully transitioned all of our classes and learning groups online. With the introduction of the vaccine during this past fiscal year, we began planning for a safe transition back to in-person gatherings. We assembled a COVID Medical Task Force + Reopening Team, made up of professionals from within our community to guide us as we navigated this new phase successfully. We created the Den’s COVID health + safety policy and began to launch multiple socially distanced outdoor Shabbat gatherings every Friday in June throughout parks in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC.

Our ability to continue to foster intentional community throughout the pandemic has proven to us and to our stakeholders the true flexible nature of our organization, and the experimental way in which we can pivot and adapt momentarily. Due to our model of being people-centric in the ways we create classes and gatherings and our focus on building relationships first, we were not only successful in pivoting to a virtual platform, but also in attracting new members while reaffirming our commitment to personal connection, authenticity, accessible and deep learning, and co-creating radically welcoming spaces--whether in person or online.

The emotional and spiritual needs arising from the stresses of COVID-19 led to innovations in Jewish mindfulness/wellness and meditation. We continued to grow the bi-weekly and monthly Jewish meditation and learning spaces that have become a fixture of our community, and have continued to see longtime community members and newcomers alike reaching out to us for pastoral spiritual counseling. This has always been a major goal of the Den, to educate a generation of Jewish community members about the value and purpose of rabbinic care and Jewish communal involvement. 

Programmatic Highlights + Outcomes

Jewish Ecosystem On-Ramp/Off-Ramp: People either discover the Den through an online search, hear about us through word of mouth, or are referred to us by a local or national organizational partner or colleague. We have observed an increase in referrals from local and national organizations. We have had tremendous success making intentional hand-offs as Den members seek guidance and support as they explore the next step on their Jewish journey in their search for the right synagogue, Jewish preschool for their child, or communal leadership opportunity.  Our unique person-centric and pastoral care approach invites a safe space to explore and also ask for support during this exciting and for some, uncertain, time of transition. “Den Alumni” have become members of synagogues and some now serve on their synagogue board.

Growing Affinity Learning Circles: We invite members to co-create meaningful and impactful Jewish learning that addresses their questions and needs. Our affinity learning circles take the same approach. Some topics for classes and learning circles include: Jewish ritual, observance, and practice; family dynamics; interpersonal relationships; wellness/healing; global justice and advocacy; diversity and inclusion; Jewish ethics and values.

• New + Expectant Parents’ Learning grew to 22 couples in one year and is expanding.

• Interfaith Couples Cohorts (2): 1) Married/Partnered 2)Dating/Engaged

• Women’s Learning Circle: 28 women from DC, MD, and NoVA

Data and Reporting

The engine behind the Den’s ability to maintain a people-centric, relationship-based education and empowerment community building model is our highly sophisticated use of data. We track quantitative reach along with qualitative impact, including participants’ attitudes, activities, and relational networks. Currently, the Den “rents” its Salesforce CRM platform from another organization. The lack of ownership prevents detailed customization that is essential for our high-level recording, tracking, and reporting.

We have enlisted Blue Engine Solutions, a Salesforce Consulting team to build out the Den’s first-ever Salesforce CRM instance customized for the Den’s needs! Through this new instance, our data recording and reporting will reach new heights and enable us to deepen the ways we build intentional communities, curate relevant offerings, identify new leaders, and gauge metrics. Our use of data combined with our unique person-centric and pastoral care model enables us to pivot and evolve to best serve our members’ needs.

Quantitative Engagement Numbers - Sampling of data that illustrate the growth we have achieved in just the past six months:

Group Gatherings

• Shabbat/Holidays, Learning, Prayer/Music: 48 gatherings, 418 attendances, 173 unique attendees

Individual Connection

• 70 people have sought out a Den rabbi for pastoral care or life cycle support who would not otherwise have had a rabbi to connect with.

• Our demographic continues to seek connection with their spiritual caregivers in person and online, all the more so throughout the ongoing pandemic. Den rabbis have engaged with their community members through 232 1-to-1 meetings, individual learning sessions, and life cycle meetings. 

Thank you! Your generous support and partnership make all of this possible.