The Profits of Partnerships, MHDC

Partnerships are playing an increasingly prominent role in Moishe House DC’s roster of monthly programs. To wit, between January 1 and March 1, 2010, 5 of a total of 17 programs could be defined as a partnership of one kind or another, whether with another Moishe House, a book club that we host, or a social justice organization. These are just a few of the types of organizations with which we work, and others might include a Jewish study group, an organization like Birthright NEXT, or a Jewish social justice organization like Challah for Hunger. One of the unique characteristics of Moishe House is our breadth of programming; this is exemplified by the diverse groups with which we partner, representing varied interests and objectives.

The benefits of partnerships are numerous—they’re useful to broaden our community; reach people that we might not be able to otherwise; more efficiently pool resources; and utilize talent and specialized knowledge that house members might not possess, to name a few. However, while partnerships can bring a said benefits to the table, it’s important for us to work with organizations that understand, and are respectful of, our mission. We do not simply serve as a venue that Washington, DC organizations can “rent” to run programs. Rather, it is key to us that all programs that we work on maintain the character that we aim to infuse in all programming, however esoteric.

Looking to the future, partnerships are certainly on our agenda. We’re currently planning a program with an innovative GLBT blog, as well as a Shabbat with AJWS to raise awareness about global hunger. Both of these allow us to reach new audiences, while also providing our “established” community with fresh programming that we may not have organized on our own. The synergy derived from these partnerships is fulfilling, and promises to keep us growing in a positive, healthy direction.