Three times this week colleagues/friends (frolleagues?) reached out to me to help them think about closing programs for June 2021, opening programs for September 2021, or “Open Houses” for August 2021 with the goal of recruiting new synagogue members who have religious school-aged children. You can thank the last one for this Route Recommendation inspiration. DO NOT INVITE PEOPLE TO YOUR EMPTY BUILDING!
Anytime you want to showcase your program, you must “showcase your program.” That cannot be done with a mostly empty building/room, some blasé snacks, a powerpoint presentation and a Q&A. So what’s the answer? Plan a lovely, meaningful program that truly showcases the experience one might have if they were an active participant in your offerings. Plan it for your CURRENT PARTICIPANTS (members): a family education program for religious school; a fun Kabbalat Shabbat experience for synagogue membership; a multi-faceted (educational and social) for teen engagement; a volunteer activity paid with some values learning for young adults. And then offer the current members incentives for bringing prospective members. For example, if it’s for religious school, offer the current parents $25 off their next year’s school tuition for each new family they bring to the event; if it’s a general synagogue membership event, offer them money off of High Holy Day tickets or discount towards their Mishloach Manot orders; if it’s a teen program, offer a discount on (or free) swag … Incentivize your current participants in doing outreach and engagement on your behalf. Your current participants are 10x more effective at marketing than your Facebook posts or ads in the local Jewish news. Leverage that.
JewishGPS 
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