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Is It the Holiday Season Already?

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Eid mubarak! That was the appropriate greeting for Muslims at the end of June 2023, as they celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays of the year.

When Eid is on Sunday, most people in the U.S. would have no trouble avoiding schedule conflicts with Eid al-Adha this year. The secular calendar that most people use in the U.S. is based on the Gregorian calendar, created under the direction of Pope Gregory. Because of its Christian origins, it assumes that Sunday is not a work day.

But Muslims follow a lunar calendar, which means their holidays are NOT on the same date every secular year. Jews follow a lunisolar calendar: ditto. Other religions and cultures also follow their own calendars, so you won’t know the date of their holy days and holidays the way that, for example, everyone in the U.S. knows December 25 is Christmas.

Even if you have a printed or online calendar that mentions all the dates, how do you know whether that day is something that is merely marked (like Ash Wednesday for certain Christians), or taken off from work completely (like Easter)?

The Best Thing to Do is Ask

When you’re scheduling a meeting with a group of people, the best thing you can possibly do is ask ahead of time.

Of course, if you ask and someone says, “I can’t make it that day because of a religious holy day,” you have to be prepared to say, “Okay, let’s look for another date.” If you ask and then you say you’re holding the meeting anyway. think of the message you’ll be sending!

You can look up a calendar of holidays ahead of time and familiarize yourself with other people’s religious observances and cultures–but that is no substitute for asking the people you’re actually working with!

A Jewish Holy Day Calendar for 2023-2024

 

 

Here’s a guide to scheduling around the Jewish holy days that I thought you might find useful.   I didn’t write it, only edited it slightly and updated it each year, but I vouch for its accuracy.

Category I.     MOST JEWS PARTICIPATE.  Please do not schedule meetings around these holidays.

ROSH HASHANAH (Jewish New Year) begins at sunset Friday, September 15, 2023 and continues through Sunday, September 17.

YOM KIPPUR (Day of Repentance) begins at sunset on Sunday, September 24, 2023 and continues through Monday, September 25.  While Yom Kippur is a fasting day, meals are prepared in advance for the breaking of the fast at the end of 27 hours.

Typically, even some of the least religiously observant members of the
Jewish community do not work on Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.   Please keep in mind that even though the holy day may begin at sunset, these are
home ritual centered holy days, so a great deal of advance preparation is
required.  In other words, please don’t schedule a meeting for the afternoon
preceding the holiday because I will be cooking!

PASSOVER (Celebration of Freedom from Slavery in Egypt) begins at sunset
on Monday, April 22, 2024; continues through nightfall on Tuesday, April 30. THE FIRST TWO DAYS (through Wednesday evening, April 24, 2024) require refraining from work. LOTS of cooking and preparation before this holy day.

—————

Category II.   Many observant Jews refrain from work.  I count myself as observant.

SUKKOT (Festival of Booths, or Tabernacles) begins at sunset Friday, September 29, 2023 and lasts through Friday, October 6.  THE FIRST TWO DAYS (through Sunday, October 1, 2023) traditionally require abstaining from work.

SHMINI ATZERET (Eighth Day Assembly, ending Sukkot) begins at sunset on Friday, October 6, 2023 and lasts through Saturday, October 7.

SIMCHAT TORAH (Rejoicing with the Torah) begins at sunset on Saturday, October 7, 2023 and lasts through Sunday, October 8.

The LAST TWO DAYS of PASSOVER begin at sunset Sunday, April 28, 2024 and last through Tuesday, April 30.

SHAVUOT (Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost to our Christian friends) begins at sunset on Tuesday, June 11 2024 and continues through Thursday,  June 13.

TISHA B’AV (fast day marking the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem) begins at sunset on Monday night, August 12, 2024 and continues through Tuesday, August 13.

—————–

Category III. Observance doesn’t require refraining from work.


HANUKKAH (Festival of Lights) begins at sunset on Thursday, December 7, 2023 and
continues through nightfall Friday, December 15.  Every night, candles on the
Hanukkiah (eight-armed candelabra, sometimes called “menorah”) are lit.

PURIM – Begins at sunset on Saturday, March 23, 2024; continues through Sunday, March 24.

And a few other seasonal and historical holy days that I won’t mention, because enough already! If you want to know the names of those days and when they fall, see https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/. If you want to know more about the meaning of all these holidays, you might consult www.jewfaq.org or the book Seasons of Our Joy, by Arthur Waskow.

[Dennis] A final note which I thought worth adding from my own experience: Even if someone (who might be Jewish) tells you “It’s no big deal” to schedule meetings and conferences on these days, doesn’t mean that that’s true for all Jews. People maintain various levels of observance, and a more secular Jew may work on a day when I would not. (We are both telling the truth.)

When in doubt, please ask! I can’t speak for other Jewish consultants, staff, board members, and interns, but I know I always prefer to be asked.

Thank you!

Fundraising Tuesday: What Should You Know about a Donor?

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wrong birthday

There are some things you need to know!

“Happy birthday,” I say to you.

“Thanks,” you say, “but it’s not my birthday. That was months ago.”

“Oh,” I reply. “Well, most people I know are celebrating their birthdays this month, so I’ll wish you happy birthday now.”

How would you feel about that? Would you be happy that I wished you well–no matter when? Or…would you be annoyed that I didn’t know when you were born (and apparently, I didn’t care)?

There are some things that friends have to know about their friends. And your nonprofit has to know some of them about your donors.

When’s the “Holiday Season”?

When you get to December, do you wish your donors a happy holiday season? The thing is, for some of them, the holiday season was months ago.

In 2018:

  • The Jewish holiday season begins this coming Sunday night, September 9, with the eve of Rosh Hashanah. It continues throughout September.
  • Muslims already celebrated Eid ul-Adha August 21-25. It is one of their two most important holidays.
  • Wiccans and other pagans look forward to the Autumnal Equinox, or Mabon, on September 22.

And those are just the religious holidays! National Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15. There’s a case to be made that September is the “holiday season”–at least, for some of your donors.

You really need to know which ones. Otherwise, you’re wishing donors a happy birthday on the wrong day.

What’s Your “Dog vs. Cat” Question?

Now, it may be that the people on your donor list don’t celebrate any holidays (only vacation days). But there is something that matters to them, something that distinguishes them from one another, some factor that makes them feel welcome or unwelcome. And you need to know what that is.

cat and dogFor the ASPCA, I’ve heard, asking donors one simple question makes all the difference: “Are you a dog person or a cat person?”

Once the organization finds that out, cat people get mail and email with photos of cats, stories about cats, appeals to help cats.

Dog people get…well, you can figure that out!

So, for your organization, what is your “cat vs. dog question”? Is it about the holidays people celebrate? Is it the town they live in? Is it the issue they care about, or the population they want you to serve? Whatever it is, find it out, and then, make sure they hear from you about what matters to them.

 

 

 

TY Thursday: Nonprofits’ Thanksgiving is Every Day

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thanksgivingAs I write this in January, New Year’s is just past, and Martin Luther King Day is coming soon. If you’re a nonprofit, however, every day is Thanksgiving…or should be.

Yes, I know it’s only been weeks since your last appeal.  You sent a thank-you letter to each donor back then.  (In fact, maybe you sent the ideal thank-you letter.)  But have you been ignoring them since then?

You neglect donors at your peril.  Donors notice when and how often you’re in touch.  If they say, “That organization only writes me when they want money!”, how likely are they to respond the next time?

Have you heard the rule that you should thank a donor seven times before asking him or her for money again?  Maybe you wondered how in the world you’re supposed to do that.  How many ways can you say thank you?

Here are 20 creative ideas for showing your gratitude, courtesy of our friends at Lifehack.

  1. Make a gift bag. It doesn’t have to be expensive–just personal.
  2. Give a toast. You don’t need a special event–you could do this over lunch. Make a video and send it to the donor.  Picture the smile when they see it!
  3. Write a poem. Say why they deserve your thanks.
  4. Send them custom gift labels.
  5. Give a gift card. (Get the gift card donated, too.)
  6. Send a hand-written letter.
  7. Use social media to give thanks in public.
  8. Make your own digital greeting card.
  9. Make a Youtube video.
  10. Bake cookies.
  11. Make surprise gifts for guests at your events.
  12. Put together a flower basket.
  13. Take a picture. Again, it doesn’t have to be professional, just unique.  The camera on your phone can capture priceless moments!
  14. Pay it forward.  Show them you care about what they care about too.
  15. Do something special for them.
  16. Help them when they’re the ones who need help.
  17. Be there for them.
  18. Listen to them.
  19. Say it another language…especially if they speak it.
  20. Show them some #donorlove, without being asked.

You can’t do all twenty for all your donors. Fine.  But which ones can you do?

Make a plan to say thank you to as many of your donors as you can, each month.  When annual appeal time comes around again, they’ll think of you as a friend.

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