American Jewish World Service Inc

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION: CHARGED WITH PRESENTING AJWS'S HUMAN RIGHTS VISION TO EXTERNAL AUDIENCES, THE DIVISION DEPLOYS A RANGE OF STRATEGIC AND CREATIVE STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES TO ELEVATE AJWS'S PROFILE ON THE NATIONAL AND GLOBAL STAGE. IN FY25, THE DIVISION WAS INTEGRAL TO PROGRESS ON AJWS'S STRATEGIC GOALS; LED RESEARCH INTO ENGAGING A NEW GENERATION OF SUPPORTERS; IMPROVED DIGITAL OUTREACH; AND MANAGED MEDIA INTEREST IN AJWS PROGRAMS, STATEMENTS, AND FINANCES. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS COLLABORATED ACROSS AJWS TO ENSURE THAT MESSAGES ACCURATELY REFLECT THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN EACH COUNTRY, THE WORK OF OUR GRANTEES, AND OUR REPUTATION, BRAND AND MISSION. (SEE SCHEDULE O)AMONG THE STORIES PRODUCED IN FY25 WAS A SERIES ABOUT OUR IN-COUNTRY COLLEAGUES; A VIDEO PROFILE OF A GRANTEE WHO PROVIDES LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO KENYA'S LGBTQI+ COMMUNITY; A PUBLICATION SHOWCASING A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THREE GRANTEES AND THE MAGNUM FOUNDATION; AND A SPECIAL EDITION OF AJWS'S STORIES OF HOPE NEWSLETTER, DEMONSTRATING THE LINKS BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD AND THE NOVEMBER 2024 ELECTION. THE DIVISION AMPLIFIED THE VOICES OF GRANTEES AND CLERGY BY WRITING AND PLACING ARTICLES ABOUT EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES, INCLUDING OP-EDS ON THE CHALLENGES FACED BY DOMINICANS OF HAITIAN DESCENT, KENYA'S POWERFUL LGBTQI+ MOVEMENT, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF AMERICAN JEWS TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRESS FAR FROM HOME.THE DIVISION FURTHER DEVELOPED AJWS'S WEBSITE AS A VEHICLE FOR MOBILIZING OUR AUDIENCE, SUPPORTED VIRTUAL EVENTS TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY, AND PROMOTED AJWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AS ALWAYS, THE DIVISION ALSO PRODUCED AN ANNUAL REPORT, A COUNTRY PROFILE, AND CONTRIBUTED TO EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF THE PRESIDENT AND CEO. EACH OF THESE INTEGRATED STRATEGIES SERVED TO AMPLIFY THE VISIBILITY OF GRANTEES' WORK IN AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, INCREASE AWARENESS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES, INSPIRE ACTIVISM TO PROMOTE SOCIAL CHANGE, AND POSITION AJWS AS A CRITICAL THOUGHT-LEADER IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS ARENA.

STRATEGIC LEARNING, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (SLRE): THE STRATEGIC LEARNING, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION DIVISION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YIELDING NEW INSIGHTS THAT CAN BE USED TO STRATEGICALLY IMPROVE AJWS'S WORK TO ADVANCE HUMAN RIGHTS. SLRE GUIDES ONGOING STRATEGY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATES KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT AJWS'S STRATEGIES INCLUDING HOW WE CREATE SUSTAINED HUMAN RIGHTS CHANGE AND WHAT IMPACT WE HAVE HAD. IN ADDITION TO DESIGNING RESEARCH AND EVALUATION THAT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, SLRE ALSO HELPS AJWS'S PROGRAMMATIC STAFF SEEK AND APPLY LESSONS LEARNED AND CREATE INNOVATIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED INITIATIVES. (SEE SCH. O)IN FY2025, SLRE FURTHERED ITS WORK IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF REPORTING, MONITORING, EVALUATION, LEARNING AND RESEARCH: - SLRE CONTINUED TO ENSURE TIMELY OUTCOME MONITORING, DATA ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINATION, AND SUPPORT FOR REFLECTION SPACES FOR LEARNING AND ACTION. SLRE ENGAGED ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND BOARD IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF AJWS'S PROGRAMMATIC WORK BY SHARING DATA FROM OUR MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS.-SLRE REVIEWED AND REFINED ALL MONITORING AND DATA COLLECTION TOOLS TO SUPPORT ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS TO LEARNING SYSTEMS. SLRE STREAMLINED DATA COLLECTION TO ENSURE CLARITY OF PURPOSE AND SCOPE.- SLRE CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH INSTITUTIONAL GIVING AND PROGRAMS TEAMS TO FULFILL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS AND TO SEEK ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO SUPPORT OUR WORK IN PRIORITY COUNTRIES. OUR SUPPORT INCLUDED PREPARING QUARTERLY MONITORING REPORTS FOR EXISTING GRANTS AND FACILITATING PROJECT DESIGN CONVERSATIONS FOR NEW PROPOSALS.- SLRE ADVANCED THE WORK TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR GRANTS MULTIPLIER MODEL. IN FY2025, SLRE REVIEWED DATA FROM A PILOT TOOL AND CREATED A SUMMARY OF HOW WE WORK TO SUPPORT PARTNERS THROUGH ACCOMPANIMENT. SLRE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR METRICS TO SUPPORT TRACKING AND EVALUATING OUR GRANTS MULTIPLIER MODEL.-SLRE HAS DEEPLY PRIORITIZED DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION. SLRE STAFF WERE INSTRUMENTAL LEADERS IN DESIGNING AND PRODUCING AN INTERNAL TRAINING VIDEO ON BIAS AND MICROAGGRESSIONS FOR ALL STAFF THAT WILL BE LAUNCHED IN FY2026. SLRE CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND RACIAL JUSTICE TO SUPPORT DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AROUND SPECIFIC INITIATIVES AND PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION ROADMAP. -SLRE HAS REPRESENTED AJWS'S WORK IN EXTERNAL SPACES FOCUSED ON IMPROVING MONITORING AND EVALUATION. STAFF PRESENTED IN A WEBINAR ON EQUITY IN EVALUATION CONTRACTING AND ORGANIZED A PANEL ON FEMINIST SYSTEMS EVALUATION AT THE AMERICAN EVALUATION ASSOCIATION.