Kulanu Volunteer Opportunities
Kulanu relies on volunteers for its endeavors. Our volunteers are a source of ideas and energy; they teach in our communities; welcome visitors and speakers to their communities; develop educational and economic projects; make presentations to local, regional and national groups; raise funds and rouse their communities; share resources; and seek grants from family and national foundations. And so much more!
Read the descriptions below to determine which volunteer opportunity would be the perfect fit for you! Once you've read these over you can download and complete our application form here, then email your completed application with your resume to volunteers[@]kulanu[.]org.
If you would like to volunteer in an overseas community, please download our Overseas Volunteer Application Form here.
Thank you for volunteering your time and skills to Kulanu!
Position Descriptions
Treasurer/Board Member
(NYC area preferred) The treasurer will be responsible for budgeting, financial reporting, overseeing the bookkeeping and accounting system and approving or paying larger payments. S/he will also be part of an active working volunteer board that has monthly two-hour meetings via conference call and very frequent email and phone communications.
More about this position...
Newsletter Layout Designer
(Boston area / Virtual) Working under the supervision of the Kulanu newsletter editor, the volunteer layout designer/editor will use Microsoft Publisher or similar software to prepare layout for our nonprofit organization's newsletter. Each issue is up to sixteen pages, each page 8.5x11', and it is published two to four times per year.
See past issues at www.kulanu.org/newsletters.
This position calls for someone who is a proficient user of Microsoft Publisher or similar desktop publishing software, and able to work with and edit jpg photos. Creativity welcome!
Our newsletter editor lives near Boston, MA, but you can live anywhere and communicate via email and phone.
Top of Page ↑Office Administration
(NYC) A volunteer office assistant will help with daily operations of our home-office-based, international non-profit organization. Responsibilities include assisting with maintenance of our supporter database; helping with bookkeeping records; preparing check deposits; creating and sending thank-you letters and other donor correspondence. The job may also include helping to fill orders from our online marketplace (proceeds benefit the communities we work with), as well as filing, copying and other general office administration tasks.
This position requires someone who is very comfortable with computers (especially Microsoft Office Suite on a PC) and internet; a fast and accurate typist; comfortable working with numbers; goal- and deadline-oriented; and who has good communication and "people" skills as well as strong attention to detail. Knowledge of databases helpful but not required.
Since we all work in one room, we also need someone who is calm, flexible and easy to get along with. This is a home office in a kosher vegetarian/dairy home. This means that no meat, poultry, or shellfish products can be brought into the home.
The office is located near Lincoln Center in Manhattan. We are seeking a commitment of at least 3 hours per week, Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., beginning March 2010.
Top of Page ↑Annual Kulanu-Abayudaya Fall Speaking Tour Coordinator
(NYC / Anywhere) Every year Kulanu brings a member of the Abayudaya community of Uganda on a speaking tour through the US and Canada - and hopefully more destinations in the future! - to garner support for Kulanu's work with the Abayudaya and raise awareness about this unique group's Jewish history and traditions. Assisting with the coordination of the speaking tour requires someone who is highly organized, deadline- and detail-oriented, skilled in creative problem-solving, and an effective communicator. This position involves collaborating with host groups all over the continent (synagogues, social action and adult education committees, schools, etc), coordinating schedules and materials for each event, and helping to ensure that our visiting speaker has a wonderful experience educating all of us on this side of the ocean.
We have recently added another speaking tour, about the Jews of Kaifeng, China which will kick off in April 2010; this volunteer position is open for this new tour as well as the Abayudaya tour in the fall.
Top of Page ↑Kulanu Boutique Marketing
(Anywhere / Virtual) Kulanu's online Boutique carries lovely Judaica products and fascinating books - check them out at www.KulanuBoutique.com. Many items are made by the communities we partner with in various countries, and all purchases benefit Kulanu and the work we do with these Jewish groups around the world. We are seeking a volunteer with marketing or business experience to help us promote the Boutique. Our first priority is marketing bulk sales of the Kulanu-published book "Under One Canopy: Readings in Jewish Diversity," edited by our own board member Karen Primack, to places such as schools, synagogues, senior centers, Jewish education committees, and book clubs. Your ideas are wanted! See above for how to apply for the Marketing Volunteer position. Thanks!
Top of Page ↑Multimedia Coordinator
(Anywhere / Virtual) Kulanu has a growing collection of beautiful photos and intriguing video and music clips that we want to post on our website, Facebook page and in our Phanfare photo albums, which we use for presentations, youth and adult education, and other Jewish multi-cultural events. If you have skills in photo or other media management, we would love your help to organize our files and develop multimedia presentations using PowerPoint, slideshows and videos. Experience with photo or video editing, graphic design or PowerPoint will be useful, though it's not required. Creativity welcome!
Top of Page ↑Outreach to Bar & Bat Mitzvah Project Participants
(Anywhere / Virtual) Our Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project program is a great way for bar and bat mitzvah students to share the joy of this lifecycle celebration with Jews in faraway places, and to develop resources for Kulanu's work with these groups. Often all it takes to raise a substantial amount is a heartfelt letter mailed with the invitations to the event - though many mitzvah project participants come up with their own ways to support Kulanu. We could use your help reaching out to clergy, Jewish educators, students, parents, youth groups, camps, and schools to let them know about this mitzvah project opportunity. This position will primarily consist of identifying appropriate contacts and sending them our Bar/Bat Mitzvah brochure and other materials, but as we expand this program we may ask you to step up your responsibilities!
Top of Page ↑Fundraiser Projects
(Anywhere / Virtual) Work on your own or with your congregation, youth group, or other friends to organize a Kulanu fundraising project. Check out the Mitzvah Projects page on our website for ways you can share your birthday, anniversary, or other special event with Kulanu. There are some great ideas for group tzedekah projects or social action committee/tikkun olam programs, and we invite you to use your imagination! Email us at mitzvahprojects @ kulanu.org to let us know what you'd like to do.
We also welcome people who are interested in helping Kulanu with our direct fundraising.
Top of Page ↑Awareness- and Fund-raising Presentations
(Anywhere / Virtual) Enjoy informing and inspiring audiences? Love to link up with others interested in learning about and supporting Jewish communities around the world? Then this is the job for you! We have a great network of volunteers giving presentations in their own and surrounding communities (in the US and abroad), educating their friends and colleagues about the work Kulanu does and the accomplishments and stories from the communities we support, and we are always happy to add to that team. This is a wonderful - and fun! - way to help Kulanu identify potential partners and donors, and to provide the opportunity to connect with your neighbors as well as other Jews all over the globe.
Training and resources are available, and we are open to collaboration on developing new and innovative ways of raising awareness and funds for Kulanu through presentations at conferences and synagogues, adult education / social action programming, youth groups, or other creative and effective outlets.
If you are more of a behind-the-scenes person, we could also use assistance with coordinating and supporting volunteers who are giving presentations in the US and abroad. This involves mostly answering questions and mailing materials, but we'd also love to have someone who can bring fresh ideas on how to reach more constituents this way.
Top of Page ↑Social Networking
(Anywhere / Virtual) Know your way around Facebook and the "blogosphere," and savvy about all the other Web 2.0 and social networking tools? Then we want you! Kulanu recently started a blog and a Facebook page, and we are excited at their potential for helping us grow. We are seeking people who can keep these sites active and dynamic by greeting and getting to know the fans of the Kulanu, Inc, Facebook page, posting things to the wall, starting discussions, and finding great stories, news, and events to post on our blog (which feeds to the notes and wall on our Facebook page).
Top of Page ↑Various Research Projects
(Anywhere / Virtual) Our research needs are mostly web-based jobs such as locating updated information for our constituents and for our newsletter, tracking broken links on our website, finding information about dispersed Jewish communities, relating relevant events, and identifying people and organizations as resources on assorted Jewish or international topics. Some of these projects are ongoing, some are on an as-needed basis.
Top of Page ↑The application to volunteer can be downloaded as a Word document here, then emailed with your resume to volunteers @ kulanu.org. Thank you for your interest in supporting Kulanu and Jews around the world!