Expanding Outreach and Impact at a New York City Nonprofit Organization

"Columbia/Barnard Hillel (CBH) strives to create positive and meaningful Jewish experiences for students at Columbia University and Barnard College with the goal of helping them become well­informed adults who choose to lead lives committed to transmitting Jewish values to the next generation. CBH primarily focuses its efforts toward undergraduates and seeks to expand its work with graduate students. CBH engaged a Capstone team to determine the interests of Jewish graduate students for programming and community building through Jewish experiences that are both relevant and meaningful. The Capstone team evaluated and assessed the financial, human resource, physical presence, and overall capacity challenges CBH may face in meeting the needs of Jewish graduate students at Columbia. To generate their findings, the team held a series of key informant interviews, created an online survey, and conducted focus groups. CBH will use the team's findings to develop program recommendations for implementation with graduate students. "