Because a semester can go by fast, setting goals at the beginning of the school year allows you to plan ahead and keep your chapter moving forward throughout the academic year.
When setting goals, it is crucial to take note of what else might be happening in student’s lives at any particular time of year. ZFA activists have put together a list of appropriate goals for each month of the school year based on the above cycle. Although the school year varies for different campuses, the following list is based on a school year that starts at the beginning of September and ends in the middle of May.
August
• Set general goals for the year and plan your calendar accordingly to include events, leadership training seminars, holidays and more
• Initiate long-term projects
• Nail down logistics for the year (i.e. meeting times, locations)
• Plan recruitment initiatives at student fairs and Hillel events
• Identify to whom you need to submit funding requests for various activities throughout the year and get started on any requests with early deadlines
September
• Identify potential group leaders
• Utilize Jewish holidays for community building & outreach
• Set specific goals
• Hold fun events that are lightly informational
• Consider a first action to attract new members in a public space on campus (utilize the warm weather while you have it)
• Attend organizational fairs
• Network with other organizations & individuals
• Advertise your group & first meeting
• Hold your first interest meeting with food
October
• Tabling
• Leadership training & team building activity for chapter members
• Plan for a big event
• Hold several small educational activities for your chapter
• Utilize fall break (leadership retreat)
November
• Identify potential future leadership
• Bring a ZFA speaker to campus
• Have one-on-one meetings with potential future activists to determine what they can/want to contribute to the chapter
• Organize a campaign
• Be weary of midterms (you can potentially hold limited study break events)
• Hold a BIG event
December
• Use the weeks leading up to Chanukah for educational programs & informational campaigns built around the concepts of Jewish liberation
• Establish individual projects for winter break
• Start planning/reaching out for second semester
• Hold a fun “last hurrah” event of the semester
• Tie up loose ends in preparation for second semester – make sure everyone knows exactly what they are responsible to accomplish
January
• Make first meeting rock!
• Have a project already in the works at first meeting to which you can connect to potential new members
• Hold an event the first week back
• Renew recruitment efforts
February
• Bring a ZFA speaker to campus
• Forums, panels or other educational events to lead up to big action in the spring
• Utilize the cold weather to attract new members (distribute hot drinks in public areas with group information on the cup)
• Fundraising campaign or activity to spread awareness for Zionist issue (Gush Katif Refugees, Liberation from Poverty, Free Pollard)
March
• Use the weeks leading up to Purim for educational programs & informational campaigns built around the concepts of Jewish liberation
• Leadership training & team building activity for chapter members
• Teach-in or Open Conversations
• Alternative Spring Break
April
• Use the weeks leading up to Passover for educational programs & informational campaigns built around the concepts of Jewish liberation
• Tabling followed up by smaller event to which you can invite new interested members
• Organize a Passover Seder that focuses on the notion of freedom in the Jewish tradition (national liberation, cultural liberation)
• Organize an Israel Liberation Week on campus
May
• Use the weeks leading up to Yom HaAtzmaut for educational programs & informational campaigns built around the concepts of Jewish liberation
• Make plans for summer and following year
• Make sure new leaders are prepared for next year
• Make sure new leaders are connected to ZFA staff
Summer
• Summer reading assignments
• Travel to Israel
• Plan first event for next year
• Organize review (record of what happened the past year)
• Work out logistics for following year
• Pre-orientation program
• Network with new contacts wherever you are