The purpose of the Society is to promote the vitality and continuity of Jewish culture in the Upper Midwest through preservation, interpretation and education.
2008-2010 Vision
By 2010, JHSUM is operating with a long-term facilities plan in place and a staffing model supporting multi-generational audience development, collection growth, and successful collaborative programming. Our successes are assured by sustaining funding streams.
For more than 20 years, the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest has been gathering, preserving and sharing the stories of the Jewish people in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
COLLECTING At its core, JHSUM is a repository for regional Jewish historical materials of all types. Properly preserved, stored, and catalogued, these artifacts and documents provide a window to the unique challenges and contributions of Jews to the history of the Upper Midwest. The Society encourages donations of personal and institutional documents, photographs and artifacts to its collections.
INTERPRETING JHSUM is more than a storage facility. We bring our materials to life by sparking public dialogue, exhibiting at major venues, producing high-quality publications and maintaining a dynamic Web presence—www.jhsum.org—to insure that our Jewish past will help us gain perspective on persistent, complex and compelling human issues.
COLLABORATING JHSUM partners with diverse area institutions to broaden its audience and maximize the impact of the stories we collect. Partners include the Minnesota Historical Society, the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas, the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning and now the Minneapolis Public Library and more than 100 community organizations in connection with JHSUM’s Sheltering Home Chronicles.
JHSUM is a partner agency of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation and the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul.
View JHSUM 2006-2007 Year In Review for an overview of the years programs, services and acquistions.
At our December Board meeting JHSUM directors adopted a strategic plan to chart the work of the Society over the next two years. The timing was perfect for engaging in this important planning exercise, especially in light of Linda Schloff’s announcement of her retirement after 22 years of Society leadership. You will be hearing much more about this news and a special celebration planned for our annual meeting August 17. Our vision by 2010 is a Society that is operating with a long-term facilities plan and a staffing model supporting multi-generational audience development, collection growth, and successful collaborative programming. Our successes are assured by sustaining funding streams.
We want to extend a hearty thank you to the Strategic Planning Committee for creating goals that ensure the Society meets new challenges with maximum effectiveness, capacity, relevance and impact.
If you want to experience JHSUM at its best don’t miss the upcoming JHSUM exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, We Couldn’t Live at Home. Guest Curator Kate Searls has used our Jewish past to help us gain perspective on a complex and compelling issue of today—namely the sometimes precarious lives of children. She uncovered a story that could have been depicted dryly through census data or government reports and instead brought forward people’s reflections, their poetry and artwork to tell a gripping tale of how a community cared for (and cares for) its youngest members.
We gratefully acknowledge the very generous matching gift of the Oren and Sharron Steinfeldt Family Foundation to support our Annual Fund. Their visionary gift spurred others to give generously and in record numbers. We tripled last year’s amount and quadrupled the number of participants!
The importance of Annual Fund contributions can not be overstated. While many of our programs are supported by foundation grants and generous individual gifts to our restricted funds, our operating budget continues to require this additional financial support. Membership dues cover about 6% of our operating costs. Our Federation and Fund allocations account for approximately 5%. Thanks to you, our members and donors, for your key role in sustaining JHSUM’s work.
Your donation allows us to continue to showcase our region’s vibrant Jewish story. We are the community organization responsible for the future of the Jewish past. Do you own something that tells a Jewish story? Please let us know if you are interested in adding it to our collections.
