As UJA Federation of Greater Toronto readies to celebrate its Centennial next year, the organization continues to do what it has done since its inception in 1917, look to the future on behalf of the citizens of Jewish Toronto.    

Together, with your help, we have built a community characterized by vibrancy, diversity, creativity, tolerance and success, but in a world with ever-evolving challenges, we simply can’t afford to rest on our laurels.  

It is time for a period of renewal. To that end, UJA Federation recently developed a strategic plan to chart the course of our Jewish community for years to come.  

Over the fall of 2014 and the winter of 2015, we started a conversation with Jewish Torontonians about the role that they want UJA Federation of Greater Toronto to play in strengthening this community - their community. A steering committee that reflects the diversity of our community spearheaded a process that saw us reach out to as large and diverse an audience as possible – with over 400 in-person interviews and over 1,300 online submissions.  

Each consultation and submission provided valuable insights which will help us in shaping the future direction of UJA Federation, and, by extension, the future of Jewish Toronto. During this process, six essential priorities were identified by members of the community, each of which will be our focus for change over the next five years. Those priorities are:

• Caring for the vulnerable  
• Forging strong connections with Israel
• Advocating on behalf of Israel, the Jewish People and Canadian values  
• Galvanizing the community whether in times of crisis or celebration  
• Inspiring our younger generations to embrace Jewish life and to ensure a Jewish future  
• Maintaining Toronto’s position as a leader in Jewish education

As our community continues to evolve and grow, so too must UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and we have proven over the years that there is no more powerful way to make positive changes than when we act together.  We are blessed to have generous donors, talented community leaders and a network of more than 100 effective partner agencies. Nonetheless, there is strength in numbers and this ambitious plan will only work if you accept our invitation to join in renewing UJA Federation and the community it serves.  

We hope you will visit JewishToronto.com/strategicplan. To learn more about our plan and if you have any feedback, please contact us at stratplan@ujafed.org. We look forward to hearing from you as we take the next steps together on this journey.

Appreciatively,