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Resource Development Center

Through its various departments and skilled personnel, the Resource Development Center is putting the Belarusian Jewish Community on the map. As one of the only Resource Development Centers in the Former Soviet Union, this organization in the Minsk Jewish Community is pioneering a professional field in a region with huge potential for communal growth.

The following are the main methods by which the Resource Development Center carries out its goals.

• Developing Essential Skills and Strategies for Community Development:

Because the Resource Development Center works with all Jewish communal organizations located on the Minsk Jewish Campus (MJC), RD is helping to create a common organizational vision. As inter–organizational fragmentation is a common issue in the operation of NGOs, it is important to have RD on MJC as a common ground.

• Helping Community Organizations Understand Fundraising:

By providing fundraising fundamentals to grant–seekers, The Resource Development Center works to help Jewish communal organizations in Belarus become self–sufficient. Not only do the specialists at RD provide assistance in navigating databases of donor foundations and corporations, but they also provide step–by–step assistance in the program–proposal–wri ting process. Any communal professional or volunteer is free to come into the Resource Development Center to receive fundraising ideas and advice.

• Increasing Visibility of Community Organizations Both Locally and Abroad:

The Resource Development Center understands the importance of publicity. By creating exposure of community events, RD's PR Specialists are making waves domestically and internationally. The Resource Development Center manages the MJC website in both Russian and English. The website publicizes programmatic success, as well as personal stories from those benefiting from communal programs. The website acts a medium of keeping the inhabitants of Belarus and those abroad up–to–date–with communal happenings.

Our Partners

With the cooperation of our partners both locally and abroad, the Resource Development Center is enhancing Jewish life in Belarus. The Resource Development Center's partnership program has become a paradigm for successful global Jewish communal alliance. We do not simply look to our partners as a source of funding. Rather, we see our relationship as a mutually beneficial one. The following is a list of the major international organizations partnering with the Belarusian Jewish Community

• Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
• Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta
• Jewish Family & Career Service
• Jewish Healthcare International
• World Jewish Relief

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP

In addition, the Resource Development Center runs a Corporate Sponsorship program in which businesses donate equipment or funds to the Minsk and greater Belarusian Jewish Communities. Our most noteworthy sponsor is the Coca–Cola Company, which has generously donated exercise equipment, piano and Coca–Cola products to needy communities around Belarus.

Gifts–in–Kind

There are many Jewish communities around the world suffering from conditions of economic distress. Specifically in Belarus, many families have been left fighting for their survival due to hunger, disease, and terrible living conditions. To assist these families, the Gifts–in–Kind program ships humanitarian aid in bulk from the UK and the US, making an immediate difference for those in need. The GIK program in Belarus was started in 2003 with just two containers of diapers for the elderly. Today, more than 12 40–foot containers are shipped annually, carrying clothing, toiletries, bedding, toys, dry food, household goods, underwear, shoes, computers and more to local Jewish communities.

Upon arrival, the most vulnerable populations and those with critical needs are given priority in the aid distribution process. The goods are distributed under the supervision of qualified community specialists and a network of community welfare organizations.

The Resource and Development Center and the Minsk Jewish Campus

The Minsk Jewish Campus was established in 2002 with one main objective: to create a common space for communal dialogue. Prior to the construction of the centrally located Minsk Jewish Campus, Jewish communal organizations sustained themselves in isolation of one another. With our 13 registered organizations currently on board, Jewish organizations are pooling their resources to maximize the effects of their programs. Today, the MJC is a nucleus of Jewish activity, attracting Jews of any conviction, affiliation, and age to participate in countless seminars, social gatherings, and religious events.

The Resource Development Center is a communal space for all MJC organizations to turn to for questions and advice. RD's long hours from 9am until 9pm and its convenient location in the heart of the Minsk Jewish Campus make RD uniquely accessible. With our diverse staff of ages 22 to 60, there is always a RD professional to match any community member or specialist's needs.

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