A shared workspace community for innovative, mission-driven Jewish organizations and entrepreneurs
Our MissionSketchPad energizes and strengthens an open Chicago Jewish community by promoting collaboration and innovation for Jewish nonprofit organizations and professionals. SketchPad provides a coworking space and programming that stimulates cross-fertilization of ideas, further invigorating our communal landscape.
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Our VisionSketchPad is the model for Jewish community engagement and collaboration in Chicago: an intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and socially conscious hub. It maximizes the individual and collective impact of members, the sharing of ideas and resources, and the development of an inspired network of Jewish professionals and organizations.
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Our Values
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First, we place value in our Network. At SketchPad, we believe that a strong web of interconnected organizations and individuals is the foundation of effective advancement. We work towards a shared culture of learning, celebration, and professional growth.
Secondly, we believe in Community. Through every handshake, introduction, and shared cup of coffee, we form closer bonds to not only develop our professional relationships but our personal ones too. Between our coworkers, we prioritize an atmosphere of joy and respect in our shared space. Third is Spirit. We engage in Jewish learning, practices, and tradition, while placing the value of hachnasat orchim, intentionally practicing radical hospitality, at the heart of our community. Lastly, we believe in the value of Openness. As a united group of peers, we are committed to approaching each other and our work with empathy and understanding. Accepting diverse experiences and opinions allows us to produce new ideas and innovative solutions. |
Partner Organizations
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Alex Jakubowski, Executive Director of KAHAL, has spent time in other Jewish shared spaces.This is what he learned:
What is truly amazing is the collaboration between organizations and movements that no one ever dreamed was possible. Organizations working with holocaust survivors are partnering with Moishe House and other young-adult organizations to share their history; Secular and Orthodox movements are coming together to share best practices in community engagement and communicate on a broader European legislative agenda. There are countless examples of these collaborations arising from simply sharing a lunch together, attending a program, or even just bumping into one another at the copier. Judy Levey, Executive Director, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs: SketchPad presents a unique opportunity for us to build stronger and more holistic joint programming, serving to make the Jewish community, broader, more cohesive, and more effective in our combined efforts to create change. Lisette Zaid, Design Strategist, UpStart Chicago: Innovation happens at all levels of Jewish life and work, but thrives when there is a community of practice to support it. SketchPad will be a place that inspires innovation, and provides a network of passionate people and organizations that further our collective mission of supporting Jewish life. Rebecca Minkus-Lieberman, Executive Director, Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning: By creating a Jewish innovation hub, Orot and its partner organizations will be able to share resources, program, planning, and co-working space, and support one another’s work in various exciting ways. Such a hub would allow the Jewish community to more readily access the myriad of exciting new developments in the Jewish community, and as an outgrowth of the collaborative atmosphere, Orot’s work will be enhanced and enriched. Brad Sugar, Director, Midwest Region, American Jewish World Service: They say it takes a community to raise a child, and the same can be said of ideas and growth stage institutions. The ability to refine, hone, and execute an idea around other growth minded individuals- and pooling resources to get it done- is infinitely better than doing it on your own. |
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SKETCHPAD (312) 579-3161 "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." - Proverb |
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