WOI Policies

Gender Identity

Women of Isaiah Policy of Inclusiveness Regarding Gender Identity and Gender Expression

Background
Our tradition teaches us that all human beings are created b’tzelem Elohim – in the divine image. Women of Isaiah recognizes and honors the divine nature and essential human dignity of all people and is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment in our women’s organization for all individuals who identify as female. In keeping with policies of inclusiveness adopted by the Union for Reform Judaism and Temple Isaiah, Women of Isaiah adopts the following policy in an effort to ensure that all individuals who identify as female are welcomed, included, accepted, and respected within our organization.

Policy
Wherever the term “woman” or “women” appears in the Women of Isaiah bylaws, that term shall include all individuals who identify as female.

Adopted March 6, 2017

WRJ Convention Reimbursement

WOI Policy on Reimbursement of WRJ Convention Expenses
Women of Isaiah (WOI) highly values its relationship with Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) and strongly
encourages its members to attend WRJ events. These events serve many valuable purposes, including
leadership development, networking with other Jewish women, connection to a broader Jewish
community, and awareness of issues affecting the Jewish community and world. We are fortunate to
have members of WOI who represent WRJ in either a National or Pacific District position and wish to
continue to support and encourage our members to maintain and seek offices within WRJ.
WOI bylaws provide that the Budget Committee shall budget a specific amount annually for the expenses
of a delegate(s) to the WRJ Fried Women’s Conference, WRJ Pacific District Convention, and other WRJ
National, District or local Northern California events such as Area Days, and that if feasible, WOI shall
provide for event registration and “minimum” hotel room expense for attendees.
This policy outlines the structure for such reimbursable expenses:
● Convention registration costs will be reimbursed at the “Early Bird” rate, regardless of the rate at
which the individual registers;
● Hotel room rates will be covered at ½ of the negotiated room rate (or if no negotiated rate,
one-half of a standard hotel room cost);
● National and Pacific District WRJ officeholders will be permitted to seek reimbursement of
additional expenses incurred as part of their role in WRJ, with total per person reimbursable
expenses not to exceed 20% of the total budgeted line item for convention expenses;
● Officers must seek reimbursement pursuant to existing WRJ policies prior to seeking
reimbursement from WOI, and funds provided by WRJ will reduce or offset the amount to be
reimbursed by WOI;
● Attendees seeking reimbursement should announce their intention to seek reimbursement for the
event/meeting as soon as feasible prior to the event/meeting, and will be required to submit
reimbursable expenses within 30 days of the final day of the event/meeting; and
● Attendees will be required to share information from the convention(s) with WOI membership
(examples may include: write an article for Ruach, make presentation at LT or TI board meetings,
conduct a class, maintain a leadership role in WOI).
In order to encourage new leadership development, WOI will prioritize reimbursement for women who
have not previously attended a WRJ event.
Reimbursements are dependent on the current budget and financial feasibility.
Approved by Leadership Team 2/3/2020

MT President's Discretionary Grants

Maagal Tzedakah Policy Statement
Presidential Discretionary Fund for Maagal Tzedakah Requests

History:
During the early years of Maagal Tzedakah, the committee recognized the importance of responding to occasional grant requests that were time sensitive and required a response before the next time the WOI Leadership team would convene for a meeting. Example of these types of requests included donations to a fundraising walk or special event where there was a deadline for participation and they were typically in the $100-$300 range.
To address the ability of the Maagal Tzedakah fund to be responsive to the needs of the community, the MT committee proposed that we allow the WOI presidents to approve grant requests up to a total of $500 a year without getting a vote from the board or a formal review from the MT committee. The presidents were supposed to then inform the WOI Board at the next meeting of the MT expenditure as well as the reason that it was time sensitive and thus deemed appropriate to use their Presidents discretionary fund. Grants still needed to meet the MT guidelines for grant qualification. It was felt that the $500 would be sufficient to handle the occasional requests that needed immediate response.
This policy was brought to the board for approval sometime between 2010-2014 as it’s noted in a 2014 MT transition meeting agenda. However, it’s not clear where it exists in the minutes and we have been unable to find a record in the MT files of this policy.
Therefore, we reviewed the policy at our September MT committee meeting and offer this updated version for Board approval:

The WOI presidents may use up to $500 of the MT funds during the yearly budget cycle to grant a Maagal Tzedakah request(s) if it meets the following criteria:
1. The request is time sensitive and needs a response prior to the next WOI Leadership meeting.
2. The nature of the request is deemed to fit the MT grant criteria.

In addition, the WOI presidents may ask that the MT committee review the grant request and provide input to the presidents to aid in their decision. Participation of the MT committee is not mandated, but they will provide support if asked.

Finally, the WOI presidents will report to the WOI Board at the next meeting the nature and amount of their expenditure, and the reason it was deemed urgent. The presidents may approve up to a max of $500 on one grant or they may use the fund multiple times until they reach a cap of $500 for a year.

Approved by the WOI Leadership Team on 10/14/20