In the last two years, the Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact has helped to launch 92NY Confronts Hate, the LessLonely Project, the Newmark Civic Life Series, Share Our America, the Home Project, the State of Democracy Summit, and the Campaign for 100% — all addressing, as Managing Director Rebekah Shrestha calls it, a “crisis of community” in American life. She and founder Laurence Belfer recently sat down with us to discuss some of these initiatives, the significant role that our own community can play in fostering a fairer society, why what unites us is greater than what divides us, how to rekindle a sense of common purpose, and more.
* * * * *
In a culture marked by division, many of the new Belfer Center initiatives are focused on connection — initiatives like the LessLonely Project, the Newmark Civic Life Series, and Share Our America are bound by this principle. How are these initiatives working to bridge gaps in our society and bring us closer together? Why is this important to you?
Laurence Belfer: Like so many people, I lament the fraying of our social fabric. I still think there’s more that binds us than divides us, despite it all. Everything that the Belfer Center does has to be consistent with the values of 92NY, which is at its heart a Jewish institution. Generosity, bringing people together, making people feel welcome — these are Jewish values.
Rebekah Shrestha: I believe the root cause of a lot of our most pressing challenges right now stem from a crisis of community. Our society is becoming more individualized — and as a result it’s fragmenting, which leads to polarization, isolation, and extremism. Our sense of responsibility for one another seems to be diminishing. All of these new initiatives address this crisis of community. 92NY is uniquely positioned to take on these problems, because we’ve been building community for nearly 150 years. The Newmark Civic Life Series and Share Our America aim to bridge ideological divides and increase civic engagement. The LessLonely Project aims to increase connection by normalizing conversations about loneliness while providing simple but effective resources to combat isolation. Women inPower expands leadership opportunities for those who have been historically excluded from power. The Belfer Center creates and activates community — that’s what it comes down to. And for me, that’s what links everything we do.
Laurence, what was the initial inspiration for starting the Belfer Center? And why is that work so important today?
LB: In 2011, I agreed to become the investor for a new set of initiatives at The 92nd Street Y that were going to have a 21st century philosophy — we had been doing things in a top-down fashion, where we didn’t collaborate so much with outside organizations, and much of what we did happened within our institution’s four walls. This time we were going to try to scale our values and use technology to distribute our content widely, and in a deeper way. Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012. The UN Social Good Summit, Women inPower, all of this was launched within the first five years. After that, we doubled down and said we should create a center, incubate programs like these, and then send them out into the world. That programming became central to how we wanted to function across the institution. We remain focused on social impact, not ownership. And considering our relatively small staff and our outsized impact, we radically punch above our weight.
The class of 2021 Women inPower fellows had a remarkable year, with a third of fellows being promoted or starting a new role during the fellowship year. How do you envision Women inPower playing an important role in post-Covid work life?
RS: Despite small gains in the pipeline, women still remain vastly underrepresented on the corporate ladder. And this is far, far worse for women of color. In the past year, a third of women have considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their career. And it’s clear that we need women leaders more than ever. A new study by McKinsey found that people who have women managers are much more likely to say that their manager helped or supported them in the last year. For our institutions to thrive, we need women in leadership roles.
Laurence, you’ve been a Women inPower mentor for many years. What has that experience been like for you?
LB: I’m very proud of the Women inPower program. On a personal level, I like to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. One of the ways to do that is to be a mentor. I have found it very enlightening and gratifying to learn from my assigned fellows — I learn as much from them as they learn from me. And I am in touch with all of them. One of my advisees, Aamina Awan Khan, joined the Belfer Center Advisory Committee as a way of paying it forward, which I of course found immensely gratifying and wonderful.
What was it about The 92nd Street Y that made you want to make it the home of the Belfer Center? Why is it important that the Belfer Center is integrated into the Jewish values of 92NY?
LB: Over the years I’ve observed that the Jewish community is very good and sensitive to responding to antisemitism. But we should also show the world the wonderful things that we’re capable of — the good things we put into the world not just for the benefit for Jews, but for everyone. The platform of 92NY is arguably the leading Jewish community center in the world. Giving Tuesday was inspired by the Jewish principle of Tzedakah, or giving back. Like I said earlier, generosity, community, and making people feel less lonely are core tenets of Judaism. The Belfer Center can take the best of these values, which are core to 92NY’s identity, and amplify them across the world. We’ve been doing it for ten years, but there are big things on the horizon. In a sense our work is just getting started.