I remember it clearly.
It was a Tuesday evening, right before our Wednesday newsletter was scheduled to go out to the congregation. I got a frantic email from a board member.
“Can you please add this to tomorrow’s email?”
It was a personal initiative — not quite synagogue-related — but they were passionate about it. And I was torn.
If I said yes, I’d open the door to future requests like this. If I said no, I risked damaging the relationship.
I stared at my screen, weighing the pros and cons. The email was already packed, and I knew that adding one more item would bury other important updates. But I also knew that declining would feel personal, even though it wasn’t.
I finally responded: “I’m so sorry, but the email is already finalized for this week.” They were gracious, but I could still feel the tension.
That was the moment I knew we needed a communications policy.
If you’ve ever faced a similar dilemma — balancing competing requests, protecting the clarity of your messaging, and preserving important relationships — you’re not alone. Without clear guidelines, every decision feels like a judgment call, and the weight of those calls adds up.
A strong communications policy changes that. It creates clear, shared rules about what gets promoted, when, and how—protecting both your inbox and your relationships.
So, I’ve put together a free Communications Policy Template you can customize for your synagogue or nonprofit. It’ll help you set boundaries, stay consistent, and avoid those awkward “I’m so sorry, but…” emails.
It works for your email marketing, your social media strategy, and every other way your organization reaches your community.
Grab the template here and start building a framework that works for everyone.