How You Can Successfully Propose Your Engineering Projects using Five Principles

Engineers enjoy working on cool projects. We're nerds and proud of it. It is one thing to work on a hobby project such as home automation with a Raspberry Pi single board computer (SBD) or developing custom Alexa Skills. Suppose you have an idea for a cool project where you work. How do you convince internal funding sources to fund your idea? Ultimately, you must write a project proposal. Before you do that, I will describe principles you should follow to ensure your proposal's success. This article assumes you will internally propose your idea instead of an using an external crowdfunding source like Kickstarter. I share five principles on how you can get your project ideas funded within your company. These principles are

1. Check for relevance: Focus on your company's technical strategy
2. Refine your idea: Write, Re-write, Re-write again
3. Determine your project costs: ROI is key
4. Find the relevant markets: More demand means more interest
5. Write to the funding source's guidelines: Stay within the lines while painting vivid pictures

Follow these principles to increase your odds of proposal success. Let's start with making sure that your idea aligns with your company's technical strategy and why you should do this.

Write a concise project proposal to show your idea's relevance to your company

Check for relevance: Focus on your company's technical strategy

If you want to sell your idea to leadership, make sure that it aligns with your company's technology strategy. Companies typically publish their strategies internally on their Intranet. It might take some digging to find it. You might need to speak to people in the Business Development department. My point is this: You must know your company's technology road-map and where your idea fits. If your company develops autonomous cars, for example, an algorithm to improve its ability to cooperate with non-autonomous cars would be beneficial to your company. An algorithm for self-regulating temperatures in people's house would not.

At a high level, companies exist to make money. Explore this concept deeper, and you will find that companies have missions and values. Missions explain why companies exist: make the world a better place, make roads safer, help people live healthy lives, and so forth. Values set the boundaries on how companies will go about fulfilling their missions. Your idea must help your company achieve their mission.  Simply put, the technology strategy explains how they will do this. You can find advice on developing strategies, yet you need not worry about that. Your ideas represent tactics -- ways that you help your company execute their strategy.

Refine your idea: Write, Re-write, Re-write again

I've been told that the first draft of anything sucks. On a side note, the quote "the first draft of anything is shit" is often attributed to Ernest Hemingway. However, it could be attributed to Anne Lamott who authored Bird by Bird. When writing, I live by the mantra Fast, Bad, and wRong or FBR. (For more details on FBR, see the "Fast, Bad And Wrong: A Mantra For Creating The New And Impossible.") The ideas here are not that you suck as a writer. It's that first drafts represents your opportunities write all of your technical thoughts down on paper. You want to do it FBR, so you do not lose your thoughts. Write down your thoughts fast, so you document them. Do it bad, so you don't pause and reconsider what you write down. Do it wRong because you will revise your proposal multiple times to get it right. This does not mean that you should write your first draft in one sitting. No, if you need to take a break, take a break. However, when you sit down and write, make sure that you focus on writing your proposal

Remember your company's technology strategy? When you revise your first draft into your second draft, refer to the strategy. If you documented technical ideas that do not align with the strategy, remove them or put them in a future works section. When I write first drafts, I use a "more is better" strategy with FBR because I want to cover my bases. However, I know that I will not need all this material. You can delete text. It's OK.

Tip: Learn concise writing, or try not to express your idea with a plethora of beefy wordy excessive words

When you revise, say what you want to say with as few words as possible. In other words, keep it short and simple. Although teachers expressed this idea to me from an early age, I find guilt in not following this advise. You probably do this too. Why do people write lengthy papers? Perhaps they trained to a "grade by thickness" mentality in college / university. Perhaps they think the more they write, the more important their writing becomes. Unfortunately, the audience gets lost in discursive statements that drone on and one. In fact, they probably don't read it. Why do you think proposals have abstracts and executive summaries? Rhetorical question.

When you edit your draft, you should cut excessive verbiage. Take my sub-header for example. Instead of writing, "try not to express your idea with a plethora of beefy wordy excessive words," I could have written "express your idea with a minimum number of words." It's straight to the point, and you don't fall asleep when reading it. I find it vague, yet I could revise it further to say something like "express your idea briefly yet comprehensively."

Tip: Have someone else review your proposal draft

We are all blind to our own mistakes. You should have someone else review your revised proposal draft. At this stage, it would be inappropriate for you to have a member of your company's hypothetically names Innovative Technology Research and Development Board review your proposal. However, if you know a fellow engineer or technologist who interfaces with that group, you have ask them to review it. You could ask your manager or another manager to review as well. Better yet, find someone who successfully submitted a proposal to this group. That person would know what works and what didn't. Offer to meet with them over coffee or lunch, pay for them, and have a list of questions prepared. Take notes during your conversation, and thank them both in person and via email for their time

Determine how much your project costs: ROI is key

To sell your idea, you need to show it has a reasonable return on investment (ROI). To show ROI, you must figure out how much it costs to implement your project. This serves as your baseline to prove that the company will earn a long-term profit if management funds you. You can break costs down into one of several categories:

• Engineering / software development labor costs
• Manufacturing costs including tools and labor
• Fringe benefits
• Hardware procurement
• Software procurement / licenses
• Training and education

Even if you develop software as your proposed project, you will need to buy hardware. For example, if you decide to develop a cutting edge Deep Learning / Artificial Intelligence software application, you will need a machine with Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) to handle the processing you need. Your standard word-processing and Excel laptop for day to day work will not cut it. GPU powered computers are not cheap, and you will need to factor that into your proposal cost.

What are fringe benefits? Think of them as cost of money involved with bringing people onto your project. Suppose you staff your project with a senior engineer having an hourly salary of $50 / hour. You will need to factor in costs for that engineer's benefits including health insurance. With fringe benefits, this could easily become well over $100 / hour. This becomes important because your company's Internal Research and Development Program (IRAD) already considers fringe benefits in employee hourly rates, so your budget will retract if you do not include it in your budget. Imagine you budgeted that senior engineer for 100 hours at $50 / hour. With that budget inconsistency with the true rate, you will get no more than 50 hours for that engineer. Your project could fail with half of that person's time. Include the fringe benefits in your labor estimates.

How do you calculate ROI? Once you know your costs, you can calculate the return using one of several measures. The measure you use will depend on what you intend to accomplish:

• Process improvement: Number labor hours saved multiplied by hourly rate(s)
• New product: Number of units sold 
• Product upgrade: increase in sales, cost savings to customer

Remember, these figures are estimates. You perform your own analysis to derive both your costs and returns. How do you effectively calculate such numbers? Much of this comes from experience. As you gain engineering experience, you develop a sense for how much time and effort projects take to completion. Granted, you might feel uncomfortable in calculating sales estimates. In that case, find a coworker who successfully submitted project proposals, and request their help. 

Tip: Have your coworker review your ROI figures

Every person is blind to their own mistakes. When you have your coworker review your proposal draft, request they review your ROI estimates. They could find something you missed in your calculations, or they could tell you that your sales estimates are way off base. The IRAD program review staff will review your numbers, so you want them to be accurate. If you know a coworker who serves as the liaison to that program, seek their advice before your submit your proposal. They will know what kinds of proposals get accepted, and which proposals get thrown into the trash bin.

Find the relevant markets: More demand means more interest

When you calculated your project's ROI, you might have calculated how much sales would increase. Although many companies have lofty values and mission statements, remember that leadership wants to show profits. You show profits by convincing them that your idea generates market demand. How do you show that your project increases market demand? You must talk to people. Discuss your idea with coworkers, managers, current customers, and potential customers. Figure out what they need. According to Josh Wolfe on The Knowledge Project, "ask yourself: 'What Sucks?' Almost everything that we use, almost everything that was ever invented, started with somebody saying, ‘Huh, that sucks. I’ve got a better idea.’” Go out and ask people what they think sucks in their lives, and you can figure out how your idea can make their lives better.

If you consider yourself an introvert, you should learn to behave like extroverts. Challenge yourself to speak to strangers. Seriously, you must learn to sell your idea. You will have time to develop your project on a bench by yourself later. This is the time for you to reach out for support. Yes, you can figure out market demand by doing Internet searches. However, companies rarely publish the best known information online. If you do not work in customer relations, find people who work in business development. Send them introductory emails and request 30 to 60 minutes of their time to discuss your idea in person. You will learn much from these conversations including uses for your project. What's the worst that can happen? You can learn that your idea has no relevance, or someone has already done it. If this happens, consider it an opportunity to move on to a better idea.

Does the market have to be external? No. You could apply your project to other business areas within your companies. This rings true if your idea focuses on process improvements. For example, if you propose to use Artificial Intelligence and machine vision to improve yields in smart phone processing board manufacturing, your company's television division could use that idea to improve yields in their television production lines. What if your company's divisions have different customer groups? If you prove value to both groups, you increase likelihood that your leadership approves your project.

Tip: Develop your professional network well before you develop your project proposal

You might notice a common thread in proving market value: You need to speak to people. To make this easier, develop your professional network. When people know you personally, they show more willingness to help you. If you have opportunities to attend conferences whether internal to your company or not, attend them! If you can present on a project, by all means, present it. Whatever you do, DO NOT miss out on the networking opportunities that conferences represent. Speak to people, find out what interests them, hand out your business cards, and get their contact information. You never know when you will need their assistance. The person you chat with at a conference could be a potential customer, an insider to a potential funding source, or someone who can mentor or coach you when you develop your project proposals. Get out there and make yourself known!

Write to the funding source's guidelines: Stay within the lines while painting vivid pictures

Look, you should respect the review board's time. This means that you write your final proposal draft according to their guidelines. If they request a one page summary, provide them with a one page summary. Yes, you will develop far more than a page while you develop your project. That's great because you can save that information for when they ask you for more information. Do not provide them with information they do not request because (a) they will either not read it, or (b) they will be annoyed that you make them spend more time reading irrelevant text.

Of course, project proposal guidelines can have more than page limits. The review board can request you provide the following in your proposal summary:

• Summary of project
• Project implementation plan
• Project timeline
• Project costs
• Source materials including any prior work (i.e., patents)
• Any products your proposal supports
• Relevance to other business units
• Sales or ROI estimates

You will not need to provide all of the information I listed above in your proposal. It depends on your company's internal processes and the funding source. It will take time for you to provide this information, yet you should compile this information when you edit your proposal drafts. You should provide this information concisely. (See my tip on concise writing.) If the internal IRAD group has an internal website for you to submit proposals, make sure you save your inputs in local documents. It sucks when you write text in an online form only to lose it to a system glitch.

Tip: Prepare to present your project proposal

Keep extra material saved in separate documents, so you can incorporate them into a project briefing proposal. You can delve deeper into your proposal when you present it to the proposal board. However, you need to stay within their guidelines here as well. This means using the company presentation format and staying within a predetermined time limit. The more prepared you are, the more likely you will impress the proposal board. You want to convince them that you can

Summary

In this post, I discuss five principles that you can use to successfully write an internal business proposal for your engineering project idea. Engineers enjoy working on cool projects. Imagine developing a matter transporter used in Star Trek or a light Saber used by Jedi knights. We love turning science fiction into science reality. Unfortunately, engineers often work in business environments where they must prove their idea's worth before leadership will grant funds for developing these projects. The five principles discussed include focusing on your company's technical strategy, refining your proposal idea, determining project costs and ROI, finding relevant markets to sell your product, and writing your proposal to the funding source's guidelines.

Not all ideas are created equal, nor are the best ideas guaranteed to receive funding. By following these principles, however, you will increase your proposal's acceptance chances. These principles allow you to develop your idea to your audience's needs.


Do you want to learn more about engineering, career advancement, and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments
• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments

Previously, I discussed why you should pursue stretch assignments to boost your career. Today, I discuss how you find stretch assignments to maximize your career boost. A recap: One takes on stretch assignments to learn new skills. Should you pursue any assignment for your career? Of course not. You take on rotations that allow you to drive your career towards a desirable direction. If you want to become a manager, take on rotations in engineering leadership, program management, or in first line management. If you enjoy developing cutting edge technology, take rotations in the Science, Technology Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields. One you have a general idea where you want to move your career, how do you find the best stretch assignments? I'll explain below.

You must develop a reputation for outstanding work

It's simple: Why would anyone want you in your organization if your reputation stinks? You must complete your current tasks to the best of your abilities. Even if you dislike your job, and job dissatisfaction represents a valid reason for career changes, you must put your best efforts forward. Whether you work for a small or large company, people talk. If your peers and management know you for excellent work, people will want you on their teams. To market yourself effectively, you need to let your managers know when you do outstanding work. This can be in person or via email. I suggest an email first to keep written records of your achievements. You should follow-up with your manager in person to make sure he or she received your email.

Tip: Work in your current position for at least three years first

Unless you find yourself regretting a move into your current position, you should stay in that position for a minimum of three years. This will give you sufficient time to get used to your role and work on at least one project. Remember, your reputation matters, and reputations take time to develop in business. No one will know you if you get in a company, and you want to switch roles immediately after starting at the company.

Does this rule apply to everyone? No. Some companies have entry-level Leadership Development Programs (LDPs), and new employees can apply for these programs within the first year of employment. If you truly find yourself unhappy in your career, you can speak to your manager about a position change. However, you should first address the reasons for your dissatisfaction in your current role. Have honest discussions with your manager first, and you consider rotation assignments as a final option.

Update your resume

 This sounds counter-intuitive at first. Because stretch assignments are temporary, you will not formally interview for them. Formally represents the key word here, as you will speak with managers and project leads about potential assignments. Your resume is your calling card and your introduction. You will use it, along with an introductory email, to introduce yourself to these people. Even if they know you personally, they do not know your accomplishments. Sell yourself by keeping your resume up to date. You can brag about your accomplishments, yet you should never lie.

Keep your resume accomplishments relevant to the positions for that you will inquire. You can add personality by listing hobbies provided they relate. If you seek assignments in leadership, you can list volunteer activities if you hold a formal position, and you've held that position for a year or more. If you use a chronological resume, make sure you list your most recent accomplishments first.

Make sure you have someone review your resume! People often forget this step. Do your accomplishments make sense? For each accomplishment, do you show the relationship between your situation and / or task at hand, the actions you took, and the results you achieved? Do you quantify your results whenever possible? You might think that you've answered these questions positively, yet it might not be so clear when someone else reviews your resume. My advice to you: Have a coworker or manager you trust review your resume for anything that sounds unclear, and edit your resume following their advice. Of course, it is acceptable for you to make your accomplishments shine bright. Just remember to never lie about what you've done. You will be found out during the interview process whether formal or not.

Develop your short-term, mid-term, and long-term career plan

If you don't know your destination, how can you get there? You must create figure out your career goals and determine your strengths and weaknesses before you can find the best stretch assignments. Your career plan will consist of the following sections:

• Short Term: 1 - 5 years
• Mid Term: 6 - 10 years
• Long Term: 10 years and beyond

Your career plan represents where you see yourself in those time frames. Is your plan set is stone? Of course not. You should revise your career plan once a year. However, once you calibrate your path, you should assess your strengths and weaknesses. Perform a gap analysis to learn what skills you need to develop, so you can achieve your goals. If you find your soft leadership skills lacking, consider leadership positions that force you to develop your skills. If you want to become a software developer, and you find you know little about configuration management, pursue positions in software development. My point is this: You cannot select stretch assignments that take you outside your comfort zone if you do not know your boundaries.

Discuss your career plan with your manager

You cannot pursue stretch assignments in a vacuum. Your manager can assist in developing your career. Of course, this assumes that your organization's culture encourages professional growth, and I will not discuss what to do in these cases here. It behooves managers to help people develop their careers and get promoted, as that reflects positively on them. That said, you should arrange a face-to-face meeting with your manager, and discuss how you see your career flowing in the coming years. Speak to your interests and what makes you uncomfortable. You want assignments that challenge you and push you to your limits. That is how you grow professionally and personally. You will not achieve lofty goals without taking risks. Yes, you might fail, yet you should see those as career paths that you should reconsider for your long-term plans.

Your manager is your coach. He or she can offer suggestions on what rotations best fit your goals, and what positions will challenge you. They should know what managers have positions that need to be filled for the next 9 to 12 months. Take advantage of these openings: Write down names and descriptions of the positions. If your manager suggests that you review internal job boards, follow-up on that suggestion. However, they should have established a network within your company's management structure, so your manager should know who has openings.

Tip: Join a Leadership Development Program (LDP)

If you want to spend the next two or three years in your career in stretch assignments, I would advise that you join a LDP. I briefly mentioned LDPs aimed at entry-level professionals. There exist LDPs for mid-career individuals who want to boost their careers in different directions. These LDPs often aim to place people into leadership positions. However, if leadership roles do not interest you, you do not need to place yourself into a management spot. I would take advantage of these programs anyway, as all professionals can benefit from developing leadership skills. Even if you decide not to become a manager, you could find yourself leading teams. Why not develop your leadership skills? You can boost your career by showing management that you successfully lead teams to success.

Of course, LDPs often require employees to have excellent yearly reviews. If you focus on performing with excellence, this should not be a problem. You will shine, and the LDP Manager will want to bring you into the program. Once you are in a LDP, meet with the LDP manager and get their advice on possible rotations. This manager will get to know you through one-on-one meetings, and they have contacts within your company who will show interest in you. Take detailed notes during your meetings, and make sure to follow-up. LDP managers will want to make sure that you find a good rotation.

Meet with Rotation Managers

Now that you have contacts, reach out to them with your resume! Write short emails that do the following:

• Tell the manager who you are
• Explain a few key skills that match their position
• Tell them why you are interested in joining their group
• Request a 30 to 60 minute meeting with them

Do not forget to include your resume. Recall, it is your career summary, and the managers will need it to understand you as an individual. Sometimes managers do not respond immediately. Wait one to two weeks to follow-up, and follow-up gracefully. Remind them of your interest in the position. Suggest a date and time, and ask if that works.

Once you schedule meetings, make sure you are on time for those meetings. Always bring a copy of your resume, and dress professionally. You do not need to dress formally, as this is an informal interview. However, I advice that you do not wear casual Friday clothing. When you meet, you should be prepared to tell the manager about yourself. Make sure you have a thirty second elevator pitch. Explain why you want to do a rotational assignment in that manager's group. You should be confident in yourself. It is OK for you to be nervous, yet remember that you are interviewing for a temporary position within your group.

Quite often, people forget to have questions for the rotation manager. This is an area where you can steer yourself off course. You should ask the manager the following types of questions:

• Why is the position open?
• What do you expect from an employee in this role?
• What is your management style?
• What skills would you need to develop during the training phase?
• What is your team like to work with? How would you describe your group's micro-culture?
• Optional: Do you plan on retiring in the upcoming year?
• Optional: Does this position require travel? If so, how much?

You can ask other questions. Just make sure to give the manager time to explain the position to you. The last two questions are optional. If the manager is far in their career, you should know if they will be there to support you throughout your rotation. If they leave the company, will they have an alternate who can guide you? If the position requires traveling, you will need to know especially if you have a family. You might be unwilling to sacrifice time and relationships if you will be on the road most of the time.

Summary

You must take responsibility on finding the best rotations for your career. When making your decisions, make sure to follow your gut. If something seems off, do not take the rotation. I've done this myself, and I found myself having to find another one. It was painful. Yes, I found a rotation that suited my career better. However, I would have found that rotation sooner had I followed my intuition that said something was wrong with the rotation.

Remember, you need to follow up with the managers. Thank them via email for their time. If you decide not to take a rotation in their group, politely let them know. Of course, you need to let your manager know of your decision. (This applies to your LDP manager if you are in a LDP.) Remember, the rotation is not permanent, so you will need to decide at the end of the rotation if you will go back into your original assignment, or if you will make that rotation permanent. Communication is key throughout the entire process. It will help you boost your career because you will find stretch assignments that guide you along the career path that you want.

You can achieve your career goals in business through a combination of knowledge, support, experience, potential, and expert assistance.

Do you want to learn more about career advancement and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 2019

Do you feel stuck in your career?  You can accelerate by taking on stretch assignments. Take on roles that challenge you. Look for career opportunities requiring skills you want to develop. The point is to get out of your comfort zone. If you have strong technical skills, look for opportunities that challenge you to develop soft leadership skills. You can think of these assignments as lateral career moves. Instead of moving up the ladder, you move across in a different role that forces you to learn new skills. You can move up by applying these freshly minted experiences.

What do companies consider as stretch assignments? Employees take temporary assignments in different areas within their field. A hardware engineer might take on a 12 month assignment as a systems engineer or as a software developer. A financial analyst could rotate into accountant roles. A software engineer can stretch into an engineering program management position. These positions can be temporary, or they can evolve into more permanent positions. They must challenge the employee.

When you stretch, you will feel comfortable. You will find difficulties in your new role. You could feel like you'll fail miserably. You might wonder why you bothered. If you find yourself feeling this way, you must persevere especially if seek promotions into management. Stretch assignments will test your tenacity. They will make you question your abilities. A key note: good stretch assignments push you outside of your comfort zone, so you can learn and apply new skills.

I can attest this personally. I'm in a leadership development program (LDP) where I work. I've been through it twice. First, I rotated out of systems engineering into software engineering. Although I have a minor in computer science, it had been years since I programmed in C++. I forget many constructs related to object oriented software development. However, my team helped me, as I quickly learned a non-technical skill. You can ask others for help. In fact, you always need support from your team. They know their craft, and they want you to succeed. I recalled software engineering tenets including unit testing, configuration management, and test driven development. When I felt unsure, my team members pointed me to materials to hone my software engineering skills.

Not every skill you learn focuses on technology such as software development. If you intend to become a leader, you develop soft skills. Communication, time management, people management. Think of them as are forms instead of science. You will make mistakes. What ever you do, you must not become complacent in your role. Your team and program management depend on you to see your project through its next milestone. In leadership roles, you must learn how to manage your team, and you must communicate their concerns up to program management. Keep track of tasks and responsibilities, as your reputation will precede you. You should develop a reputation as a leader who can get through challenges. Your team and project management must rely on you.

How do stretch assignments accelerate your career? You volunteer for challenging assignments, and you lead them to success. You learn new skills that you transfer into promotions. I've been told that receiving a promotion is a matter of having the right skills at the right time. You must develop broad skills that you can transfer into higher levels. If course, you retain your central expertise whether in engineering, business development, or finance. Challenging stretch assignments broaden your skills because you lack skills you need for new roles. You develop new skills through on the job learning.

I give you my second personal example. I'm currently in a product engineer role. I own a software product my team develops. Ownership exists in a figurative sense. I own the software configuration management, software problems database, and the documents pertaining to the software package. Where do the challenges exist? First, I quickly learned the product: how to maintain it, compile it, install it, and test it while keeping track of customer delivery deadlines. Second, I must communicate status to program management while leading my team of software developers on an Agile schedule. This requires communication and commitment to keeping track of software problems and the software development solutions. Software products inherently exhibit complexities. Communication can lack quickly, so I must keep the problem database maintained at all times. I must communicate customer needs through project management down to the team. All this while keeping to the schedule.

Are stretch assignments worth your time? Absolutely! They can feel daunting, as you take on responsibilities in new fields. However, you will push through the difficulties. You will develop a reputation for excellence. You will learn new skills and master them. By broadening your skills, you will be ready for opportunities whenever they arise. You will accelerate your career because you learn more in short periods of time by taking risks. You take risks by taking on assignments outside your core area of knowledge. You develop new skills because you do not want to fail in your new endeavor. In the long run, you prove yourself worthy of promotions. You do this faster than peers who chose their comfort zones over trying new things. If you have an opportunity to take a stretch assignment, go for it. You will learn much about yourself and where you want to point your career.

Grow your career through challenging stretch assignments

Want to learn more about career advancement and leadership? Please read my prior posts on the subject:

• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Show your Pride by Joining Ohev Shalom’s Third Annual PRIDE Shabbat

Ohev Shalom of Bucks County announces with exuberance its third annual Pride Shabbat on Friday June 14^th at 6 PM at our Synagogue located at 944 Second Street Pike in Richboro, PA. Please join us as we welcome LGBTQ Educator and Activist Jamie Joy for an engaging and interactive discussion on gender diversity, trans identity, and building an inclusive Jewish community. This year’s PRIDE Shabbat is sponsored by J.Proud, a JFCS Initiative through the Jewish Philly LGBTQ Consortium.

Ohev Shalom and our congregation believes that every person deserves love and respect. We welcome all peoples to our synagogue, so please join us for this special Shabbat to celebrate our Jewish LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters.

For more information, please visit Ohev Shalom of Bucks County. We look forward to seeing you at our exciting and musical Pride Shabbat services on June 14^th!