Thoughts on Support of Synagogues

One of the most incredible statements found in the Torah is in Exodus 36 where we read of the collection of donations from the Israelites for the building of the desert tabernacle. There is an overwhelming response to the campaign, so great that the chief artisans, Bezalel and Oholiab come to Moses and tell him that the people have donated too much, they ask Moses to tell the people to stop. Talk about miracles in the desert. This tops them all, an oversubscribed fundraising campaign.

         Not every campaign since has exceeded its goal, however throughout the generations Jews have stepped up to support communal institutions and,in particular, the synagogues in their community and elsewhere. Congregations, like other institutions, often struggle to find sufficient funds to provide the services that the community expects. So we are grateful when a special donation comes our way.

         Shortly before his death, we read in Chronicles, that King David ran a very successful campaign to raise funds for a Temple that his son Solomon would build, providing a center for Jewish worship in Jerusalem. David was prevented from building the Temple himself because he was known as a warrior. Though God appreciated the thought when David sought to build a Temple, He told David that he was not the one to do this as a man of war. His son Solomon would be a man of peace – even his name Shlomo means peace – he would be the one to build it. Nonetheless, Chronicles tells us that David all but built the Temple anyway: choosing the site, putting in the foundation, gathering the materials, and finally organizing a fund-raising campaign to make it a reality in the life of his son.

         I recall one of the first congregations I visited to interview following my ordination. I had directions to find this place and when I arrived, I met the head of the search committee. He asked if I had any difficulty finding the place and I was thinking, not at all, I saw the big bingo sign out front. When I parked the car in the lot, I also noted that they had a driving school that met in their building, a real estate office, and a sign indicating that shoppers from the nearby department store could park in their lot also. Besides that they had a caterer who used their facilities. All of these things brought in much needed income to keep the synagogue running.

         According to a recent survey among Conservative congregations, about 67% of them depend primarily on dues to cover their budget. These dues are generally a fixed amount, though there may be different categories of members, but all in that category are expected, if they are able, to pay the same amount. All the congregations I’ve known, however, make accommodations for those who cannot afford the full dues and offer abatements for those who cannot pay. Nobody wants to send anyone away for lack of sufficient income to meet his obligation. The survey finds that about 7% have what is known as “fair-share” where people pay dues according to their financial ability to pay. Some of these congregations ask to see financial statements up front.

It is interesting to note a more recent phenomenon, congregations that do not have any required dues and instead ask for a sustaining or voluntary pledge to the congregation. This system makes it a little tricky to budget, because one does not know exactly how much money will come in and when. On the other hand, it has been noted that generally this system generates a little more income than the dues system does. A bonus is that by not charging dues up front the congregation is attractive to potential new members, particularly young folks and thus the survey noted that on average these congregations attract more new members than those that still expect regular dues payments. Jews tend to be generous and that generosity often is shown to the institutions to which they belong through their donations. About 14% of the surveyed congregations have a combination of dues along with various major fund raising activities. Some depend on rentals. Others may have special events to which they charge for tickets, concerts, plays, Purim spiels, or rummage sales, raffles, art auctions, shalach manos campaigns and of course Bingo or Las Vegas nights. These last probably would not work well in a town which has its own casino but other places have done very well with Bingo, though it does require commitment from volunteers to run it and man the concessions.

One of the congregations I served has a very large building and they cover their budget by renting classrooms to an Orthodox day school on weekdays and to a Reform Temple on Sundays. They also rent the entire downstairs area to that Reform Temple who hold their Shabbat services in that space. Their largest source of income is their twice weekly bingo game which attracts quite a few people in the community.

In our congregation we still depend primarily on dues payments to keep things going. Though the dues are fixed in different categories, we do have a process for those who need it for an abatement so they may pay reduced dues Often, particularly when times are tough, one may have many members paying reduced dues. There is even a joke about that. A member informs the treasurer that he can’t manage the full dues this year. The treasurer tells him not to worry, because we have a special category for that situation. “Really,” asks the man, “what is it called?’ “Member in Good Standing.”

Many congregations have come up with a number of creative categories to bring in new members and additional dues. In some congregations, they encourage “associate memberships.” These are for people who are paying full dues in some other congregation, but for other reasons (they had family, they had grown up in that congregation, they used to belong, they have friends in the congregation.) they maintain a membership in this congregation also. They pay reduced dues and may receive some benefits as well. When I was in Charleston, SC, there were three congregations and it was not unusual for someone to belong to two or even three of them, believing it was important to support all of the Jewish institutions in town. We at TBI have created a non-member membership. We call it “Temple supporter.” You don’t have to be Jewish to join. We encourage our friends in the community, particularly those who, though not Jewish, take advantage of some of our programs or services from time to time, to donate a much lower amount and to be reckoned as a supporter. Of course, we are always glad to receive donations in honor of some occasion or some joyous event in the lives of our members or their friends and relatives. We also welcome memorial donations from friends of the deceased.

Many congregations, including ours, do not offer graduated dues, rather we ask people who have the wherewithal to donate to “Fair Share.” We don’t ask for a financial statement but ask our members to assess themselves and if they are able to give an additional amount of their choosing to help support the work of the Temple, we urge them to do so. While it is purely voluntary, these funds serve an important purpose in allowing us to keep our regular dues relatively low by receiving these Fair share contributions which help keep the Temple afloat. Only with great reluctance do we ever raise dues when it becomes necessary, however, we do whatever we can to avoid taking that step. So we are most appreciative of those members who do their part by sending in these additional contributions.

Generally, we remind folks of this option each fall after the holidays, but just as one need not wait for Yom Kippur to repent of sin, we are happy to receive your fair share contributions anytime throughout the year. You set the amount, determine when it is convenient to donate and there is no rule against sending in more than one fair share donation a year.

We are grateful for all our members for whatever they are able to do to cover our costs and we particularly thank those who go beyond our regular dues to send in their “Fair Share” donations as well. They are our way of seeing that Jewish life continues in this community.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Edward Friedman