How can we grow fund development in our large congregations?

Facilitated by Josh Peskin, Vice President for Strategic Advancement at Reconstructing Judaism

For clergy, presidents and development chairpersons of larger congregations

Wednesdays, 1pm-2pmEST — January 31, February 14, February 28, March 14

This network on fund development is geared towards larger congregations (more than 175-member households). Together we’ll build a best-practice set for fund development in congregations in our movement. We will explore questions such as do we launch a campaign every year? How do similar-sized congregations choose to solicit? How do we gather data? What are some innovative ways to bridge our annual budget gap? The network will feature an interactive component around imagining ourselves as the advisers of a new large congregation and brainstorming about how to go about fundraising. Guest presenters such as Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel will join network sessions.

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Resources

Our first session presentation by Lee Rosenfield covered basics of running an annual campaign: people to target, strategies, communication methods, and more. 

Cantor Chayim Frankel led us through the development process, design, and fundraising efforts to create a Kehillat Israel 65th anniversary yearbook.

Jeremy Becker guided us through the Dorshei Emet Torah project, in which a campaign was created to celebrate the congregation’s first new sefer Torah, scribed by a female soferet, over the course of a “jubilee year.”  

Joan and Seth Rosen (chair of the Reconstructing Judaism board) provided an overview of the Bet Am Shalom capital campaign, running through effective strategies, pitfalls to avoid, and ultimate conclusions.