Well, it is that time of the year again, where we are trying to make budget and formulating the
budget for the coming fiscal year.
I would first like to thank Chris Potter and Rhonda Pappas for chairing this year’s Biennial
Silent Auction. Additionally, a special thanks goes to Carey Potter without whose help the
auction would not have gone off as smoothly as it did. Rhonda was in the kitchen from 9 a.m.
Saturday morning until 11 p.m. cooking up what I think was one of the most fun-filled meals
we have had at an event. If you didn’t get a soft ice cream cone with all the fixings, you really
missed out. Not only was the evening full of fun and good food, but we raised a lot of money
for the Temple. Thank you to all who came and participated. You are who ensured that this
year’s fundraiser was a success.
Last but not least, thank you to Mitch Kahn, who chaired the annual raffle. This year we sold
297 tickets out of 350 making this year’s raffle one of the most successful ever.
Fundraising, both within and outside of our congregation, remains an essential part of our
annual operating budget. We need to continue to strive for a substantial operating endowment
fund; however, fundraising will always remain as an essential part of our Temple life.
As we come off of the heels of successful fundraisers, we move directly into budgeting for the
upcoming year. This year we will be formulating new dues structures that will hopefully not
only attract new members to our community but will also create a long term revenue structure
that will be better support the congregation and at the same time be more reflective of member
tenure. Additionally, we will be looking at the way we support our building reserve funds.
Over the past several years, we have had a number of expensive projects that have depleted
our building maintenance fund. We need to strive to replenish this fund as we most certainly
have deferred maintenance items that will have to be addressed in the near future. Although
the Temple maintains a very strong financial position, we face budgets that are extremely tight
year after year.
Each congregant needs to understand that they play a role in the financial
stability of our congregation. We need each congregant to understand that the financial issues
we face at our congregation is a function of income not expenses. We hope that all will do
what they can to help increase our overall revenue.
Lastly, I would like to announce a campaign to install a Hearing Loop System in our
sanctuary. Loop systems are now commonplace in most religious sanctuaries and we have an
obligation to provide this to those in need. We have already raised the funds to pay for the
Loop System. However, the installation of the system also requires replacement of the carpet.
This, obviously, pushes the cost of this essential project up immensely. Please watch for details
for this campaign coming soon.
-- David Fishman
