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THE KOL NIDRE APPEAL: IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY
Your generous response to the Kol Nidre Appeal in 2009 provided more than $100,000 to support the work of the congregation. When fellow congregants called you during the annual phonathon after Rosh HaShanah, you gave with an open hand. Your gifts, essential to our well-being, created one of the more successful Kol Nidre Appeals since we instituted the annual phonathon in 2002.
THE APPROACH: More than 60 years ago, Rabbi Ralph Simon z”l promised a skeptical Rodfei Zedek president that the Kol Nidre Appeal would be more successful if it were not conducted from the bimah during the High Holy Days. The appeal went silent, so to speak.
In 2002 we put a voice back into the Kol Nidre Appeal by adding a phonathon. Building upon the exciting sense of community that had developed during the capital campaign a few years earlier, we created the case for an annual fund to support the general operating expenses and the general well-being of the congregation
Your initial response to the first phonathon was unprecedented. The Appeal contributions tripled between 2001 and 2002. In 2009 your contributions were four times greater than those in 2001. Despite difficult financial times, your contributions last year came close to matching the contributions from 2006 and 2007.
Although the number of congregants participating in the Kol Nidre Appeal has grown to close to 60% of the congregation, our goal is to have the entire congregation participate.
Our ability to maintain the sanctity of the High Holy Days by removing the Kol Nidre Appeal from the bimah has been the envy of many congregations for more than half a century. With our encouragement, several local congregations have emulated our approach.
THE IMPORTANCE: The Kol Nidre Appeal lays the foundation, along with membership dues, for our financial stability. Last year, the appeal provided 15% of congregant-generated income, second only to Membership Dues (48%). The Kol Nidre Appeal helps us maintain a balanced budget while sustaining the congregational commitment to observance, education, and celebration. It guards our physical well-being, with repairs to the parapet; it adds to our spiritual well-being, with High Holy Day music; it enriches our learning, with Yamei Limud (Days of Learning); it adds sweetness to our observance, with honey cake at the Rosh HaShanah Kiddush and much coveted cupcakes on Shabbat at Minyan Katan.
THE COMMITMENT: On Tuesday evening, September 14, your fellow congregants will contact you, asking you to support Congregation Rodfei Zedek by supporting the Kol Nidre Appeal. If you did not participate in the Kol Nidre Appeal last year, please respond this year. If you have given in the past, please consider increasing your gift.
Your generous response is vital: The synagogue doors are open every day of the year for you and because of you. We continue with stimulating plans for the coming year as we strive to achieve our mission of becoming a Congregation of Learners. |
