Kehilla Operations, Finance, and Dues

Welcome to the Operations, Finance, and Dues page - a clearinghouse for all kinds of information, helpful advice, and resources. We will be holding webinars and training throughout the year; if you have a specific topic in mind for a training, please contact Barry Mael.
Join the conversation at the USCJ Membership Discussion List.

Sacred Communities and Financial $ustainability Webinars

Webinar #1 - "What Do Dues Have to Do With It?"
February 6, 2013 - 12 PM EST
February 6, 2013 - 3 PM EST
Download the PowerPoint here.

Webinar #2 - "One Kehilla's Story"
February 14, 2013 - 12 PM EST
Download the PowerPoint here.

Webinar #3 - "Community Circle Commitment Model"
March 20, 2013 - 1 PM EDT Download the PowerPoint here.

Dues-Related Articles

From eJewishPhilanthropy (by Barry Mael): "Can Synagogues Live By Dues Alone?"
From the Washington Jewish Week: "It's time for a change to synagogue dues"
From Freakonomics: "Synagogues vs. Churches: Voluntary Donations vs. Dues"
From the Synagogue Strategies Group: "Synagogue Dues: Can't It Be More Personal?"
From UJA's SYNERGY project: "American Synagogues and Money: Lessons From History"
From Sh'ma: "The 75 Percent"
From the Detroit Jewish News: "From the Heart"
From j., the Jewish news weekly of Northern California: "Dues and Don'ts"
From URJ: "Engaging Young Adults Without Breaking Their Bank"
From URJ: "Let Us Eliminate Synagogue Dues"
From the New York Jewish Week: "Mushroom Synagogues"
From eJewish Philanthropy: "Scrapping Synagogue Dues: A Case Study"
From JewishBoston.com's Ask a Rabbi: "I feel like synagogue membership is for the rich..." (a response to the above article)
From Kesef Accounting: "If it's Hanukkah, it must be parsonage time again..."
From Sh'ma: "Synagogue Membership: What's the Deal?"
By Jack Wertheimer: The American Synagogue - Recent Trends and Issues
From the New York Jewish Week: "Are Synagogues Still Relevant?"
From eJewish Philanthropy: "What One Chabad Rabbi Can Teach Synagogues About Money"
From eJewish Philanthropy: "Our Challenge: The Under-Demand for Jewish Life"
From USA Today: "Millennials at worship services are few but passionate"
From the Jewish Daily Forward: "Back to Shul: Innovate To Beat the Synagogue Slump"
From j., the Jewish news weekly of Northern California: "Are you a ‘freemium’ or premium synagogue user?"
From the Washington Jewish Week: "B'nai Israel to adopt new dues policy"

Fair Share Dues - Samples and Information

Beth Israel (Ann Arbor, MI)
Beth Yeshurun (Houston, TX)
Moses Montefiore Synagogue (Appleton, WI)
Kesher Zion (Reading, PA)
Agudas Achim (Iowa City, IA)
Beth El (Omaha, NE)
Temple Sinai (Marblehead, MA)
Tifereth Israel (Columbus, OH)

Membership Models and Examples
Temple Emanuel (Newton Centre, MA) - membership brochure and application
B'nai Torah (Boca Raton, FL) - membership brochure and information form
Adath Jeshurun (Minnetonka, MN) - membership information and application
Congregation Beth Sholom (Teaneck, NJ) - membership structure and application
Temple Beth Hillel - Beth El (Wynnewood, PA) - membership brochure and payment form
Congregation Adath Jeshurun (Louisville, KY) - membership information and application
Brith Shalom (Bellaire, TX) - membership information and application

USCJ Articles and Resources

"The Parsonage Primer"
"Dues Do's and Don'ts"
10 Tips for Marketing
After the Hagim
A Board Member's Guide to Membership
End-of-December Congregational Checklist

Videos

From Rabbi Dan Judson:

History of Synagogues and Money Voluntary Dues and Synagogues

From Rick Edelman, Financial Planner:

Charitable Giving - Planned Giving

Demystifying Planned Giving (from the Rabbinical Assembly):
Part 1
Part 2

From WPLG Channel 10 Florida:

Temples Merge

From the TV News Workshop at the School of Journalism, University of King's College, Halifax NS Canada:

Synagogue Merger

From Mark Sanborn:

How to Provide Extraordinary Customer Service

Planned Giving Resources

From the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning: "Are You Ready for Planned Giving?"
From eJewish Philanthropy: "Tackling Planned Giving Yet?"
From Mersky, Jaffe & Associates: Characteristics of a Successful Planned Giving Program
From Planned Gift Blogspot: Planned Giving Made Simpler for Smaller Institutions
From Blackbaud: Creating a Legacy
From EHL Consulting: "The Importance of Legacy Giving"
From the Grinspoon Foundation: "Debunk the Myths About Legacy and Planned Giving"

Planned Giving Samples

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee, WI)
Sinai Temple (Los Angeles, CA)
Temple Ner Tamid (Peabody, MA)
Ohev Shalom (Richboro, PA)
Temple Israel (Portsmouth, NH)
Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA)
B'nai Shalom (West Orange, NJ)
Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center (Aventura, FL)

Mergers

From UJA-Federation of New York's Synergy Program: "Effective, Mission-Oriented Synagogue Mergers"
From jbuff.com (Jewish Buffalo on the web): The Synagogue Merger
From Shaare Zedek in St. Louis: Merger FAQ's
From the New Jersey Jewish Standard: "When a Synagogue Closes its Doors, What Happens to its Windows?"
From the New York Times: "Synagogues Are Merging, Delicately, as Jews Move"
From the New York Post: "Mergers emerging as options for struggling synagogues"
From the New York Jewish Week: "The New Business of NY Shuls: Synagogue Mergers"
From j., the Jewish news weekly of Northern California: "Dueling Identities: Conservative-Reform synagogue mergers can be a thorny prospect"
From the Saint Louis Jewish Light: "Mergers and splits among local congregations are nothing new"

Contingency Planning and Operating Reserves
From the Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Four Things Boards Should Understand About Operating Reserves"
From the Nonprofits Assistance Fund: Nonprofit Operating Reserves and Policy Examples
From ASAE, The Center for Association Leadership: Create Reserves for Nonprofit Organizations
From Thad Calabrese, Baruch College (CUNY): Running on Empty: The Operating Reserves of US Nonprofit Organizations

Other Resources

From the Wall Street Journal: Synagogue-Hopping with Generation Y
From the Huffington Post: Three Ways Synagogues Can Learn From Churches
From eJewish Philanthropy: Financial Stability by Eliminating Fund-Raising
From Great Leadership: 25 Coaching Questions to Create your 2013 Leadership Development Plan
From Rabbi Alex Greenbaum (Beth El of the South Hills; Pittsburgh, PA): Engaging Synagogue
From Blanchard LeaderChat: Behaviors Speak Louder Than Words
From UJA-Federation of New York's SYNERGY project: Vision and Data: Essential Building Blocks for Successful Synagogue Change
From Measuring Success, LLC: Presentations from the 2013 NAASE Convention

Books

Meet our Director of Kehilla Operations and Finance!

Barry S. Mael is the Director of Kehilla Operations and Finance for United Synagogue, who brings more than 30 years of experience in the Jewish non-profit world to his role. A graduate of Yeshiva University (BA, Economics), he holds a Master’s of Social Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Barry worked in the JCC world from 1982 to 1997, and was a synagogue executive director from 1997-2002. He came to USCJ in 2002 as the director of the New Jersey Region. Since 2006, Barry has been serving USCJ on the international stage. A vocal sports fan (there’s always next year, Red Sox!), Barry lives in Highland Park, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter.

To hear more from Barry, follow him on Twitter @barrycdrmo.

Webinar #2 - "One Kehilla's Story" February 14, 2013 - 12 PM EST Download the PowerPoint here. Webinar #3 - "Community Circle Commitment Model" March 20, 2013 - 1 PM EDT Download the PowerPoint here.