An invitation without obligation to participate in this once-in-a-generation investment in Mount Zion’s future
Since solicitations began in June, 2019, more than $4.8 million — 96% of our minimum goal — has been received in outright or pledged donations payable over 3-5 years. Capacity to give varies widely within our community, and we are indebted to those whose generosity at the Campaign’s outset has brought us to the threshold of this ambitious goal. Now, we invite everyone to join them to ensure our shared success. Pledge/Contribute.
Once-in-a-Generation Endowment Campaign
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמֵּכִין מִצְעֲדֵי גָֽבֶר.
Blessed is the Eternal our God,
Who makes firm our steps.
Make Firm Our Steps represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in Mount Zion’s future through gifts that will endure. We undertake this campaign from a position of great strength. Mount Zion is blessed with outstanding clergy, a strong Board and lay volunteers working on its behalf, an increasingly involved membership, excellent programs for learning at every age, a stunning building that we own outright, and leadership within the Twin Cities Jewish community and nationally. Current programming at Mount Zion represents a model Reform synagogue experience for the 21st century, positioning us solidly to undertake this unprecedented endowment effort.
For a nonprofit Jewish institution like Mount Zion, endowment functions financially much like the building’s concrete foundation: it is largely hidden, yet provides the unshakeable base upon which everything that takes place in the building above – worship, gathering, study – depends.
Additional endowment will lead to one critical outcome: a permanent and predictable source of unrestricted revenue to support all that Mount Zion does. The endowment fund will provide permanent resources so that succeeding generations can engage in diverse activities while allowing the Temple to address emergent opportunities and unforeseeable contingencies.
Past generations created a strong, stable community today
Mount Zion didn’t arrive at its enviable position today by accident or luck, but by the calculated intentions of its leaders, spanning multiple generations over three centuries. The Temple and its congregants are the fortunate beneficiaries of collective decisions made before most of us were born.
The financial case: What a successful campaign means
We are conducting the endowment campaign now because of the difference between revenue received from annual support and dues and revenue generated from endowment. The former is raised and fully expended each year to defray the cost of operating a complex and multifaceted synagogue like Mount Zion. In contrast, endowment funds, once in place, produce revenue predictably and perpetually as the corpus is never expended. Additional endowment will help dampen the potential volatility of the Temple’s other revenue streams during challenging times, like those we are currently experiencing.
Put another way: We are not financially insecure; rather, we are seeking additional permanent resources to sustain and to build upon the excellence we have already attained. New endowment funds will undergird financial stability and make all planning more predictable.
Everyone can participate
Every donor to the Campaign, regardless of gift size, will be recognized. To be recognized as a contributor, pledges or gifts must be received by the Campaign’s final day: April 30, 2021.
An invitation without obligation
Each of us contributes in different ways to the Mount Zion community—giving time, passion, creativity, involvement, money, and sometimes all of these. If your circumstances preclude making a donation or if you simply choose not to, please know that we value and honor other ways that you contribute to the community.
Thank you for your consideration and commitment to Make Firm Our Steps. Walking together, we will achieve our goal.
“Across the years, in times of celebration and challenge, and in four different buildings, Mount Zion has been our sacred home. Make Firm Our Steps will help secure the Temple’s financial foundation, enabling it to remain relevant both for us and for future generations. This community-wide campaign for Mount Zion’s endowment fund, L’dor Vador, creates an opportunity for extraordinary contributions.”
— Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker
“Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.”
–Talmud Taanit 23a
Make Firm Our Steps Brochure
Click image to view brochure.
FAQs
1. How does the community campaign relate to the initial phase of Make Firm Our Steps that has already raised $4.8 million?
Since solicitations began in June, 2019, we have raised more than 96% of our minimum goal. We are indebted to those whose generosity at the Campaign’s outset has brought us to the threshold of this ambitious goal. Now we are inviting everyone to join them to ensure our shared success.
2. It feels like Mount Zion is always asking me for money. Why should I give to this campaign?
Walking Together is an invitation for members to give and be part of something historic, a once-in-a-generation opportunity for stretch gifts. One reason to support Make Firm Our Steps is that it will provide a permanent source of unrestricted revenue for the Temple. Every donor to the Campaign, regardless of gift size, will be recognized on a plaque that will be prominently displayed in the Temple.
3. How does revenue from this campaign differ from my yearly membership dues and my annual campaign contribution?
Revenue from dues and annual campaign support is raised and fully expended each year to defray the cost of operating Mount Zion. In contrast, once in place, the money raised in this campaign for endowment will produce revenue predictably and perpetually as the corpus is never expended.
4. I’ve already put Mount Zion in my will as part of the Legacy Campaign. Should I still give to Make Firm Our Steps?
Legacy Campaign gifts are truly important and greatly appreciated, but they represent a long-term commitment to the Temple that will be realized over time. Funds from Make Firm Our Steps will make an immediate, present difference in Mount Zion’s budgets.
5. I can’t afford to give a sizeable gift. How will my small gift make a difference?
We know that the capacity to give varies widely within our community. At this point in the campaign, every gift—regardless of its size–is indispensable, and everyone’s participation is welcome and encouraged. In words from our prayer book, “…there is no way to get from here to there except by joining hands, walking together.”
6. What is this endowment campaign’s goal and why?
The base goal for Make Firm Our Steps is $5 million. Raising a minimum of $5 million will provide Mount Zion between $200,000 and $250,000 in additional unrestricted income each year – a permanent and predictable source of unrestricted funds to support all that Mount Zion does.
7. How will the $5 million be used? What will be different at Mount Zion as a result?
The funds raised from this campaign will supplement existing revenue from dues, the annual campaign, and special donations. Your support will increase permanent funds to support meaningful member engagement today and in years to come.
8. How does this campaign differ from other Mount Zion campaigns?
The last major campaign at Mount Zion was a capital campaign, L’hadlik Ner, conducted from 1993 to 2001, which raised a total of $10 million to renovate the building in two phases.
Four years ago, Mount Zion initiated an annual campaign, L’Chaim Mount Zion, to supplement revenue from dues and special donations used for daily operations. This ongoing appeal has strengthened Mount Zion’s budget and financial planning process, as well as creating a culture that expresses gratitude through financial giving. By contrast, Make Firm Our Steps is an endowment campaign, the first such effort in the Temple’s 160-year history. Endowment is Mount Zion’s financial foundation, the means by which our work is accomplished and our aspirations realized.
9. How will contributions to this campaign be recognized?
All Campaign contributors will be recognized on a beautiful plaque – an original piece of art – that will be displayed in the Temple and also included in a summary report on giving at Mount Zion.
10. What payment methods and timing have been established for pledges?
Make Firm Our Steps is seeking outright gifts or pledges that will be paid over a 3- to 5-year period. Payments may be made on a schedule of the contributor’s choosing through cash, check, credit card payments, or a gift of stock.
