Wrapping Up Our Living Torah Project

As many of us respond to “Giving Tuesday” fundraising telephone calls, e-mail solicitations, and snail mail packages – if only Canada Post was not still on strike – I again appreciate the importance of our fundraising initiatives. Voluntary giving provides the lifeblood and sustainability of so many of the wonderful Canadian not-for-profit institutions. Solel is no exception. This is why, as mentioned in my October blog, our Board identified Fundraising and Capital Projects as one of our six priority strategic focuses.

The scribing and installation of our beautiful new Torah — and the related dream of renewing and refreshing some of the tired and worn elements of Solel’s sacred space — triggered incredible generosity from so many of our members and other supporters of Solel. I am pleased to report that thanks to you all, our Living Torah and Sacred Space fundraising project has already translated into one of Solel’s most successful fundraisers to date. As we know, this project was inspired by the thoughtfulness of the late Gerry and Nancy Willis when they generously gifted the seed donation as a means of encouraging each one of us to contribute to the writing of our beautiful new Torah scroll. Our goal has been to have every Solel member participate in the project so that we could match the generosity of Gerry and Nancy in completing our new Torah and then beautifying our sacred space as a legacy gift both to our current community and to future generations of Soleniks.

Our current fundraising working group has been meeting frequently as we plan the finalization of this ambitious milestone project at the end of this month. This includes our recent letter appeal to all members while we are also working on the design and installation of a permanent donor board that will recognize each of the many Solel members, families, and other individuals who have so generously participated in this milestone Solel project. Next month, when the project is over and we have tallied up the results, our committee will critically document key learnings for sharing with the Solel Board: what worked, what didn’t work, what we did well, what we missed, and what we might have done better. Recognizing the risk of donor fatigue, we have no plans for another major fundraiser in the foreseeable future. However, we will continue to encourage and support short-term community-building fundraisers such as Women of Solel’s recent honey sales project. And later next year, we will investigate and develop proposals to encourage and facilitate legacy giving.

It is a fitting coincidence that our campaign will end this year during Chanukah, the festival that marks the rededication of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. As we wrap up this project, I am looking forward to the installation of the donor board early next year that will record the rededication to Solel ‘s future by so many who generously contributed to this initiative.

On a personal note, I became actively engaged in the Living Torah working group after becoming president in 2022 and feel a great sense of pride as to what this working group has achieved. My thanks to each of my thoughtful and caring co-members: Chris Cerar, Gavin Herman, Michael Kulbak (Chair), Dennis Norton, Rabbi Audrey Pollack, and Les Rothschild — and to Rita Halporn Grossman for her ongoing administrative support. Finally, our huge appreciation goes to Roz Allen, Sherry Amar, Robbin Botnick, Rabbi Larry and Cheryl Englander, Rabbi Audrey Pollack and Jen Smith who were instrumental in visualizing, planning and setting up the project, including the negotiations with our Soferet, Rabbi Yonah-Lavery-YIsraeli, and their crafting of our dedicated Solel Living Torah web page.

John

Filed under: President's Message

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