Giving at TBS
Our Community. Our Commitment.
The vitality of Temple Beth Shalom depends upon your generosity. Together, we are partners. We share an abiding commitment to the purposes of TBS: to ensure the ongoing chain of Jewish tradition from generation to generation, to enrich lives through Jewish culture, to nurture spiritual connection, to pursue justice, and to strengthen and support one another. Together, we affirm the power of community.
Maintaining our exceptional programs, outreach, and staff requires significant financial resources. Membership Commitment and tuition do not cover the cost of all that we do. Additional donor support is necessary to achieve and maintain excellence. Our philanthropic base begins and ends with the people who choose to call Temple Beth Shalom home.
Your generosity ensures our continued strength.
TBS Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is a lifeline that sustains our operations and outreach efforts all year. It is a commitment that allows us to carefully plan and execute programs, maintain our beautiful facility, and foster meaningful connections within our congregation. Every dollar raised in the Annual Fund helps TBS continue to strengthen and evolve our community, enhance our staffing needs, create innovative programming, and so much more.
The Annual Fund strengthens TBS and makes possible all that we do each and every year.
A Culture of Philanthropy at TBS
Temple Beth Shalom’s funds empower meaningful work across our community in areas of temple life that may resonate with you and have a valuable impact on the many people, programs and experiences we support.
- Annual Fund
- Being Jewish in America Fund
- Chesed Fund
- Children’s Center Fund
- Elementary Education Fund
- Emergency Relief Fund
- Families with Young Children Fund
- Library Fund
- Music Fund
- Oneg Fund
- Prayer Book Fund
- Refugee Resettlement Fund
- Safety & Security Fund
- Sanctuary & Worship Fund
- Sanctuary Flower Fund
- Tikkun Olam Fund
- Torah Commentary Fund
- Youth Education Fund
Named Funds
- Jerry Arransky Passport to Israel Fund
- Dr. Ted Chamberlain Interfaith Fellowship Fund
- Feldman Community Outreach Fund
- Gersten-Hoisington Scholar in Residence Fund
- S. David Goldberg Memorial Fund
- Irma and Kivi Grebber Memorial Fund
- Patti and Louis Grossman Education Scholarship Fund
- Richard Todd Sacks Lifelong Jewish Learning Fund
- Ned Saltzberg Memorial Fund
- Amy Sanker Kappel Memorial Fund
- Marjorie Silver Camp Fund
- Michael Sockol Jewish Writers Fund
Clergy Discretionary Funds
These funds are used by clergy members to help those who are in need in our TBS community and beyond, and to support the enrichment of Jewish life.
- Cantor DJ Fortine’s Discretionary Fund
- Rabbi Todd Markley’s Discretionary Fund
- Rabbi Jay Perlman’s Discretionary Fund
- Rabbi Elyse Pincus Abrahams’s Discretionary Fund
Endowment Funds
These funds are used to create a permanent endowment for the Temple’s needs. We have two separate endowment funds – general and educational. We also offer several opportunities for planned giving to the temple community.
- General Endowment Fund
- Education Endowment Fund
Dedications
There are multiple ways to have an impact on the TBS community and dedicate an item or plaque in honor or memory of your loved one or a special occasion.
Chair Plaque: $1800
A plaque placed on one of the beautiful chairs of our sanctuary.
Memorial Board: $360
A memorial plaque placed upon our Sanctuary’s Memorial Board in memory of someone beloved.
Tree of Life Leaf: $250
An engraved “leaf” added to our “Tree of Life” in honor of a joyous occasion or in celebration of someone special.
Torah Commentary Book: $72
A bookplate with a dedication in honor or memory of a loved one placed in one of our Torah commentary books.
Prayer Book: $54
A bookplate with a dedication in honor or memory of a loved one placed in one of our prayer books.
Contact the TBS Philanthropy Office to make your dedication today.
Giving Circles
Our TBS Giving Circles have been created to include all those who give across our community. A gift offered at any level reflects our Jewish values and helps us build a closer, stronger, and more vibrant Temple Beth Shalom.
Mensches Circle $18 – $179
A mensch is a genuinely kind and gracious individual. Inspired by innate caring and a desire to help, a mensch is someone who can be relied upon to give in ways that put the needs of others before self.
Giving “Chai” (18), in the Jewish tradition is synonymous with a gift of “life.” Support as a member of the Mensches Circle provides elements such as educational materials, resources to maintain the beauty of our Temple home, and music at our services.
Bonim Circle $180 – $999
A boneh is a builder. Bonim always start projects by creating a solid foundation and laying the groundwork for beautiful things to be made.
Supporting TBS as a member of the Bonim Circle provides families with young children programming throughout the year to get them engaged in the Jewish Community, as well as special holiday events for all ages. These gifts provide a sturdy framework upon which to build and grow.
Chaverim Circle $1,000 – $4,999
A chaver is a genuine friend. Our rabbis teach that this person is there for you unconditionally, knows you as your true self, and is even able to push you to become a better human being. The chaver gives because this is what friends do for each other.
Support as a member of the Chaverim Circle enables compassionate outreach to families following a loss, provides speakers and teachers for our adult learning programs, and supports our engagement of guest artists to make Jewish culture come to life at TBS.
Tzadikim Circle $5,000 – $9,999
A tzadik is a truly righteous individual. This person strives always to live in ways that bring goodness and blessing into the world. Tzadikim are leaders who teach by example and who give of themselves as a way of fulfilling their responsibility to humanity.
Members of the Tzadikim Circle support the TBS community by providing financial assistance for our members, expanding the reach of our programming, and supporting our extensive social justice efforts.
Rabbis Circle $10,000+
Rabbis teach, guide, comfort, inspire, and strengthen. Their work sustains Jewish life now and for generations to come. The same may be said regarding the purpose of philanthropy.
Members of the Rabbis Circle offer gifts that support transformative development and growth in the TBS community. Rabbis Circle donors ensure long-term strength of both clergy and staff, as well as the entrepreneurial program innovations that have come to define TBS.
Our Legacy
The TBS Legacy Circle recognizes those who have made a bequest in their will or made the Temple a beneficiary of their life insurance or retirement plan. Your commitment to the long term and sustained growth of our community is invaluable for generations to come.
Ways to Give
Check: Please make your check payable to Temple Beth Shalom. If this is a donation to a specific fund, please indicate the name of that fund in the memo line of your check. Checks can be mailed to the following address:
Temple Beth Shalom
670 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02494
Contact the TBS Philanthropy Office for more information on the following:
- Gifts from Donor Advised Funds
- Gifts from Family Foundations
- Gifts of Securities or Property
- Wire Transfers
- Planned Giving
Gratitude Report
Your contribution to TBS is always greatly appreciated and serves as an example for others. Each year we celebrate our successes as a community and all of those who have helped make our dreams become reality. Explore our annual Gratitude Reports.
If you have questions about giving at Temple Beth Shalom, please contact the Philanthropy Office at giving@tbsneedham.org or call (781) 444-0077 ext. 58.
EIN (Tax ID): 04-6006558
