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THE BETH EMET FOUNDATION

About the Foundation / List of Foundation Funds

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

A Solid Foundation Needs Our Continuing Support - We want to share with you the history, the growth and the significance of a most essential synagogue auxiliary – the Beth Emet Foundation, Inc.

History
In 1965, shortly after the first Shabbat service was celebrated in our new sanctuary, Rabbi Polish and several forward thinking founders of our congregation realized the need to create a mechanism to provide perpetual support for Beth Emet, its facilities and programs. They created the Beth Emet Foundation, Inc. a non-profit corporation, to provide unrestricted funds to endow, and thus to assure, the synagogue’s financial stability and to further its religious, educational, cultural and social programs. In the early 1980’s Rabbi Knobel foresaw the need to grow the foundation through larger philanthropic gifts to relieve the burden of rising synagogue budgets and to offer more exciting ways to finance and enrich programming at Beth Emet. In so doing, Rabbi Knobel not only sought to build upon the existing foundation established through the foresight of Rabbi Polish and others, but also sought to add a link to the continuing chain which strengthens Beth Emet, l’dor v’dor,   from one generation to another.

After a successful fundraising campaign in 1986, the Beth Emet Foundation’s unrestricted general fund was significantly enhanced and became known as Assuring our Future, a fitting name for our largest fund. Its steady growth continues to generate income that is used at the direction of Beth Emet’s Board of Trustees for capital improvements and programming. Today, the total value of all of the assets in the foundation is approaching the $2,000,000.00 mark.

How The Foundation’s “Covenant” Funds are Established
Over the forty years of the Foundation’s existence, many Beth Emet members have understood the increasing importance and impact of giving to Beth Emet, over and above their annual dues. Some congregants have made use of the Foundation as a vehicle to create their endowments. During the Beth Emet Capital Campaign of 2000, many members made generous donations to the Assuring Our Future Fund while others established new funds to perpetuate the memory of their loved ones, or to reflect their special interests. Foundation covenant funds are established with an initial gift of at least $25,000.00, and in consultation with the Rabbis and the president of the foundation. For each fund a covenant is established to provide ongoing direction and guidance to the foundation board before the income or principal of the fund may be dispersed consistent with the donor’s directions, as expressed in the covenant.

Current Covenant Funds
Each of the covenant funds is an example of the largess of donors who wish to bestow a charitable gift that may have transformative effects upon a program, individuals or the congregation as a whole. Beth Emet’s annual concerts, scholarships to send our children to Israel or to Jewish camps, our annual scholar-in-residence, new and improved equipment and facilities in the religious school, special teachers for the religious school, preschool educational activities, and maintenance of the Eiger Garden illustrate just some of the programming and support that is vital to Beth Emet. All are supported by covenant funds created through thoughtful and generous gifts. (A complete listing of the covenant funds and a general description of its purpose, is at the end of this article).

The Board of Directors of the Beth Emet Foundation
The board of directors oversees the foundation’s resources, including the covenant funds and the Assuring Our Future Fund. The board is responsible to protect the funds, to provide financial support to the synagogue as mandated through the covenants, and to work to increase the endowments. In 1998, the board hired a professional fund manager to manage the daily operations of the foundation’s investment portfolio. Their compensation is based on a flat rate management fee and not on an individual trade/commission basis. The manager communicates regularly with the president of the foundation board and meets with the directors annually. The foundation’s funds and accounts are also subject to annual audits by professional accountants.

The Beth Emet Foundation By-laws authorize that there be 9 directors who are Beth Emet members and elected by the board of trustees of Beth Emet. These directors elect the officers of the foundation.  The directors are chosen for their experience and expertise in the fields of finance, law, business, charitable fund raising and management. The board also includes as ex officio members the president of Beth Emet and the senior Rabbi. The directors meet bi-monthly (and are also in regular contact through e-mail and other means of communications) to assess the progress of the funds, to review requests for disbursements, and to direct other business of the foundation. Requests for disbursements from the various funds come from the clergy and professional staff of Beth Emet. Before their approval,  the board evaluates the requests for consistency with the financial and other directives, as specified in the particular fund’s covenant.

Building on the Foundation and Assuring our Future
In addition to the Assuring Our Future Fund, there are currently 24 covenant funds being administered by the Foundation. There are two different types of covenant funds. One is a perpetual fund, intended by the grantors to continue in perpetuity. The other is a self-liquidating fund which, through the disbursement of income and principal, has been designated by the grantors to liquidate within a specified period of time. Presently, an initial contribution or grant of $25,000.00 is the minimum initial amount required for the creation of a covenant fund. The grantors may, at the time of the establishment of a fund designate one or more purposes; that is, the program(s) or purpose(s) for which the contributions, principal, income and capital gains are to be utilized. The grantors may also designate, at the time of establishing the fund, whether the fund is perpetual or self-liquidating and whether only income, or a combination of income and principal should be utilized to provide support in furtherance of the covenant’s designated purposes.

For internal accounting purposes, each covenant fund is segregated and separately maintained so that its principal, interest, capital gains and the individual contributions which are specified for a particular fund are designated and calculated in an account separate from the other fund accounts. However, the board has determined that, in order to provide protection through diversification, the money within each fund will be “pooled” with money from similar funds for purposes of investment; the concept being to protect against the situation that, in the event there is a significant loss in a particular investment, one fund does not unduly sustain that loss, especially to the point where a fund may not be able to retain sufficient principal to generate the income necessary for intended future disbursements in furtherance of the fund’s covenant’s designated purposes.

We, the Board of Directors of the Beth Emet Foundation, encourage congregants, as well as others with a special interest in Beth Emet, to leave a legacy, to honor their loved ones or specific interests and to provide support to Beth Emet through the foundation. We encourage your additional contributions, in any amounts, to any of the existing covenant funds, or to the foundation’s general Assuring Our Future Fund. We encourage you to meet with our Rabbis, the president of our congregation, or any of the members of the Beth Emet Foundation Board to discuss the creation and initial contribution to and the establishment of a new fund. Because we believe so strongly in the importance of having a Beth Emet Foundation to support the work of our synagogue, its unique programming, and the perpetuation of the Jewish people, we hope that you will consider including Beth Emet in your will and estate plans. For it is only with your help that Beth Emet is able to sustain vital activities, help congregants in need, have a direct bearing on our programming and ultimately impact upon Kol Yisrael and the Jewish people.

We, the members of the Beth Emet Foundation and the Rabbis of Beth Emet would be pleased to meet with you to discuss any questions you might have regarding the Foundation and the establishment of a fund and covenant for that fund.

David Spitulnik, President
Sharon Ephraim, Treasurer
David Herpe, Secretary
Mark Harvey
Marc Hilton
Elaine Lev
David Loundy
Shari Reiches
Robert Render

List of Funds and their Purpose

To make a donation to one of the funds online, please refer to the donate page of the Beth Emet website

• Assuring our Future Fund – provides basic support for general synagogue operations;

Covenant Funds:

• Dorothy Barliant Memorial Choir Fund – supports the Dorothy Barliant Memorial Concerts
• The Barbara Eisendrath Baum Memorial Fund - supports educational or action programs which enhance the human condition in the spirit of Reform Judaism's commitment to the teaching of the prophets.
• Breslow Fund  – provides support for special programs in the religious school and is intended to be self liquidating
• Gerald D. Chiss Memorial Scholarship Fund – provides cash assistance to young congregants desiring Jewish camp or Israel travel experiences
• Clonick Fund – establishes Beth Emet Archives and supports ongoing work of the Beth Emet library
• Fannie and Naomi Cohen Memorial Fund – provides support to obtain, maintain or improve the equipment and programs of the religious school.
• Lawrence H. Eiger Memorial Fund – provides funding to maintain the Lawrence H. Eiger Memorial Garden
• Arthur and Leah Eisen Memorial Fund – provides scholarships to enable or assist students at Beth Emet to travel to Israel
• Rita B. Gross Memorial Fund – provides funding to support the work of Beth Emet’s Outreach Committee
• Huckman Family Fund – provides funding support for those Beth Emet Synagogue members who cannot afford to pay full dues
• Aubrey and Ruth Jacobs Fund – provides educational programming, which would not otherwise be possible because of budgetary restrictions, for the benefit of members of Beth Emet
• Judaism is Light Fund – provides assistance for young men and women from bar/bat mitzvah through college, with the goal of developing and nurturing a love for and understanding of Judaism
• Dr. Richard I. and Marian Kaufman Leo Baeck Scholarship Fund – subsidizes Beth Emet’s Leo Baeck candidate scholars at Leo Baeck School in Haifa, Israel, or, to promote special/supplemental educational programs for young children and families sponsored by Beth Emet
• The Zelda Klass Memorial Endowment – provides support for the children’s library and to sponsor a storyteller for children’s library programming
• The Solomon J. and Lillian J. Krug, David and Florence L. Fingeret Fund – provides updates to the Beth Emet library collection, modernization of the library and a book for every newborn congregant’s child and every kindergarten student in the religious school on his or her fifth birthday
• Gloria and John Levin Fund – provides for religious or educational programs, and/or for the maintenance of Beth Emet’s Torah scrolls
• The Bunny Lipschultz Memorial Program and Family Life Fund – supports lectures or work-shop programs addressing one or more topic areas related to family life
• Harold Miller Family Fund for the Homeless – makes funds available to Beth Emet’s Tzedakah Fund Committee for the support of homeless in Evanston and surrounding communities
• Sydney and Sarah Mogul Concert Fund – provides support to defray the cost of the annual Sydney and Sarah Mogul Concert
• Lewis and Anita Perlman Fund – supports youth programming and the maintenance of a youth room at Beth Emet
• Rabbi David and Aviva Polish Lectureship Fund – establishes and supports annual lectures at Beth Emet
• David D. Polk Adult Jewish Studies Fund – underwrites courses and special lectures in Hebrew and Judaic studies for adults at Beth Emet
• Lenore Sherwin Education Fund – provides opportunities for creative and innovative Judaic educational programming for early childhood through twelfth grade at Beth Emet
• Samuel Sherwin Memorial Scholarship Fund – provides scholarships for children at Beth Emet to attend Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute Camp in Wisconsin or other comparable religious affiliated camps
• Singer Fund – Supports annual educational programming
• The Beth Emet Spiritual Music Fund - devoted to the use of music , including new compositions and innovative melodies as part of our full cycle of worship services, the teaching of music as part of the educational curriculum, musical outreach and any other activities or programs which are consistent with the above
• Edward Yalowitz Memorial Fund – supports the acquisition, maintenance or improvement of equipment, programs or physical plant at Beth Emet, or to help Beth Emet members in need in ways which would not otherwise be possible because of budgetary restrictions.