Celebrating the Future - Temple Shalom Establishes Organizational Endowment Fund
by
Stu Slayen | Dec 04, 2017
Over the past few years, the membership of Temple Shalom has been engaged in heartfelt and passionate discussions about the synagogue’s identity and vision.
“We’ve had crucial conversations about what role we want to play in the community,” says Linda Freed, President of Winnipeg’s only Reform congregation. “We want to be – and we will be – relevant for the long term.”
The synagogue launched its $1 million dollar capital campaign in early November. The campaign includes the establishment of an organizational endowment fund at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. The fund already has $84,000 and Freed hopes that number will at least double through the course of the campaign.
“When you have a fund, you have a future,” says Freed. “The endowment fund will help us enhance our programming in perpetuity and celebrate our brand of authentic liberal Judaism with our members and with the community as a whole.”
Freed calls Temple Shalom a “disruptor” and is proud that her congregation has been early to adapt to the changing needs of the community. “We were the first congregation in Winnipeg to have a female rabbi, the first to have music on the bimah, and the first to conduct same- sex and interfaith weddings and burials,” says Freed. “Our capacity to adapt bodes well for our future as the community continues to change. We hope to always lead, and we hope to continue to share the beauty of Jewish liturgy and Jewish practice. That’s why our endowment fund is so important to us.”
Freed and her colleagues on her Board are confident that Temple Shalom members will rally behind the campaign and the endowment fund. She is also pleased to note that non-members are demonstrating an interest by making significant donations.
“As members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community, we are rightfully proud of the diversity of programs and services available for a community of our size,” says Freed. “Temple Shalom offers a vital service, essential to the community’s well-being. For some Jews in Winnipeg, Temple Shalom is their only connection to Jewish life. That is worth supporting for the long term.”
Temple Shalom is a participant in the Jewish Foundation’s FundMatch initiative. Every donation made to Temple Shalom’s endowment is matched through the FundMatch initiative. For more information on FundMatch, click here.