Securing Tomorrow: A Campaign for Our Future — Beth Meyer Synagogue’s endowment campaign — is a permanent, self-sustaining investment that generates annual interest income for our synagogue. Whereas dues and annual gifts are critically important for supporting the immediate operating and program needs of our shul, contributions to the Beth Meyer endowment are special gifts — legacies of permanent support that empower us to meet future challenges and opportunities more confidently.
Our goal is to raise $5 million for the endowment to fund short-term and long-term needs in the areas of Campus Preservation, Lifelong Jewish Learning, and Innovation.
Gifts at all levels, multi-year pledges, and planned gifts are welcomed as we build the endowment together and secure a sustainable future for the Beth Meyer community. We hope that every household will consider making a personally meaningful gift knowing that no matter the size, your contribution will become a permanent part of Beth Meyer’s future.
The world around us may be uncertain and troubling, but for a century and a half Beth Meyer’s families have found joy and solace in building a community together. With your support, our synagogue — our spiritual home — will continue to thrive well into its next century. Just as generations before us founded Beth Meyer in 1875 and carried our Torah scrolls to Newton Road in 1983, there is a role for all of us in helping our growing community thrive for years to come.
Joyous Growth in our First 150 Years
In 1875, Beth Meyer’s founding congregation — Raleigh’s entire Jewish population — convened for worship in a single room of Michael and Regina Grausman’s home. By the time a jubilant procession carried the synagogue’s Torah scrolls from West Johnson Street to Newton Road in 1983, more than 200 families called Beth Meyer Synagogue their spiritual home. During these 150 years, the tiny shul of our founders has blossomed into a thriving, diverse and welcoming congregation of nearly 500 households.
Preparing for our Next 150 Years
From the time of its founding, a hallmark of Beth Meyer Synagogue has been its vision, courage, and preparedness for the road ahead. When our congregation built a large sanctuary 40 years ago, Beth Meyer’s leaders did so knowing that more Jewish families were coming. We needed to meet them with open arms and a gracious space.
As the only Conservative synagogue in Raleigh, Beth Meyer attracts more members every year and is committed to offering dynamic new ways to serve our diverse needs. Now we must look forward once again, continuing our collective journey to build a proactive, innovative, welcoming, and financially stable center for Jewish life in Raleigh and Wake County for generations to come.
With the congregation’s input, the Board of Trustees identified three areas where increased endowment support can most benefit Beth Meyer’s present and future: Campus Preservation, Lifelong Jewish Learning, and Innovation. The goals of the Securing Tomorrow campaign are to raise $4 million in outright gifts to endowment and at least $1 million in planned endowment gifts to support these priorities.
The new endowment fund will generate additional income of $160,000 to $200,000 annually for critical campus and program needs. This will help insulate the synagogue from economic downturns, or a future crisis similar to the recent pandemic. The Board has designated that the annual income from this endowment campaign be spent in the following way: Campus Preservation 40%, Lifelong Jewish Learning 40%, and Innovation 20%. Through wise investing, the Securing Tomorrow endowment and the annual income it produces will continue to grow over the years for the benefit of our congregation.
$1 Million in Planned Gifts
Planned gifts will create an additional legacy of long-term support to sustain the synagogue far into the future. By designating Beth Meyer in your will, retirement plan or insurance policy, you can provide long-term financial resources for the future and care for the well-being of our community. A planned gift can help meet your financial goals while fulfilling your desire to see Beth Meyer thrive well into the future.
$4 million in outright gifts and pledges
CAMPUS PRESERVATION
Preserve, Improve, and Secure
• Fund state-of-the art technology and infrastructure for a safe campus
• Improve campus environmental and energy efficiency
• Build resources for critical repairs and ensure accessibility for those with special needs
• Maintain a high quality, well-functioning kitchen with additional storage
LIFELONG JEWISH LEARNING
Dynamic Programming and Education for All Ages
• Increase preschool and religious school support for families in need
• Invest in professional education for school staff
• Improved teaching technology for our classrooms
• Expand adult learning opportunities, such as Scholars-in-Residence and senior programming
• Enable virtual and online learning capabilities
• Enrich experiences that are core to Jewish religious and spiritual life
INNOVATION
Urgent and Innovative Community Priorities
• Enhance digital and social media communications and congregational offerings
• Support clergy and staff to serve the evolving needs of an active and diverse membership
• Expand community events, such as Shabbat dinners
• Extend our services in Raleigh and Wake County
• Pursue social action initiatives to improve our world
Your Support will Make an Enduring Impact
For nearly 150 years, Beth Meyer has been a vibrant home for Jewish living and learning in Wake County. Members will come and go over time, yet there will always be adults and children who want to fulfill our mission of celebrating Jewish life and repairing the world.
Whether you are a young professional, a busy parent, an empty-nester, or a senior living on fixed income — everyone can make a personally meaningful gift to Beth Meyer’s future. No matter your age or income, you have a role in preparing Beth Meyer for its next 150 years.
Gifts of all sizes will make a transformative impact on the Securing Tomorrow campaign.
Members who wish to make a larger investment of $25,000 or more may consider naming a fund for their family or loved one. Outright gifts can be paid over as many as five years; and you’re never too young to explore planned giving options that leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
We invite you to join in charting a bright future for Beth Meyer that will help ensure our growing Jewish community will thrive for generations to come.
During the Great Recession of 2008, we were able to raise more than $4.7 million to build the Alice and Daniel Satisky Education Building, a space that has helped the Beth Meyer community realize its spiritual, educational, and communal goals. Today, in the wake of a global pandemic, we are reminded that uncertainty always looms in our future.
By investing in Beth Meyer’s endowment, we will provide for the needs of our congregation today and into our next century – building on the foundation of faith, integrity, and extraordinary vision laid down by our founders so long ago.
We Will Do This Together.
“Honi asked an elder: ‘Why do you plant a carob tree that will take 70 years to bear fruit?’ The elder replied: ‘I have seen many carob trees in my time. Just as my forebearers planted those for me so too I will plant these for my children.’”
– Talmud
