A Message from
Friends,
Imagine you could write a letter to future generations – what would you tell them so they can build a future bright with hope and promise?
We would tell them to build their character on the moral teachings of Torah and tradition we have advanced from generation to generation, to fulfill their sacred duty to protect the vulnerable and the weak, to pursue justice and goodness, and to open their hearts with love to the Jewish people – those in their household, in their community, in Israel, and around the world.
Our Jewish heritage and tradition is often called a Tree of Life – and all the branches of that tree extend from a trunk with roots that run deep. The synagogue is that trunk – it is the source from which all of Jewish life grows, and from which all that makes life holy and wondrous will bloom.
In this crucial moment in Jewish life, we must ensure that our congregation will have everything it needs to nourish and strengthen the spiritual lives of each and every one of its members – now and forever.
Temple Beth El’s endowment campaign will ensure that, no matter what, our synagogue will remain the vital, collective heart of a community built on a foundation of love.
It will be the enduring legacy of our time. Our gift to the future.
Now is the time for us to BE the Future of Temple Beth El.
Rabbi Dan Levin
Our Legacy
In 1967, our rich history began when a small group of Jews recognized the need for a spiritual home in Boca Raton. It would grow to become Temple Beth Ela bedrock of hope, light and spirituality for people of all ages.
Our founders’ incredible legacy still reverberates today.
Their legacy grew the roots that nurture our enduring connection with Temple Beth El. It is inscribed in the hearts we touch and carried forward in the generosity we bestow.
Temple Beth El is our lifeline – our support and inspiration that guides us through our most meaningful moments. It connects us to the Jewish teachings and traditions that ignite our spirit and define our personal identities as Jews.
What
good is all we have
done if we do not ensure it is sustained forever?
Temple Beth El of Boca Raton groundbreaking, 1973
Strength Against Uncertainty
Temple Beth El members joined the March for Israel in Washington, D.C., 2023
As the future stretches before us, an eruption of antisemitism has made us realize, yet again, how much we need each other and the Jewish community – how much we need Temple Beth El. It is impossible for us to imagine our world without Temple Beth El.
And it is our goal to ensure that the generations to follow will never have to.
We have learned that one incident, locally or abroad, can take a thriving Jewish community and bring it to its knees, fighting for its very survival.
We have learned that we must be diligent in teaching our children who they are – to instill moral clarity in an ever-more-confusing world.
Temple Beth El must be endowed with deep and fortified roots to bear fruit for future generations and provide stability for an uncertain future.
Can you imagine a Temple Beth El without the resources available to...
• Combat local and global antisemitism
• Sustain a community through worldwide pandemics and natural disasters
• Be the shelter during economic hardships
• Ensure a space where we feel safe to simply be ourselves
Be The Future
OUR ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN TO SECURE TOMORROW
We need your help to raise an additional $18 million to sustain a vibrant, meaningful and essential Temple Beth El. By acting today, we will help tomorrow’s congregation be prepared for whatever the future holds.
Future generations will have the needed resources to ensure our beloved synagogue will persevere regardless of the difficulties that may come. Together, we have worked so hard to build and curate the intimate Temple experience you know and love.
Together, we have built bonds of love, inspired and uplifted thousands, and forged a dynamic and caring Jewish community.
Now, it is our duty to create a living legacy for generations to come. What greater mitzvah can there be?
I
When I was
a young girl, I was a victim of an antisemitic act.
see the same atrocities happening again today. I never want any child to go through that horrific experience. Our children need to feel safe and protected by their Jewish community.
That’s why the future of Temple Beth El is so important to me.
– TEMPLE BETH EL CONGREGANT
IF TEMPLE BETH EL IS A MEANINGFUL PART OF YOUR LIFE…
Let it Be a Meaningful Part of Your Legacy
We may not be able to be part of the future, but we can still shape it, just as Beth El has shaped our lives. Our participation in the BE The Future Campaign is a powerful way to show the generations to come how incredibly vital our synagogue’s future is –to us, and to them.
– GINA AND GREG SHUGAR
When YOU choose to BE The Future, you ensure that:
• Temple Beth El will always be a place to call “home”
• Members remain engaged and connected, regardless of ability to pay
• We can retain unparalleled and distinguished clergy and staff to create exceptional Jewish experiences that transform our lives
• Our community feels safe on our beautiful, inviting and accessible campuses
• Technology is employed to accommodate those who may be physically or geographically limited from accessing in-person services
• Future generations can navigate the inevitable challenges and opportunities necessary for Jewish life to thrive
Will you BE The Future and ensure that Temple Beth El is always an enduring legacy passed on from generation to generation?
We insure everything we care about. If it matters, we have insurance for it. We insure our health, our automobiles, our homes, our lives.
JOIN US in building the strong and fortified endowment that is essential to Temple Beth El’s long-term financial sustainability.
Tomorrow’s Temple Beth El Needs You Today
The most impactful way for you to BE The Future is to ensure that your gift is both meaningful to you AND the current and future generations it will benefit.
There are many ways to contribute to the BE The Future Campaign.
It would be our pleasure to assist you in discussing both the formation and structure of your gift as well as the desirable naming opportunities and dedications available to commemorate your generous and enduring commitment.
In addition to single and multi-year donations, members can leave their legacy as a bequest.
• Endowed Chair Naming Opportunities begin at $1,000,000
• Program Naming Opportunities begin at $100,000
• Physical Space Naming Opportunities begin at $100,000
• Legacy Memberships begin at $90,000
• Named Endowments begin at $36,000
Gifts of any amount will be recognized and appreciated in perpetuity.
Thankful for Our Future
The generosity of your commitment begins with our thanks today and continues well beyond tomorrow.
The Temple Beth El community of the future will forever find comfort and strength from the warm embrace of your enduring legacy.
Together, we will BE The Future, member by member, moment by moment, piece by piece and gift by gift.
Thank you for your participation, your generosity, and your commitment to Temple Beth El.
Four generations of the Hankin/Schultz family
Your Legacy at Temple Beth El
ENDOWMENT NAMING OPPORTUNITIES
Temple Beth El has been a source of light, hope, comfort and inspiration for generations. With the growth of our endowment, we can ensure it will remain so for generations to come.
In addition to memorializing your generous legacy commitments on the Podolsky Digital Community Recognition Wall at the Schaefer Family Campus, your legacy can shine as a beacon of light, welcoming members of our community through naming opportunities to endow essential temple positions, programs, and physical spaces.
ENDOWED CHAIRS
Senior Chair in Rabbinic Studies Endowment$5,000,000
The Senior Rabbi is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El. This endowment funds the essential work of the Senior Rabbi in creating a community where each member is inspired to lead a life of spiritual richness, meaning, purpose, and service. Endowing this Senior Chair solidifies the wisdom, guidance and spiritual leadership that enables worship services and religious programming to flourish.
Rabbi Endowed Chair (2 available) - $2,000,000
Rabbis at Temple Beth El go above and beyond spiritual leadership and religious programming. These funds will ensure that Temple Beth El can continue to employ a sizably efficient clergy team of Rabbis who are able to provide widespread pastoral care and help make a larger congregation feel like a small, intimate shul.
Senior Cantor Endowed Chair$1,500,000
The Cantor is the musical cornerstone of Temple Beth El. This endowment ensures the position responsible for ensuring that vibrant and spiritual Jewish music continues to inspire and transform Temple Beth El’s programming and worship.
Cantor Endowed Chair - $1,000,000
With two campuses and over 1,900 member households, Temple Beth El must employ a dynamic cantorial team. This endowment ensures the resources to continue providing musical programming and worship for our youngest to our oldest members.
ENDOWED PROGRAMMING
Early Learning Center - $5,000,000
The Beth El Early Learning Center is Boca Raton’s top choice for preschool, childcare and beyond. Funds from this endowment will help ensure that children thrive in an atmosphere of friendship, curiosity, self-esteem, Jewish values, joy and respect. Your legacy gift will be at the forefront of enriching education and the stimulating curriculum which lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning, immersed in our Jewish roots.
Religious School - $3,000,000
Temple Beth El’s Religious School provides the meaningful curriculum and impactful guidance for Jewish children to flourish during their transformative years. Endowed funds allow Temple Beth El to educate our children so that they grow to be literate and confident Jewish adults who find meaning in their identity and their tradition.
Social Justice - $1,800,000
Over nearly 70 years, Temple Beth El has been proud to help those less fortunate and to fight injustice in our community, country and around the world. Funds will be used to expand the social justice program and allow Temple Beth El to increase its impact and become a stronger voice in targeted areas of inequity and the underserved. Additional Program Endowments are available. See next page for additional naming opportunities
Physical Space Dedications
Schaefer Family Campus Star of David (building exterior) $100,000
Member Forever Endowment
The Member Forever Endowment for Temple Beth El offers a Lifetime Congregational Commitment Endowment (Legacy Membership) as another opportunity for our members to provide for the future, by ensuring that your current and future congregational commitments are provided for. You will be forever listed as a member of Temple Beth El.
A minimum gift for the Member Forever Endowment is 25 times present annual congregational commitment ($90,000). Payments may be made in cash or stock or approved asset transfer — with one lump payment being preferred.
The option is also available to make a gift in installment payments within five (5) years during which time we ask that congregants also pay their congregational commitment, reducing the amount by 20 percent each year (see example on reverse side).
You are entitled to an income tax charitable deduction for the gift amount; and if appreciated securities are contributed, taxable capital gain may be reduced substantially.
No additional contributions are requested as annual congregational commitments increase; however, the Temple may ask the donor to consider increasing their endowment as future operating costs increase.
Annual congregational commitments described above exclude annual fees such as the Temple’s Security Fees.
All donors to Temple Beth El’s BE The Future Campaign who donate $90,000 or more and are not receiving a dedication of a physical space, item or program will be recognized as part of the “Member Forever Endowment Fund.”
See example on reverse side >>>
How The Member Forever Endowment Can Work For You
David and Sarah would like to endow their congregational commitment of $3,600 per year by making a gift of $18,000 in cash each year to the temple for 5 years:
Year 1: $18,000 total contribution x 4%* = $720 current congregational commitment paid from Endowment
$2,880 paid by donor “out of pocket”
Year 2: $36,000 total contribution x 4%* = $1,440 current congregational commitment paid from Endowment
($18,000 initial + new $18,000)
$2,160 paid by donor “out of pocket”
Year 3: $54,000 total contribution x 4%* = $2,160 current congregational commitment paid from Endowment
($36,000 initial + new $18,000)
$1,440 paid by donor “out of pocket”
Year 4: $72,000 total contribution x 4%* = $2,880 current congregational commitment paid from Endowment
($54,000 initial + new $18,000)
$720 paid by donor “out of pocket”
Year 5: $90,000 total contribution x 4%* = $3,600 current congregational commitment paid from Endowment
($72,000 initial + new $18,000)
$0 paid by donor “out of pocket”
Based on this illustration, after Year 5, David and Sarah will be Legacy Members and their congregational commitment is forever satisfied.
*4% is the average annual interest earned that Temple Beth El will be able to draw from the principle of your contribution.
How to Leave Your Legacy
AT TEMPLE BETH EL
There are many ways to leave a legacy at Temple Beth El. The following information should not serve as tax or legal advice, and we recommend you consult with your attorney and/or financial advisor before moving forward. If any of these giving opportunities are of interest, we are happy to provide further details.
Single or Multi-Year Pledges Spreading your BE The Future gift over a few months or years will go a long way in meeting our goal to fund 50% or more of the campaign in cash.
Bequests By naming Temple Beth El in your last will, you keep control of your assets during your lifetime while making a lasting impact on our temple community. We would be pleased to provide you or your attorney with sample language to help you achieve your goals.
Retirement Funds Because special tax considerations apply to retirement plan benefits, they are a good choice for charitable bequests. Simply name Temple Beth El as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or another qualified plan, and, after your lifetime, the allocation from your plan passes to Temple Beth El tax-free.
IRA Charitable Rollover Currently, if you are 70 or older, you can take advantage of the IRA Charitable Rollover and provide a gift of up to $100,000 a year from your IRA directly to Temple Beth El. This generates neither taxable income to you nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions. The IRA Charitable Rollover also reduces your required minimum distribution (RMD) thereby reducing your taxable income, while benefiting Temple Beth El. If you have not yet taken your required minimum distribution for the year, an IRA Charitable Rollover gift can satisfy part or all of that requirement.
Life Insurance By irrevocably assigning an insurance policy to Temple Beth El, it becomes owner and beneficiary while you receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction. By purchasing a new policy specifically for Temple Beth El, you receive an annual charitable income-tax deduction for payment of the policy premiums. Another option is to name Temple Beth El as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy. In that case, you would retain ownership of the policy and have access to its cash value but receive no charitable income tax deduction.
As we embark on our campaign to BE The Future, we are grateful for those who have already created endowments at Temple Beth El, planting seeds to bear fruit for current and future generations.
Please scan the QR code to view our current list of named endowment funds.
561-391-8900 www.tbeboca.org