Building/Fund Raising Monthly Update

O ur current building has been our home since 1964. It has contained our laughter and our tears, hosted family celebrations and seen so much love beneath its roof. Now it needs our love in return. We have a roof to mend and a very unsustainable heating system to fix, as well as a long-held desire for us to make it a more beautiful, welcoming, inspiring and environmentally responsible home.

We have been exploring for the past 3 years. We were successful in a planning application to expand our footprint and make some substantial changes. Post-Covid, we recognise a more modest endeavour is more appropriate and have gone through a rigorous and diligent process of appointing an architect to lead us through this. Mills and Power will be observing us at work and prayer to see how we use our building and more importantly, the changes we can achieve within our budget. We will not be moving out during these improvements and we will try as much as possible to work in school holidays to make lives as easy as possible for Southover School, our important weekday tenants.

We have estimated £650,000.00 as an ambitious yet (hopefully) realistic goal to raise. We hope to do so from your generosity and also from grants which we are identifying and are applying for with guidance from Barnet. (If you have skills in this area, we need you to join our team.)

Amazingly, in pledges, gifts, and a legacy, we have raised almost £250,000. This means we are a third of the way there. We hope that every member of our synagogue community will contribute and be part of this, in whatever way you can. Obviously with £400,000 to raise there is a need for some transformative gifts but we are hopeful as we work on this. We will be inviting you to get involved and will be approaching you all, with a view to kicking off in two evenings at the end of March.

Our fundraising philosophy, like our community, is vibrant; we are and will be:

• Audacious, proposing a fundraising goal to create the home we deserve.

• Bold, recognising that there are many compelling causes in our world and yet knowing our community is worth our efforts, our focus, and our commitment.

• Inclusive, asking that everyone gives so our building reflects us all.

• Dignified, thanking everyone who gives, visibly or privately, and using language that honours the sacred role of philanthropy in creating a better world.

We will ask everyone in our community to give what they can. Current members and past members, family and friends who see what FPS means, as well as those in the broader community who know and love us. We urge you to consider who in your circles would respond positively if asked to support this project.

Please save the dates for one of our “Sip and See” evenings - Tuesday 28 March or Saturday 25 March for a chance to view our anticipated plans and be part of this exciting new venture for us.