OUR FINANCES

I am so incredibly proud that I get to serve as board treasurer for such a vibrant, diverse community like Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation. As treasurer, it has been one of my goals to create a culture of transparency when it comes to our synagogue’s finances. That means helping each of our member families understand what the sustaining annual commitment amount is, and why that amount can change from year to year. Frankly, before becoming treasurer, I was not sure myself of what giving at “sustaining amount” really meant.

IHC’s “sustaining amount” is the amount of money that each member family would need to give to temple to fund our congregational dayto-day operations without the need for additional fundraising. For 2023, the sustaining amount is $3,168. Conversations among key decision makers along with decisive number crunching help determine this amount each year. In keeping true to my goal of transparency, I will admit, that before becoming a board member, I did not clearly understand why giving at sustaining amount was so vital to our synagogue’s prosperity. It simply means that IHC can fully and effortlessly live out its mission statement: from life cycles, to religious school, and everything in between, as seen in the graph on the righthand side of this page.

IHC believes that one’s financial ability should never be a barrier to entry into our community. Every dollar matters. Every gift counts. We are so appreciative of what everyone is able to give. My sincere ask is that if you are able, please consider increasing your annual commitment The same goes for those whose commitments have not changed in a number of years For years, my commitment remained unchanged, simply because I did not know just how much my dollar mattered Now, I do I hope you too understand the power of your annual commitment and how it strengthens our synagogue now and for years to come

My best,

Ben Abraham IHC Board Treasurer