TBE Virtual Annual Meeting 2020 - Program

And

Seventh Grade Aliyah Ceremony

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 Via Zoom at 7:30 p.m.

Temple Beth El Annual Meeting May 27, 2020 Welcome and Opening Remarks ...................................................................................Carl Weinberg, President Rabbi’s Report .............................................................................................................Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Written Reports Executive Director Report ............................................................................... Steven Lander, Executive Director Education Report .......................................................................................................................Lisa Gittelman Udi Director of Congregational Learning Engagement Report.................................................................................... Jami Fener, Engagement Coordinator Financial Report.......................................................................................................... Robert S. Cohen, Treasurer

Fund Raising Report ....................................................... Dana Horowitz / Steven Sosnick, Committee Co-Chairs Sisterhood Report ........................................................................................ Karen Resnick, Sisterhood President

 Nominating Committee Report and Election of Trustees .................................................................... Jeff Cohen Outgoing Trustees Recognition...................................................................... Lisa Manheim, First Vice President Ceremony for Religious School Graduates (including special video) .........................Rabbi Joshua Hammerman Lisa Gittelman Udi Presentation of the Fred Weisman Tikkun Olam Award ...............................................................Joan Weisman Given to our front-line medical and service professionals who are keeping us safe and are keeping us going, represented by Dr. Allison Ostroff and USPS employee Russell Roloff Presentation of the Teen Volunteer Award .............................................................................Lisa Gittelman Udi Given to Ethan Moskowitz and Michael Rose TBE 100th Anniversary Video Presentation............................................................ Created by Stephanie Zelazny Adjournment ................................................................................................................................... Carl Weinberg

Nominated for a 1-Year Term Ending in 2021 David Amsellem Hi, I’m David Amsellem. My partner is Carly Brinster. I was born and raised in New York City, and moved to Stamford in 2009, joining TBE shortly thereafter. I have three children: Nora (14), who is a freshman at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE), and who had her Bat Mitzvah at TBE in 2018; Vanessa (12), who is in the 6th grade at Turn of River Middle School; and Jacques (16 months), who mainly is focused on climbing up and down the stairs.

I am a Managing Director at Piper Sandler, an investment bank and institutional brokerage firm. I am a senior analyst in our investment research business, where I focus on the pharmaceuticals industry. I enjoy baseball (long-suffering Mets fan), running (lower back permitting), and reading history. I am grateful to be a part of such a vibrant and inclusive community here at TBE, and as someone who will be new to the Board of Trustees, it is an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to help TBE continue to thrive and to help shape its future.

Nominated for Their First 3-Year Term Ending in 2023 Lori Bushell Hi! I’m Lori Bushell. My husband Victor and I have been proud members of TBE since 2005.

My daughter Abby is currently a junior at the University of Southern California and Hannah will be starting at the University of Michigan in the fall. I recently retired from the practice of orthodontics after almost 27 years in Stamford. Now that I am retired, I was asked to get involved by becoming a member of the Board of Trustees, which I am happy to do. Since my husband and I will be empty-nesters come the fall, I will have some extra time on my hands. I also like to cook, play tennis, take walks along the beach in Shippan, and spend time on our boat. I feel fortunate to be part of our Jewish community, and I look forward to getting to know everyone on the BOT as well as the inclusive community TBE has.

Jon Eisenstein Hi, I’m Jon Eisenstein. We moved to Stamford in 1999 with a plan to be here for “up to 5 years.” After trying out several synagogues over a couple of years, we found TBE to be the congregation that we really connected with. Today we match the definition of the modern family, including Sarah (15), who attends Westhill High School, and Austin, who attends BCHA and will be joining his sister as a TBE B’nai Mitzvah this fall. I followed the same path, having gone to Hebrew day school until high school in Houston.

Most of my background is in technology and product development, most recently in the Impact Investments space, so you might find me geeking out with some newfangled technology or planning our next international adventure. I am excited to become a new Board member, and I’m looking forward to getting much more involved with TBE and the broader Jewish Community.

Leslie Glenn My name is Leslie Glenn. I have been a member of TBE since 2012 and have lived in Stamford since 2003. My partner Neil Katz and I have 4 kids between us (and a soon to be son-in-law), between the ages 14 and 27. Zachary, our youngest, is in 8th grade at The King School and became a Bar Mitzvah at TBE last year. I work at Signify Health, a healthcare technology company, leading large hospital system clients in Episodes of Care plans. For the past 5 years, I have been an active member of the United Way of Western CT Stamford Community Council. In my free time, I love running and cycling, spending time with friends and family, and traveling. I am looking forward to joining the TBE board and giving back to the TBE community.

Jeff Turshen

Shalom. My name is Ira Jeffrey Turshen, but I go by Jeff (interesting story). My wife Sharon and I joined Temple Beth El in 1989, soon after we moved to Stamford. Our son and his family live in Rhode Island, and our daughter and her family live in Manhattan. After earning a Ph. D. in Biomedical Engineering, I worked in a variety of public, corporate, and academic positions focused on quantitative methods and/or health care systems. For the last 14 years I have been a math tutor (while in semi-retirement). Sharon recently retired after a 38-year career as a public school administrator of special education and student services.

At this point in our lives, we are mainly focused on our five grandchildren (ages 7 - 2) and our mothers (both in their 90s). We also take a number of courses and attend various lectures, festivals, book talks, and other presentations. Over the years, we have volunteered in a variety of capacities within the Stamford community. Most recently, we have helped to transition the TBE Discussion Group into the TBE FORUM, and Sharon will be coordinating the next TBE High Holiday Food Drive. We are grateful that TBE has been such a wonderful spiritual center for our family, and we have remained active members after moving to Norwalk 6 years ago. I look forward to helping TBE continue to be the warm, inclusive, vibrant and welcoming community we all enjoy.

Nominated for a Second 3-Year Term Ending in 2023 Devra Jaffe-Berkowitz

Nominated for a Third 3-Year Term Ending in 2023 Robert S. Cohen Arthur Laichtman Daniel Young

Out-going Board of Trustees Members We thank the following Trustees for their Board service: Ed Berman Ken Broder Barry Strom Adam Tronick

Teen Volunteer Award Recipients

Ethan Moskowitz Ethan Moskowitz has served as a madrich for our Religious School for five years. He has assisted in the office and worked with students in the younger grades every Sunday morning. Ethan has also served as a madrich for our High Holy Days children’s programs, helped set-up, run, and clean-up every Purim carnival, assisted with other holiday activities for families and children, helped the Men’s Club build the High Holy Days bimah, and assisted with the Yom Kippur food drive.

Ethan has also spent countless hours as a volunteer in the wider Stamford community. He helped with Israel Day celebrations as the JCC and volunteered for Maccabee Games in past years. He has been an active member of the BBYO Leviticus chapter for five years and has participated in a number of BBYO community service and fundraising activities. Ethan served as an ambassador at Westhill High School, helping with new student orientation. He has done volunteer work for Person to Person, Jewish Family Service of Greater Stamford, Inspirica, and the Fairfield County Food Bank.

Ethan is extraordinarily reliable and flexible, always willing to take on any task with a cheerful attitude and a friendly smile. He is a much loved role model for our youngest students, and we at TBE truly appreciate his admirable qualities.

Michael Rose Michael Rose has worked faithfully as a madrich for the our Religious School since eighth grade. He has helped with several classes, serving as a student aide and role model for our children. He has always worked hard to assist the teacher to the best of his abilities and was often successful at helping to manage the most challenging students. Several of these students came to see him as a true role model as he served with the same class more than one year, developing a strong rapport with several students in the class. Michael has also served as a volunteer at TBE for the Purim carnival, High Holy Days children’s programs, bake sales, and several other Temple community service projects.

In the greater Stamford community, Michael volunteered as a coach for three years at Cardinal Baseball Camp, working with five through seven-year-olds to help improve their skills. He was also a member of the Kuriansky Teen leadership program for the past two years, learning about the traditions of tzedakah in the Jewish community and working with a group of teens to raise money for charitable organizations and deciding how to allocate the funds raised.

Michael’s helpful and friendly attitude and his commitment to the TBE Religious School, Temple Beth El, and the Stamford community have truly served as a positive example.

Reports Steven Lander, Executive Director Annual Meeting Report - May 27, 2020 It seems that each year I begin my report with “Wow, what a year.” I’ve always said that in the context of our programs, fundraising and activities. This year I refer to “Wow, what a year” in terms of circumstances and the changing times within our world and the operation of our synagogue. Every organization has had to rebirth itself in how they serve their constituents and we are no different.

We met our goal for the High Holiday Appeal and had a socially and financially successful Temple Rock. We hosted the podcast show “Unorthodox” as part of the Hyacinthe and Harold Hoffman Memorial Lecture, and we had a successful start to celebrating TBE’s 100th Anniversary. All our winter programs were moving along, including the introduction of two new initiatives – TBE Connect and the Immigration Task Force - both of which presented exciting, new programs.

And then the “virus” hit. Despite this major interruption, our staff, board, committees and volunteers all stepped up to help us continue our programming in a different way than any of us could have imagined. Every congregant family was called by over 50 volunteers as a check-in call, not once, but twice and some are being called each week as they requested. A number of volunteers stepped up to shop and run errands for congregants and are still doing that. 60 volunteers made face shields for Stamford Hospital and many volunteers even delivered the supplies and picked up the finished product. We collected money to support the Lower Fairfield County Food Bank and collected well over 100 bags of food for them during two food drives. We distributed hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, bottles of sanitizer and face masks in our ongoing “TBE has got your Back_ _ _ _” campaign – and more are still available. Sisterhood’s Passover Food Sale was the biggest ever with over 90 orders in a no-contact pick-up; and over 60 orders were placed for Zadies challah and cakes for a Sweet Shabbat, and the “Sweet Shavuot” contact-less pick up is equally successful.

Our Zoom classes, services and programming have been very well attended and we thank all those who have come forward with ideas and volunteered to run these events. A special thank you to Stan Friedman, our Zoom guru, for training us to use Zoom and hosting and setting up hundreds of Zoom programs. Who knew what Zoom was before this?

Unfortunately, we had to postpone some of our 100th Anniversary events including our Cantor’s Concert honoring Alberto for 45 years of service (and still going strong), and we look forward to gathering to honor him in the future.

In these times of remote work, our staff really prepared quickly to work from home and the Temple continues to function like a well-oiled machine thanks to their flexibility and devotion to TBE. Thank you, Mindy, Linda and Beth.

Alberto and Rad continue to work each day on spiffing up the Temple and grounds and addressing projects that have had to be delayed because of lack of time or having so many people in the building. Also, thank you to our professional team, Rabbi Hammerman, Lisa Gittelman Udi and Jami Fener. And I look forward to having Katie Kaplan as part of our team.

This is Carl’s last Annual Meeting as our fearless leader. Many thanks for stepping up for an extra year of endless hours as the captain of our ship and leading us onward and forward even in these crazy times. We are so fortunate to have you. Thank you for your leadership for the past three years, and I look forward to continuing to work with you.

Welcome to your new role as President, Lisa, and I look forward to partnering with you to continue the success of TBE as a leader in serving our community.

Also, thank you to our Board and Executive Committee for their support and dedication to TBE. And finally, thank you to our congregation for your continued support.

At this time, let us remember all who have lost loved ones this year, too many from the virus. May the mourners be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem

Lisa Gittelman Udi, Director of Congregational Learning Annual Meeting Report May 27, 2020 Religious School A total of 66 students attended our religious education programs for children from preschool through grade 7.

Innovative Programming This year in Religious School, we continued to incorporate technology, project based learning and interactive activities into our religious education program including the following: · STEAM and Judaism Education program: Students learned Jewish stories, blessings, and values through the implementation of projects that incorporated science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics including the following: o Learning about the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness and making Sukkah decorations from recycled and found items o Learning about Jewish food and agriculture through a visit to a community farm o Learning about environmental responsibility and efficient use of resources in Jewish tradition through the construction of solar ovens from pizza boxes o Exploring Jewish history through building a model of Masada o Learning values associated with Hanukkah and light, building our own lights and creating a glow stick Hanukkah menorah o Learning about being created “in God’s image” through creating our own stethoscopes and listening to our heartbeats · All School Shabbat Edible Torah stories cake projects · Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade Hanukkah Trip to Brighton Gardens · All School “Help a Family for Hanukkah” mitzvah project with Jewish Family Services · 5th and 6th Grade participation in morning minyan services · 5th Grade Masada diorama project · 6th Grade Israel online Projects · 5th Grade online Tzedakah Fair · 5th and 6th grade Hebrew name painting project · 6th Grade Torah portion of the week interactive skits · All School Tu B’Shevat Ice Cream Seder · 3rd-7th Grade Tu B’Shevat Top Chef Challenge activity · Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade model Passover Seder on Zoom · Kabbalat Shabbat service participation by all grades for Hanukkah and 3rd and 4th Grades for Shabbat Across America · 3rd Grade Shabbat set in a Bag · 4th Grade Seder Plates · 7th Grade Mock B’rit Milah ceremony · 7th Grade art project from home · All School Hamantaschen baking · All school mishloach manot making and cookie painting for Purim for Jewish Family Service clients · 6th Grade Tallit making project · Several B’nai Mitzvah Club Shabbat morning worship programs that engaged our 5th through 7th grade age students as they helped lead prayers and blessings and learned about the Shabbat morning service.

We continue to work to incorporate the use of computer software and online apps and programs into our Hebrew reading program for 3rd through 7th graders in the classroom to the best of our ability. We also encourage parents and students to take advantage of the Hebrew apps and online classroom resources that support the educational materials we use in the classroom.

Regular Practice of Prayer and Worship At Temple Beth El, we learn by doing, experiencing, and living Judaism daily. We work hard to communicate to our students not only the importance of learning to read and chant the prayers, but a sense of the spiritual, a way to

connect to Judaism and to God through prayer by engaging in the regular practice of worship. Sunday Tefilah for grades K through 2 as always, was led jointly by Rachel Bahar and Lisa Grove-Raider, our 2nd Grade and music teachers.

Thursday Tefilah was divided into groups. For the first half of the year, 6th and 7th Grade Tefilah was led by Cantor Bear and 3rd-5th Grade Tefilah was led by Hazzan Shamash, Rabbi Hammerman, or Lisa Gittelman Udi. For the second half of the year, our 7th Grade students held their own weekly Tefilah sessions to help them prepare for Bar/Bat Mitzvah. 5th and 6th Grade Tefilah was led by Cantor Bear and Hazzan Shamash and 3rd and 4th Grade Tefilah was led by Rabbi Hammerman or Lisa Gittelman Udi. In addition, our 5th and 6th Grade students often participated in morning minyan with the adults on Sunday morning. Hazzan Shamash also often took students into the sanctuary or chapel to practice prayers and blessings as part of their Hebrew learning.

Making Jewish Education Personal More than ever this year, we worked hard to build strong rapport with our students and to build relationships with their families through emails, phone calls, chatting in the hallway, family meetings when appropriate, and invitations to parents to be present during special programs and at our Zoom class sessions. This year, in lieu of a formal “report card,” we have asked our teachers to write a personal email to parents about each student’s individual learning experience and progress.

Remote Educational Programs Online and Via Email from March 15 to the Present Sunday, March 15, our teachers packed up bags of books and resources for each student and we invited parents to pick up materials from the school office. Since that time, we have offered an “Education at Home” program in the following ways: · Weekly Email “do at home” education activities for every grade including images or links for all learning materials in case families were not able to pick up materials from the school · 3rd - 7th Grade and kindergarten weekly Zoom class sessions lasting 30 to 40 minutes · 3rd - 7th Grade weekly 20-30 minute Hebrew tutoring one on one or students in pairs · Weekly school newsletter including links to stories, movies, songs, recipes, games, and activities children and families can explore at home. · Special Zoom activities: o Jewish Trivia game o Passover Model Seder o 5th Grade Tzedakah Fair planning session o Kindergarten through grade 2 rehearsal session for Shabbat service and then participation in Kabbalat Shabbat service through leading prayers and blessings and a Torah story movie project o End year special Zoom session for first grade o End year teacher phone call to each home for 2nd Grade Teen/Youth Programs This year’s teen activities at TBE included serving as madrichim at our High Holy Days Children’s Program, an 8th Grade Sukkah party and fire pit at the Hammerman’s home, handing out candy at our Simchat Torah celebration, helping at the Hanukkah Dinner and a Hanukkah “After Party,” an 8th Grade sleepover at TBE, a Go-karting, and a visit to an escape room. We had 12-18 participants at nearly every program and over 35 for the High Holy Days. Several of our participants were not TBE members and two families joined TBE in part due to the fact that we have an ongoing program for their 8th grade age teens. Many thanks to Rabbi and Mara Hammerman for helping plan and implement many of our teen programs. We are also very much appreciative of the Mann Family Grant that helps make our teen programs possible.

This year, we had nine volunteer teen madrichim (student aides) helping in our classes on Sunday mornings, three of whom also volunteered their time whenever they were able on Thursday afternoons. It says a lot about our teens’ commitment to TBE and to Jewish learning that so many continue to stay involved with our school long after they finish 7th grade.

Adult Learning Our calendar was full of learning activities for adults this year, including the Annual Hyacinthe and Harold E. Hoffman

Memorial Lecture, Rabbi Hammerman’s and Cantor Bear’s Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, Sue Shapiro’s Hebrew reading class, weekly Israeli dance sessions, Rabbi Hammerman’s “Beyond Dispute” class, Rabbi Ginsberg’s High Holy Days course, Midrash course, Contemporary Jewish Questions program, and online Shabbat Torah study. We also held a number of lectures addressing topics of interest to the Jewish community and to our congregation, including “Addiction: The Opiod Crisis,” “The Fight Against Hate: Charlottesville and Beyond,” “Jews of Cuba,” “Jews of India,” “Ruth Messinger,”and the “Climate Emergency Panel Discussion.” The TBE Discussion Group re-imagined themselves and became the TBE Forum, holding several educational activities throughout the fall and winter months. There was an Interfaith lecture program series that took place in several houses of worship in our community.

Family Holiday Activities This year’s celebrations included the High Holy Days Children’s programs, the Sukkah decorating party, the Sukkot program and Pizza in the Hut, the Rabbi’s Sukkah Hop, the Simchat Torah celebration, the Hanukkah Dinner and After Party, the Tu B’Shevat Ice Cream Seder, the Purim Megillah reading and Acrobat show, Shababimbam and Kids in the Round Shabbat morning services, and the online family model Seder for K’tanim through grade 2.

Plans for the Coming Year Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, we plan to spend the summer developing plans for several possible variations of an educational program for the 2020-2021 school year, including the possibility of a need for an entirely remote learning education program, a modified “in person” education program (one that will meet any upcoming guidelines set for safe educational experiences for children in public schools), and/or some combination of both. We also hope to be able to provide our teachers with training in the use of online resources so that they will be better equipped to make use of them for remote learning.

For youth programming, we will have to be very creative, but I am hopeful that we can develop a program for teens that will be effective online and hopefully in person at some point in the coming year. We built a strong program for this year’s 8th grade and we believe that these students will continue to participate in social and cultural programming if it is offered. We are hopeful that next year’s 8th grade class will also continue to participate in teen programming if we are able to offer activities that interest our participants.

A New Vision for Education at TBE The TBE Board of Education spent most of the school year working to research new possible directions for our educational offerings for families and children. We have explored a number of creative learning programs that are currently being implemented in other communities and have spent many months developing a survey that will soon be sent out to Religious School families, TBE families who are not enrolled in our Religious School program, teachers, interested individuals, families with infants and toddlers, and families who are not yet members of our community. We will use the results of this survey to help guide our plans to develop a new educational program here at Temple Beth El. We plan to spend the coming school year developing a new learning program that will incorporate the best of what we already have achieved in our existing school, but that will offer today’s young families an exciting, relevant, and flexible educational experience that will truly meet the needs and interests of the 21st century Jewish family.

Many thanks to Rabbi Hammerman, Cantor Bear, Rabbi Ginsburg, Steve Lander, Jami Fener, Eileen H. Rosner, the TBE Religious School Teachers, Beth Silver, the TBE Board of Education, the TBE Board of Trustees, the Men’s Club, Sisterhood, and every individual and TBE committee who help make our educational programs truly excellent.

Jami Fener, Engagement Coordinator Annual Meeting Report May 27, 2020 Membership The investment in Young Family programming is having a significant impact on membership · 40+ young families/young couples are TBE members · 11 young families/couples joined in 2019/20 · TBE’s discounted membership rates for Young Families boosted membership significantly (underwritten in part by the Mann Foundation’s grant) Leadership Young Family members are taking on lay leadership roles at TBE · Three current Board members are from Young Families including one who will join the Executive Committee in July · One member of the Cantor Search Committee was from a Young Family · Two of this year’s leading Temple Rock volunteers are from Young Families and Young Couples Programs and Events Here are some of TBE’s programs and events during Fiscal Year 2019/20 that were geared to Young Families · ShaBaBimBam continues to be consistently well attended and meets twice a month on Saturday mornings for families with children up to 5 years old, followed by a congregational Shabbat luncheon (~25 families attend at least semi-regularly, with up to 12 families at any given time) · Several Friday evening Shabbat programs were planned with earlier services and dinners for young families.

These did not have consistently high attendance; they will be discontinued for now, as families have expressed that Friday evenings are a challenging time for programming. · Continued programming geared to children who have aged out of ShaBaBimBam (ages 4-8) such as o Kids-in-the-Round Shabbat morning service, for children ages 4-8, led by Bobby Doowah o My Gym program on a Sunday afternoon during the winter o A Havdalah in Pajamas program was planned for March but canceled due to Coronavirus o A Passover themed Pottery Painting program was planned for March (grades K-3) but canceled due to Coronavirus o Regular parent committee meetings o A recent virtual yoga program · BabyBimBam continues to thrive. This program was created last year to engage families with infants and toddlers ages 2 and under. We held a handful of events this year, including: o “Jam Sesh” several times with a growing number of families in attendance (10 families attended the last two) to join together to socialize and sing along to songs played on the guitar. o “Shmooze & Stroll” local weekly walks were held last summer at various area parks for young families with babies, typically attended by 2-5 people. · Increase in programming to attract more families, with children of all ages · Shabbat Under the Stars (June): BYO Shabbat dinner at the beach with Shabbat-themed music for young families prior to the main Kabbalat Shabbat service at the same location brought together many young families, both congregants and community members. · Picnic at the Carousel (July) · BBQ and Barachu (August): Congregational barbecue and Shabbat evening service (~250 attendees including ~25 Young Families) · Sunday Funday (September) at a play space in the mall- attended by four families · High Holidays Young Families Worship Service for children of all ages · Pre-school Sunday morning educational program K’tanim, which focuses on Jewish holidays and rituals · Sukkot Blessing of the Animals and Pizza in the Hut (October) · Hanukkah Dinner and Shabbat service · My Gym program in January with activities for various age groups (14 families attended) · Tu B’Shevat Ice Cream Seder for families, led by Rabbi Hammerman and Religious School teachers and students · Purim Family Service and Chinese Acrobats

· · ·

A virtual yoga program recently took place this month, with classes for various age groups A family Havdalah program took place this month, with Cantor Katie Kaplan and Rabbi Hammerman Programs are being created to provide opportunities for children and families to perform and learn about mitzvot together. Some of these programs include o Mitzvah Mondays at Jewish Family Service to donate food and help stock the shelves of the kosher food pantry o The Picture Project was created as a way for congregants to send cards, letters, and artwork to local patients and health care workers.

Here are some of TBE’s programs and events during Fiscal Year 2019/20 that were geared to young couples, parents, and other congregants · A Young Couples BBQ (September) with six couples invited and in attendance to plan for the coming year. This group was selected with a mix of both congregants and prospective members. · Pottery painting night with 12 parents in attendance (September) · Young Couples Game Night in Harbor Point (November) with five couples in attendance · A March Happy Hour at Taco Daddy A was planned but canceled due to Coronavirus · Started coordinating with Stamford’s United Jewish Federation’s NextGen group to plan a joint community program for local young adults, involving all local synagogues. This was in the works but was put on hold due to Coronavirus. · The TBE Connect committee was formed to plan engaging programs that encourage connections among congregants. There is very strong leadership in this successful new committee, headed by Denise Greenman and Carol Krim. Some of the programs that were held by TBE Connect include: o Potluck Shabbat (November) at TBE with about 60 people in attendance o Havdalah + Dinner (December) with a Havdalah program at TBE, followed by dinner in eight host homes, attended by about 90 people o A second Potluck Shabbat was planned for March but canceled due to Coronavirus.

Robert S. Cohen Treasurer Annual Meeting Report May 27, 2020 For the eight months through February 2020, we were on pace to be within 1% of our annual budget. Dues, fundraising, and expenses were all in line with the budget. Then the world changed and we changed how we managed our cash and expenses so that we would be in as good financial health as possible. Our major revenue loss was due to the cancellation of the annual Cantor’s Concert.

We have taken several steps to strengthen our liquidity. As you would expect, our Executive Director reduced our cash use rate for the last three months of the fiscal year by some $25,000 per month. We moved some temporarily restricted funds (whose restrictions had lapsed) to our operating accounts, which has also helped us to ride out the storm. Earlier this fiscal year we paid off our last piece of debt, so through this tough time we are currently debt free. And last, we applied for and received a loan through the Payroll Protection Program, much of which we anticipate will be forgiven.

As a result of all these steps, we anticipate that we will end fiscal year 19/20 within a few percentage points of our original budget.

We are working on a budget for next year, which will enable us to succeed financially, no matter what we are allowed to do or not do in person or remotely. As part of our budgeting exercise, we are reviewing our cost structure aggressively to identify potential cost savings without doing injury to our outstanding programming.

To give you a broad idea of income and expenses: ·

·

Revenues: o Dues are some 55% of income o The annual appeal is about 18% o Other fundraising roughly 7% to 10% o Fees ( primarily Religious School and B’nai Mitzvah) 6% to 10% Expenses: o Personnel and associated costs plus medical total about 58% to 62% o Facilities run us about 20% o Religious School and B’nai Mitzvah expenses run some 11% to 13%

Our past vigilance has served us well, but who could have foreseen the circumstances we find ourselves in?

Be assured that our commitment to sound financial management will continue for the coming year and thereafter.

Please be assured that our controls are strong and we take our fiduciary responsibility very seriously. As part of our commitment to that end, we are one of the few temples that commission a full annual outside audit of our books. An added benefit is that our auditors were able to assist us in applying for government assistance.

Steven Sosnick and Dana Horowitz, Fundraising Annual Meeting Report May 27, 2020 We entered this year with our congregation showing its generosity once again, but we are ending it in a period of great uncertainty.

We began the year with concerns about donor fatigue. Our results over the past few years have been quite successful, especially considering the pledges that many congregants also made to the Campaign for Temple Beth El. The Annual Appeal is our largest source of funds after dues. It was gratifying to see that it was within 1% of our budgeted $300,000, though down about $10,000 from last year.

Temple Rock is our next largest fundraising event. Revenues including the paddle raise slightly exceeded the budgeted $100,000, though expenses also slightly exceeded the $20,000 budget, again putting us with 1% of our budget. The net was about $20,000 less than last year, but that event featured an unprecedentedly successful paddle raise for security after the attacks in Pittsburgh and Poway. The scope of the live auction was reduced with little impact to the bottom line. We continue to utilize inexpensive external software to facilitate the event, but there are still improvements to be made. While a large percentage of our congregation participates in and enjoys this annual event, we had some discussion about whether there should be an update to or refreshing of the event’s format. In light of global events, that may be a crucial decision for the incoming administration.

Our third largest fundraiser is typically the Cantor’s Concert. Scheduled for May, it required cancellation because of virus lockdown. There were no expenses borne in the cancellation, but it left a roughly $28,000 revenue hole in our budget. In addition, we hosted a concert with Neshama Carlebach last fall. The event operated at a slight deficit, which was more than made up by a generous donation by Sisterhood.

Fundraising at Temple Beth El was adequate for much of 2019-20 before coming to an abrupt halt. Quite frankly, we have little clarity into how the effects of COVID-19 will affect our congregation and its ability to support fundraising at TBE. Odds are that we will see declines in all our usual metrics – the real question is by how much. Right now we can only guess.

From Steve Sosnick: This will be my final report as Vice President and Chair of Fundraising after five 5 years in the role. When I took over the job alongside then Past-President Sylvan Pomerantz, our goal was to put our finances in a position to be able to withstand a poor fundraising year. To that end, we launched the Campaign for TBE that was ably run by Peter Kempner and his large and dedicated team. The distributions we will receive from the endowment portion of the Campaign will provide some cushion for the impact of the current economic downturn on next year’s fundraising.

Karen Resnick, President - Sisterhood Annual Meeting Report May 27, 2020

We have been extremely busy this year and have had a wonderful Board. Not only did we raise money for the many different needs of the Temple, we became friends, met interesting women and enjoyed ourselves.

We hope to expand the Board next year. Please contact Sisterhood if you are interested!

Here are some of this year’s highlights: Annual High Holiday Food Sale Break-Fast over 500 people Clothing Drive Sisterhood Brunch Costume Jewelry Extravaganza Author and Book Signing Event Lecture on Amelia Earhart Cooking in the Kitchen – Challah Event Sisterhood Brunch with Lauren Redniss The Period Project Passover Food Sale – over 100 orders Organizing Lecture with Matt Baier Starbucks Gift Cards for College Students ZOOM Organizing for Passover with Lauren Hass Geography Trivia (May 2020) Cooking with Fran (June 2020) Sponsor: Ruth Messinger lecture 100th Anniversary: Donated 100 pieces of jewelry to a memory care center Updated Sisterhood By-Laws (June 2020) Gift to Religious School Donation to Temple Rock