Dorot (Our Capital Campaign)

Once a generation our community identifies its most critical needs and engages in a major fundraising effort. We aspire to meet those needs so that we remain vibrant and sustainable. That time is now.

Dorot is Hebrew for “generations.” This campaign is rooted in the concept of “L’dor v’dor,” from generation to generation. Dorot helps fund our sacred obligation to hand down traditions, values and teachings, and to work actively to improve our community and our world for those to come. The campaign includes the opportunity to make a special “Dorot” multi-generational gift by adding members’ parents, grandparents and grown children.

Capital campaigns roll out in stages. Campaign leadership worked from late 2024 through early 2026 to obtain advance and leadership gifts from our Board, staff and major donors. This “quiet phase” (and the funds raised) is the foundation for “going public” and reaching out to the entire congregation. We now look forward to our volunteers meeting with many congregants throughout the remainder of 2026.

The Dorot campaign aims to raise at least $3M.

Thanks to the generosity of advanced and leadership donors, we have raised over $2.7M!

Member feedback and intensive board and volunteer planning drove all established campaign priorities. Dorot enables critical building repairs and improvements, adds clergy capacity, sends groups to Israel and children to Jewish camps and strengthens our endowment. Together, these investments ensure that our congregation itself will endure l’dor v’dor, for more generations.

Here is an overview of Dorot’s comprehensive and engaged approach:

1. The Temple Sinai community surfaced interests and needs during a robust strategic planning process completed in December 2022. This information was instrumental in building the campaign plan.

2. Temple leadership and campaign consultant Demont and Associates interviewed over 100 members to better understand critical needs and fundraising capacity. 

3. The building committee oversaw two engineering studies to further assess the most pressing building needs. 

4. The board, staff and campaign volunteers worked together to establish the four campaign priorities. 

5. Staff and congregants got involved in working groups for each priority – building, clergy search, and scholarships – to ensure that Dorot reflects the needs and will of the community.

Unfortunately . . . no. Throughout the campaign, we worked to better establish the costs of each campaign component, and we used congregational input and Board discussions to refine and prioritize immediate and longer-term needs. But increased costs for the people, travel, and construction needed to serve the (exciting!) growth of our congregation mean that the funds raised by the Dorot campaign will not, alone, meet all our needs. 

These needs existed before the start of the campaign. Thanks to the generosity of all those who have and will contribute to the campaign, we will be at least $3 million closer to being able to fund the top priorities. And, if we exceed our $3M goal, the Board will be better able to meet more needs sooner and without identifying additional funding sources!

If you are interested in speaking with a campaign volunteer about your family’s gift, just call the office to request information and someone will be happy to talk with you. Campaign volunteers will be visiting various Temple groups and events to share more details about the campaign

Dorot is for generations past, present and future. Every type and amount of gift matters and shows the breadth of support from our congregation. When added together they offer the kind of shared future of learning, worship and community Temple Sinai exists to provide. We hope that every Temple Sinai family gives at a level that fits its budget and contributes to this one-in-a-generation campaign.

Picture your own home at age 40 – was it or will it be time for an update?! Our building was constructed in 1985. While it has undergone various renovations over the years, it is clearly time to implement recommendations from two engineering studies, replace our end-of-life HVAC system, roof and kitchen utilities and brighten up our shared spaces for the next 40 years.

At this moment Temple Sinai has the gift of an extraordinary Rabbi who does triple-duty as a Rabbi, a music-maker, and a teacher. Under his leadership our congregation continues to grow. We must put in place succession planning that enables our beloved Rabbi to continue to serve the community while attracting and welcoming the next generation of spiritual leadership to support him, and ultimately to help lead Temple Sinai into the future.

Endowments support the mission and operations of religious and nonprofit institutions into perpetuity. They are funds of donated assets generating the income required to ensure continuity “from generation to generation.” Growing our endowment enables us to honor the vision of the founders of Temple Sinai, meet pressing needs and respond to unexpected expenses, and build an even brighter future for upcoming generations. 

Dorot is a “comprehensive” campaign and offers a surprisingly large number of ways to give:

• Cash gifts

• Annual contributions

• Irrevocable bequests in wills

Added together these options represent a comprehensive campaign contribution. Putting the options together in a way that works for you makes it easier to stretch and to maximize a Dorot gift.

We anticipate wrapping up active campaign solicitations by January 1, 2027, and celebrating a successful campaign early in the new year.

Donors can contribute to the Dorot campaign over a four-year pledge payment period ending in December 2029. Should you wish to pay your full gift up front, you may do so. By offering a multi-year payment option, many donors will be able to contribute at higher levels. You decide how best to distribute your gift over the years of the campaign.