a torah thought on fundraising

[cellio]

This past shabbat's parsha, Vayakheil, describes the collection of materials that went into building the mishkan (the portable sanctuary). An appeal went out -- we need gold and silver and linen and "red and purple and blue" (dyes? wools?) and so on, and the people answered the call. Voluminously. Enough that Moshe had to call it off -- they had enough for what they needed now. (Where they got all this stuff is a different question.)

I've heard lots of comments (usually from synagogue treasurers and the like) about how this was the first successful fundraising campaign and would that we could be so fortunate when we need to raise money. I was thinking about this during the torah reading yesterday and found myself thinking that modern fund-raising would do well to follow the guidelines laid out in the parsha. Specifically:

1. There was a clear connection between the donations being requested and the goal that was being pursued. Everybody would be able to look at the product (the mishkan) and see how the donated materials were put to use. That's easier with goods than when everything is mediated through bank accounts, but I think many organizations can do better on this nonetheless -- starting by disclosing the costs of the fundraising (i.e. how much of my donation never makes it to its intended purpose?). In my own experience, when my congregation had a campaign several years ago toward building renovations, the board was very up-front about the planned renovations and the budget, and also that any excess would be placed in such-and-such fund for such-and-such purpose. Very open and up-front, and the donations came.

2. They asked for contributions at various levels. Not everybody can afford to give gold but some of them can give linen. They didn't say "ok, if all you can send is linen that's ok"; they asked for linen. The person making the donation could feel like a first-class donor. How many times has your donation to some charity been met with "can you do any more?" outweighing the "thank you so much for helping"? Great way to make donors feel valued, eh?

3. When they had enough they said so. This idea seems ludicrous to many fund-raisers I've spoken with -- they ask "why would you cut off donations if they're still giving?". I don't think you necessarily need to cut them off but you do need to be clear that you've met your goal. I experienced a blatant case of this problem some years ago: I was part of a group that was taking pledge calls, and when we were done and somebody asked about some discrepancies, they admitted that we had received more money in pledges than what they announced on-air as progress toward their goal (by quite a bit). They said they did this to keep the pressure on. I said that was dishonest and that was the last time I helped them.

Fund-raising is always going to be with us, and some of it will work well and some badly. The parsha urges us toward clear goals, valuing the donor no matter his contribution, and transparency to help it go well.

Comments

[miz-hatbox.livejournal.com]

HaShem was very precise about what the dimensions, decorations, and makeup of the Mishkan. If you aren't allowed to have seven beaten-gold almond-blossoms (with calyxes) decorating a lampstand that is required to have six, then there's no point in taking more gold than you need.

One of our local public radio stations has structured their pledge drives in the past such that they quit fundraising early once they reached their goals.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

A very thoughtful post on fundraising. I enjoyed reading it.

[richardf8]

This should be on every synagogue president's desk.
Heck, they should bind it for a sign upon their arms and a frontlet between their eyes.

Of course there's always "Pony up, or next week's hummus comes out of a can!"

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

A couple comments on the first-paragraph issues only, not on the point of the full post.

* I had always sort-of imagined the "red and purple and blue", here and (e.g.) when Hiram is described as being skilled in working with "gold and silver and linen and red and purple and blue" that what was meant was fabric, specifically wool and/or linen. But yeah...when one speaks of "purple" in this context one usually means "purple dye" as in "Tyrian purple. So maybe we are talking about dyes here.

* I've always assumed that when the people left, they, well, took their stuff. Being slaves, one assumes that isn't much, but do we really know what the economic condition of an Israelite slave was? What, if anything, they were allowed to own? Perhaps the deal was that they weren't allowed to own land, or livestock, and so were forced to work in what jobs they were allowed...like the construction trades %^). That would be pretty similar to the condition of the Jews for millennia after, certainly. But then there's the pesky "not allowed to leave, either" business %^J.

* We know that when they left, they pretty much plundered the Egyptians, so in fact, that's where I've always assumed the gold and silver (and prob'ly most everything else) came from.