Sustain Our Community
While we appreciate every single Annual Sustaining Contribution from those who have committed to developing a Sustaining Relationship with Bet Alef, our community still requires contributions and support over and above the budget that those contributions allow.
By inviting our friends and members into relationship, with a vested interest in the people and pursuits of our community, we believe that we can tap into limitless financial potential. We’ve outlined a few specific funds below, but those are merely to inspire you to think of ways in which your contribution and your financial investment support not only the current happenings in our community but lay a groundwork and foundation for us to grow and flourish and reach many more in our community.
Reparations Fund
Bet Alef has established a Reparations Fund with the purpose of tangibly acting toward enabling a process of healing and whole-ing by supporting the strengthening of African American communities and Indigenous People after centuries of violence and racism inflicted upon them. We acknowledge, thereby, that we have benefitted from an economic system built on genocide, stolen lands and slavery, and join others in this effort of atonement and repair as part of the Jewish practice of Tikkun Olam.
Our first recipient in this effort is the Nehemiah Initiative Seattle which seeks to empower the African American community in the Seattle region and beyond to support the retention of historically Black institutions by advocating for development of real property assets owned by those historically Black institutions.
Michael Geller Fund
The Michael Geller fund has been set up in-memoriam by his children and his wife, Carolyn, to both honor his memory and preserve his legacy to our community. Michael Geller’s deep love for our community and his dedication to see it thrive in the long term was exemplified by his years of service as a member of its Board of Director and as its President.
The fund represents Bet Alef’s Endowment Fund and is invested in a Mutual Fund managed by Bet Alef and its Board. Just as Michael had a vision of Bet Alef as a prosperous sustainable community for generations to come, so is the purpose of this Endowment Fund. We seek to support its growth through various means of gifts—i.e. cash, stocks, bonds etc…—and have restricted its use to only be a vehicle that will eventually ensure Bet Alef’s long-term financial security.
If you share in our friend, Michael Geller’s vision, you too can make a donation here or contact our office manager for a deeper Legacy Giving conversation.
Ongoing Community Support
Annual Sustaining Contributions are the fundamental building block of our budget. Learn more about developing a Sustaining Relationship with Bet Alef by emailing us at administrator@betalef.org or calling the office at 206.527.9399.
With world-class musicians and a unique musical style for our Shabbat Services and Holy Days, we can always use financial support for new music, better sound equipment, and inviting friends from around the world to join us in making music together.
Our children and youth benefit from some of the best educators that Seattle has to offer. Your contributions to this program allow us to make it more financially accessible to all, even as we ensure that we are investing in our youth, our educators, and our curriculum.
Like most religious organizations, Bet Alef has, from its inception, set up a Rabbi Discretionary Fund. Its purpose is to address needs among congregation and community members. Typically, Rabbi Olivier uses this fund to provide support for rent, utilities, medical bills and the like, for members in need or — from time to time — for people outside of our community.
Donations to this specific fund are always welcome,
Occasion-Based & Seasonal Giving
We invite members of Bet Alef to light a candle at Shabbat Services in honor of a special blessing or celebration. This can be a celebration of a recent accomplishment, a memorial to a loved one, or anything else you would like to share. It is a tradition, and part of that tradition is to give a gift in honor of that memory. The recommended donation is $18, as a celebration of “L’Chaim” (represented in gematria by the number 18) – “To Life”!
You can also join us in person or online during our Shabbat candle lighting to have this occasion read at Shabbat by Rabbi Olivier – please email us at administrator@betalef.org or call us at 206.527.9399.
A Yahrzeit remembers those whom we have lost on the anniversary of their passing. We read their names to remember them, even as we say Baruch Dayan Ha’Emet – which means “May their memory be a blessing.” Part of our tradition invites us to give in honor of their memory, to support the community that supports us in our own lifecycles.
Jewish tradition also invites contributions on occasions of celebrations – such as weddings or baby namings, as we shout “Mazel Tov” with our friends and rejoice with them as they rejoice.