Emor m’at, v’oseih harbeh - “Say little, do much” - Pirke Avot 1:15
Recently, I realized that I have been extensively involved with two very large fundraising campaigns in my life - the Bonim campaign to build a new Temple Sholom building ($2 million so far) , and the 36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave ($500,000 so far) to raise money and awareness for treatment of childhood cancer. Both campaigns were very different, and I had very different roles in each, but from where I am sitting, I can see some common threads and common lessons I’d like to share:
1) Don’t be afraid to ask - again - This was advice shared by our fundraising consultant, Barry Judelman, years ago. I would say that it is probably the least followed advice. The advice is not for the giver, but for the person often called the solicitor - the one reminding people to give. There are plenty of people who resent being asked for money. There are few people who do not feel rewarded by doing good. The balance is to help people understand that it sometimes takes the former to get the latter. Let’s be honest - very few people seek out opportunities to give before being asked. Most people intend to give, but are put off by all the needs of the moment. The person asking is there to gently remind that there is a long-term good, and that every donation is needed.
2) Don’t get frustrated - Surprisingly, this can be advice for donors as well as solicitors. Sometimes, soon after the good feeling has started to fade, those who have given wonder if they have been chumps (friers - in Hebrew slang). No one wants to feel that they have been taken advantage of, that they are the only ones who have given and everyone else is freeloading. Human beings live in society. We judge our behavior by the conduct of those around us. That does not mean we cannot occasionally take reward from the merits of our own actions, without worrying about whether others follow suit.
3) Say little, do much - Shammai’s quote from Pirke Avot has come to my mind as I watch hundreds of people click “like” on my St. Baldrick’s campaign, but only dozens donate. At the beginning, I thought - “If you really ‘like’ the campaign, then why aren’t you giving?” The reality is, I have no idea - perhaps they gave to someone else; perhaps they just wanted to be supportive. It made me re-think the very quick “likes” that I give on Facebook - what promises am I assumed to be making that I did not intend to fulfill?
4) No gift is too small AND Don’t be afraid to give until it hurts - These may seem to be contradictory, but, in fact, they are not. We have heard from the Bonim campaign that people have not given because they cannot imagine sparing $10,000. For St. Baldricks, I’ve raised about $3,000 to date - but seventy other rabbis have been involved and raised more or less than that. Together we have raised over half a million dollars - from gifts as small as $5 and $10. The important thing is to give - to be a part of the project; to be able to know that some (even miniscule) part of the floor you will soon stand on, was paid for by you.
And, a final Bonim plea, although the building is rising, and we have financing in place to pay for it - there is still more money needed. Every dollar pledged or donated now will save not only that dollar, but whatever we might pay in interest AND keep that money in our operating budget. The rabbis teach that everyone should give tzedakah - even the poorest whose only income is tzedakah. We are all commanded to look out for others, to help in the common good. We are all stakeholders in the future. So, whatever you can give $18/month, $18/year, even $18 for the five years of the new Bonim campaign, give it a shot. You’ll feel better.
Rabbi Abraham
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