Sustaining Pledges - FAQ
KB is piloting a Sustaining Pledge approach for membership contributions rather than traditional membership dues. Read on for answers to commonly asked questions about Sustaining Pledges. If you have a question not answered here, please reach out to KB's Treasurer or Presidents.
Q: How should I decide what to pledge?
Kahal B’Raira means Community of Choice, and your pledge amount is ultimately your choice. If your financial means allow it, you can’t go wrong pledging the suggested amounts. If your financial means are more constrained, pledge what you can. KB values inclusivity regardless of means, and KB should be a meaningfully positive part of your life. If you have the means to give more than the suggested amount, we encourage you to do so. Every pledge above the suggested amount helps support other members of our community with more constrained finances. Our budget expects that we will have many members pledge the suggested amount, some pledge more, and some pledge less. For more, please see our guidelines on deciding your sustaining pledge amount.
Q: Will KB still ask for donations throughout the year?
Yes. The membership sustaining pledges replace our traditional membership dues, but an important part of our budget still relies on generous donations from both members and visitors. That said, we plan to closely track our pledge revenue versus our budget, and if we are ahead of our goals we will consider shortening or even skipping our annual appeal in the spring.
Q: How do our membership pledges relate to Sunday School tuition?
Our Sunday School tuition continues to be based on a fixed cost per student, with discounts for the 2nd and subsequent students from a family. (Our Sunday School tuition revenue doesn’t cover all of our school expenses; the congregation as a whole provides considerable support to the school.) If our membership pledge pilot is successful, we may consider adopting something similar for school tuition in the future, but we are not changing our tuition approach at this point. Families with a high financial burden from tuition & membership may choose to pledge a lower amount for membership than they otherwise might. Families can also request tuition waivers in confidence by emailing KB’s Treasurer, Lee Feigenbaum.
Q: What does it mean that we’re piloting this sustaining pledge approach?
This is new for our community, and there are lots of things that we’re unsure of and expect to learn as our community tries this approach for the first time. To make sure we’re focused on learning together and measuring our success, we chose to structure this change as a pilot for at least the next two years. Depending on how successful we are with our three objectives–inclusivity, financial sustainability, and membership growth–we may decide to extend the pilot, adopt the sustaining pledge approach permanently, or revert back to traditional membership dues.
Q: I’m a new or prospective KB member; what does this mean for me?
We’re hopeful that our sustaining pledge approach makes your decision to join KB easy. We’ve heard from many prospective and new members that while people appreciate KB’s open-door policy for visitors, it’s tough to fully experience the KB community without joining up as a member. If you’re a new member who is unsure about the KB experience, we encourage you to join, try out the breadth of our community’s programming and activities, and use the sustaining membership pledge approach to reduce your personal risk in trying out KB for your first year. Of course, if you’re excited about joining KB and have the financial means, we still encourage you to pledge our suggested amounts!