Community
Board of Deputies asks synagogue members to pay more towards funding
Annual communal contribution to rise from £30 to £35
December 12, 2023 10:30
Annual communal contribution to rise from £30 to £35
December 12, 2023 10:30The Board of Deputies has voted to increase the communal contribution - the amount members of affiliated synagogues are asked to pay towards its funding - for the first time in seven years.
The annual donation, which last went up in 2017, will rise in the coming year from £30 to £35 a member.
Treasurer Michael Ziff said it could take a year before the benefit comes through to the Board but believed “we’ll see an increase of 15 per cent”.
Last year, the Board budgeted for around £700,000 from this source - around 48 per cent of its income - but in the end collected just over £600,000, according to its accounts for 2022; however, a substantial legacy helped to increase its income for the year.
Earlier this year, deputies were warned of concerns that returns from the communal contribution had been falling,
Recruitment of staff was frozen earlier this summer and other spending restrictions imposed in order to reduce overheads.
Mr Ziff had earlier hoped to claw the organisation back to break even for this year, but the organisation has incurred additional costs as it coped with the fallout from the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Last week it launched regular vigils in Westminster to call for the return of the hostages held in Gaza.
The Board is meanwhile preparing a document to circulate around synagogues to encourage members to pay the annual contribution.
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