Door to the Future Campaign News

As of May 31, we’ve raised close to 3.86 million dollars from 192 gifts or pledges.

As of May 24, we’ve raised close to 3.86 million dollars from 192 gifts or pledges.

Dear Temple Family

Following last week’s Temple Board meeting, I want to assure you that our Board is committed to the goal of renewing our 47-year-old building to achieve an inclusive, accessible, safe and inviting space that is within our means, now and in future.

The Building Renewal Steering Committee (BRSC) and its subcommittees continue working diligently towards bringing viable options to the Board in June.

While we realize that cost savings to make the project achievable will likely mean giving up some elements of the building design, we are committed to maintaining the key functional priorities.

Some elements can be deferred to when funds become available in future, however others cannot. Once the options have been presented to the Board, the Board will then offer recommendations to the congregation. After suitable briefings, Temple members will have the opportunity to vote on the future project and associated costs, any property sale, and any mortgage commitment.

We are immensely encouraged by this community-wide effort to find the right path forward for our Temple In addition to BRSC members and our consultants, we are very grateful for expert input from members and beyond.

So far, 192 pledges or gifts from 300 households have been made and we are proud of this tangible demonstration of support and the amazing $3.86M raised.

At the same time, we are also approaching the larger Jewish community, Jewish philanthropists and other charitable foundations, and pursuing government grants for relevant opportunities. Our volunteer team of canvassers, co-chairs and staff have done an amazing job.

If you would like to designate a gift to the campaign or increase your gift, please be in touch with a Door to the Future Co-chair.

We continue to rely on your support to reach our goal.

Shalom,
Miriam Burke, President

As of May 17, we’ve raised close to 3.85 million dollars from 190 gifts or pledges .

As of April 26, we’ve raised close to 3.83 million dollars from 182 gifts or pledges.

The Building Renewal Steering Committee continues to meet and work towards providing the board with analysis and recommendations for a path forward.

BRSC has a Construction Sub-committee (Mark Palmer, leading), a Finance Sub-committee (Steve Mendelsohn, leading) and the DTTF Campaign Tri-Chairs and Cabinet who are working on the challenges of the Building Project.

In response to your questions, two new FAQs have been added to the Building web pages:

FAQ: Why are we not expanding our building by adding a new floor?

FAQ: Could we relocate the planned new building entrance?

Read the answers to these questions and other FAQ on the building on our FAQ page.

As of April 26, we’ve raised close to 3.782 million dollars from 179 gifts or pledges.

We are researching foundations and other sources of grants for the Building project. Our thanks to Kim Doran, a member of Temple’s Giving Committee, for her help in identifying government programs. Yasir Naqvi, Temple’s Member of Parliament has been contacted for assistance.

If anyone knows of other relevant sources or can offer grant writing help, we would be grateful to follow-up. Check out this FAQ for more information about grants to the building.

Temple has a Grant Application policy and process as part of the Fundraising Policy. See this policy.

Dear Temple Family,

As many of you are aware, Temple’s Building Project estimated costs have increased from $4.3M to $6.5M due to rising costs of labour and materials, a longer construction period and several specific unforeseen factors that exceed our contingency plans.

We remain strongly committed to enhancing our physical home – the Temple of tomorrow will be arenewed and expanded building. The proposed changes will create a more accessible, secure, and harmonious building that will revitalize kehillah (community), strengthen programming and secure our Jewish future for generations.

Let’s feel very proud that we have raised close to $4M! Some members have offered increased pledges &/or accelerated payment schedules to help reduce the costs of bridge or interim financing. If you would like to assist with this, please contact one of the Door to the Future co-chairs. We are also exploring external sources of funding.

The Building Renewal Steering Committee (BRSC) is hard at work exploring savings to align our projected construction plans to meet our available projected funding. This includes adjustments to the concept design that reduce cost and retain key priorities. To better understand how the residential property adjacent to Temple may be leveraged, possibly for mortgage or sale, we are seeking an official appraisal of the bayit property. No decision to sell this property has been made.

Relocation of Temple staff, school or services is not planned before June 21.

During this period of reflection and intense exploration, BRSC is keeping the Temple Board informed of developments and preparing to recommend a path forward for Board consideration.

Thank you to everyone for your support, volunteer work and patience as we work towards addressing the imperatives of inclusivity, accessibility and enhanced security for our building and our community.

Miriam Burke, President
Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg

As of April 26, we’ve raised close to 3.78 million dollars from 176 gifts or pledges.

As we shared in late March, Temple’s Building Project costs have increased from $4.3M to $6.5M due to rising costs of labour and materials, a longer construction period and several specific unforeseen factors that exceed our contingency plans. We are not considering a change of design at this time.

We remain strongly committed to the goals of the Project: a more accessible, secure, and harmonious building that will revitalize community, strengthen programming and secure our Jewish future for generations.

The Building Renewal Steering Committee (BRSC) is working intensively to identify savings and raise funds. BRSC is briefing the Temple Board regularly and plans to recommend a path forward for Board consideration.

BRSC Committee

As of April 19, we’ve raised close to 3.726 million dollars from 173 gifts or pledges .

Our timeline is urgent

By now, you are aware that we at Temple Israel face a major cost increase for the Building Project. Originally estimated at $4.3M, our renovation costs are now estimated at $6.5M.

As we outlined in our March Zoom meeting, this increase is essentially due to construction and interest costs, and the Building Renewal Steering committee is consequently actively seeking ways to address these costs.

The Door to the Future Campaign is extremely grateful for the gifts and pledges received to date – $3.726M! However, to be successful, we also need to gain a further understanding of the financial capacity within our congregation.

We are pleased to have heard from many congregants of their strong commitment to Temple and to addressing the imperatives of inclusivity, accessibility and enhanced security for our building.

To provide more financial support to the project, we appeal to everyone to consider increasing your pledge. Our timeline is urgent as we present options to the Board this month.

At this time, we seek pledges not cash donations. We are also considering a longer payment period than the present 4-year term, 2023-26.

If you can help, please be in touch with your Door to the Future canvasser or a Campaign Co-Chair.

On behalf of all the volunteers working to realize our plan for a safe, accessible, inclusive future Temple, we appreciate your serious consideration of this request.

Christine Kessler, Margot Montgomery, Gary Viner,
Door to the Future Campaign Co-Chairs

We’ve raised close to 3.726 million dollars from 171 gifts or pledges.

Building Renewal Update

Follow up work by the Construction committee and Finance group is ongoing, and strategies to move forward with the Campaign continue to be discussed. The Campaign Cabinet (Door to the Future committee chairs) met last week and canvassers continue to contact members. Our total number of pledges continues to move upward and we’re now at $3.726. Please be in touch with your canvasser or reach out to a co-chair to let us know the status of your pledge this month. Knowing our fundraising capacity will help the Board consider the best path forward to our common goal – an accessible, safe and renewed spiritual home!

Building Committee Steering Committee

As of April 4, we’ve raised close to 3.724 million dollars from 169 gifts or pledges, an incredible feat.

Building Renewal Update

On behalf of the Board, the Building Renewal Steering Committee is hard at work examining ways to find savings and exploring new sources of funds related to the building project.

We recognize that we face uncertainties related to the higher costs of construction, however, we’re committed to the renewal of our building.

As a community, we have a lot to be proud of! To date, our fundraising efforts have resulted in a commitment of $3.724M. That said, about a third of Temple families have not yet confirmed their pledges. The reality is that the greater support we can demonstrate as a community, the stronger our case is for moving the project forward and the better we can plan and forecast our finances. We understand there are many factors involved in making personal financial decisions, and we accept your call on this.

At this time, we’re not asking for your money; rather, we urge your participation in the Campaign in the form of a pledge. Please be in touch with your canvasser or reach out to a Co-Chair to let us know the status of your pledge in April.

The next Board meeting is April 20 to consider the path forward.

Join us on this journey to our common goal – an accessible, safe and renewed spiritual home!

Building Committee Steering Committee

As of March 29, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.72 M from  166 gifts and pledges, including lead donors, Temple members, and non-members.

We are holding an information session on Zoom on March 29 at 7:30 pm.

As of March 21, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.68 M from 160 gifts and pledges, including lead donors, Temple members, and non-members.

This week’s volunteer profiles are on Louise and Lorne Rachlis. Get to know Louise and Lorne! We thank Louise who writes all of our profiles. Enjoy!

As of March 14, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.62 M from 146 gifts or pledges, including pre-campaign donors.

This week’s volunteer profile is on Ruth Middlebrook. Read a longer version of this profile, get to know Ruth! We thank Louise Rachlis who writes these profiles. Enjoy!

The Door to the Future Campaign is well underway with $3.49M already pledged, representing 81% of the Campaign goal of $4.3M.

As of March 8, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.61 M from 138 gifts or pledges, including 15 pre-campaign donors.

This week’s volunteer profile features Jan Jones. Read a longer version of this profile. These profiles are created with the help of Louise Rachlis, a member of the Marcom committee. Enjoy!

The Door to the Future Campaign is well underway with $3.49M already pledged, representing 81% of the Campaign goal of $4.3M.

As of February 28, 242 of the 305 Temple families have been approached by one of our volunteer canvassers. Thank you to everyone who has responded positively to the canvassers’ calls! Special thanks to the Young Families Committee for organizing the Mini-Photoshoot event on February 12. It was an amazing community-building event that helped raise over $1300 for the Campaign.

Owen Purcell-Sutherland and Robin Chernick kindly donated their time and expertise for the mini photo shoot fundraiser event that was organized by the Young Families Committee of the Door to the Future Campaign. Read a longer version of this profile. These profiles are created with the help of Louise Rachlis, a member of the Marcom committee. Enjoy!

As of February 21, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.48M from 92 gifts or pledges, including 15 pre-campaign donors.

This week’s volunteer profile is on Cynthia Powell. Read a longer version of this profile, get to know Cynthia! These profiles are created with the help of Louise Rachlis, a member of the Marcom committee. Enjoy!

The Door to the Future Campaign is well underway with $3.37M already pledged, representing 78% of the Campaign goal of $4.3M. Thank you to everyone who has responded positively to the canvassers’ calls!

And just as the fundraising campaign is moving ahead, so is the Building Renewal Steering Committee (BRSC).

As the campaign progresses, BRSC is preparing for the next stage of the renovation project: seeking Board approval to proceed with the building construction phase.

Since January 2023, the BRSC has been active on numerous fronts: working with Figurr Architects to refine the detailed design, preparing financial analyses for the Board based on campaign results and construction cost estimates, and overseeing plans for relocation of the synagogue services during construction.

The BRSC was established in Fall 2022 when the renovation project was first approved by the Board and then endorsed by the congregation in October 2022. (The Building Renewal Action Committee was dissolved following the congregation’s positive vote.)

The BRSC’s purpose is to oversee the renovation project with a mandate to:

• Implement and coordinate the renovation project, meeting timelines within budget
• Oversee contractors, including Colliers Project Leaders, Figurr Architects, Philanthropica, and other consultants with unique expertise
• Report regularly on the project status to the President, Executive and Board
• Liaise with Temple Israel staff to respect principles of good administration, minimize disruptions to regular operations and maintain good working relations

The current BRSC members are:

• Miriam Burke, Chair (Board President)
• Margot Montgomery, Campaign Co-Chair also responsible for communications (Board Past President)
• Gary Viner, Campaign Co-Chair
• Mark Palmer, responsible for construction and liaison with Colliers Project Leaders (Board 2nd Vice President)
• Stephen Mendelson, Board Treasurer
• Garry Kessler, Chair of Finance Committee (Board member)
• Rabbi Mikelberg
• Heather Cohen, Executive Director

The full Terms of Reference for the BRSC. See the Terms of Reference.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about our progress so far. If you have any questions about the project, please contact me or other BRSC members.

I look forward to updating you further in the months ahead.

Miriam Burke
Temple Israel President and Chair of BRSC

As of February 14, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.37M from 81 gifts or pledges, including 15 pre-campaign donors. This represents 78.4% of the Campaign goal of 4.3M.

Special thanks to the Young Families Committee for organizing the Mini-Photoshoot event. It was an amazing community-building event and it helped raise over $1300 for the Campaign.

This week’s volunteer profile is on Sarah Caspi. Read a longer version of this profile, get to know Sarah! These profiles are created with the help of Louise Rachlis, a member of the Marcom committee. Enjoy!

As of February 7, our Door to the Future Campaign has raised a total of: $3.16M from 62 gifts or pledges, including 15 lead donors.

Our second campaign volunteer profile is Jim Merson. Read a longer version of this profile, its almost like a visit to catch up on Jim’s news! These profiles are created with the help of Louise Rachlis, a member of the Marcom committee. Enjoy!

I’m excited to let you know that following a competitive process, McDonald Brothers has been awarded the Construction Management contract for the Design Development phase of Temple Israel’s building renewal project.

In collaboration with Figurr Architects, Colliers Project Leaders and other consultants, McDonald Brothers Construction has begun pre-construction work.

The areas to be covered include a field review of the project, a topographical survey, and an electrical engineering review. The design development phase is taking place now, and in March/April the construction phase will select the trades.

“Tzedakah is a “Mitzvah” – a commandment and good deed – having the implication of obligatory duty.”

Read Gary’s entire message on Tzedakah

Meet our Door to the Future Campaign co-chairs, team leaders and volunteers.