Here’s how to donate:
Payment by check: Download the Tzedakah Initiative Donation Form by clicking here and complete all relevant sections of the form. Please be sure to indicate on the Donation Form if there is more than one person making the donation; also indicate if the donation is being made in honor/memory of someone, and if you would like someone to be informed of the donation please include the pertinent contact information.
Make your donation check out to Beth Shalom, with “Tzedakah Initiative” clearly indicated on the memo line of the check. Mail the check, with the completed Donation Form, to: Beth Shalom, 3750 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47401.
OR
Payment by credit card:
All donations by credit card will include a convenience fee of 3.49%. There is no fee if you would like to mail a check to Beth Shalom.
Click on the Donate button above. In addition to providing payment information, please be sure to indicate if there is more than one person making the donation; also indicate if the donation is being made in honor/memory of someone, and if you would like someone to be informed of the donation please include the pertinent contact information.
Tzedakah Initiative
The mission of the Tzedakah Initiative is to raise money for Tzedakah (charity) from Beth Shalom members and friends. Donations are “bundled” and once a year awarded to one or more local not-for-profit organizations that have had a positive and supportive influence on people in need here in Bloomington. Some money is held in reserve so that we can quickly respond to local community emergencies.
The suggested annual donation amount is $90 per person (or $180 per two-adult household). You may give more or less; any donation makes you a member. The gifting period for the Initiative is January 1st through December 31st of each year.
At the end of each year, there is a gala/meeting to which all members of the Tzedakah Initiative are invited. Before then, the members of the Steering Committee vet local non-profits and select several which they think might be deserving of receiving Tzedakah funds. Each group’s mission and effectiveness in the community are presented to members at the gala/meeting, and members vote for the organization(s) they wish to receive our gift.
In 2015, the Tzedakah Initiative awarded $3,000 to the Bloomington non-profit Stepping Stones. In 2016, $4,500 was awarded to Community Kitchen; and in 2017, $5,500 was given to Volunteers in Medicine (VIM). In 2018, we selected the previous three runners-up and split our total donation of $6,000 among The Shalom Center, Amethyst House, and Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard. In 2019, $6,500 was awarded to New Hope for Families. In 2020, $8,000 was given to Fairview Elementary School; in 2021, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard received $6,000; and in 2022, $5,000 was awarded to New Hope for Families.
Questions? Please contact the office of Beth Shalom, or a member of the Tzedakah Initiative Steering Committee: