Financially Speaking 

Shir Tikvah is made up of families who do what they can do financially, but it is the care for one another that is our real wealth. We hope that you make Shir Tikvah a priority in your annual giving. Thank you

Our Revenue Vision - Recently the Shir Tikvah board appointed a Revenue Task Force to study Shir Tikvah’s revenue and look at new ways of “doing business.”  Based on the Revenue Task Force recommendations, we then formed Team Nadiv to help educate all members about our financial vision and how we would like to move forward with a new approach to membership giving.

Our Current Financial Situation - The Revenue Task Force concluded that the concept of “fair share” - asking for 2% of a member’s income - not only has been confusing to congregants, but it is not helpful to our budgeting process (given its unpredictability).  Running a congregation of 470 households and maintaining a building is surprisingly expensive.  

Our mission over the next few years is to educate our congregation on Shir Tikvah’s financial realities and increase membership contributions.



  • Our budget is about $1M which covers our basic expenses. Divided by 470 households, this equals $180 a month per household; or $90 per month for a single household. 
  • Only 130 households give at the $180 a month level, we would like to see more households at this level or higher. 
  • Many of our households do not have the financial ability to do more and that is ok. This increases the need from those who can do more to help those who can't. 

In the future we must budget responsibly both for our annual expenses and for future needs, including the expansion of programs, deferred maintenance and capital costs.

  • 72% of our current budget covers the cost of the staff who lead our services and have a presence throughout our lives, from simchas to family crises, to our teachers and those behind the curtain administrators that make things flow smoothly.
  • 10% covers building overhead -- insurance, High Holy Day rent, utilities, association fees, etc.
  • 16% covers all other expenses (from Tzedakah to crayons) including office and education supplies.

We want to increase our annual pledges

  • “Annual Pledges” (Dues) currently only pay 53% of our budget. Our goal is to increase that to 75% over the next few years.
  • We hope to increase our total number of “Sustaining Households/Individual Members".
  • At the same time no one will be denied membership for financial reasons.
Many of our households do not have the financial ability to do and that is ok. This increases the need from those who can do more to help those who can't. 

Click here to check out the: 
Budget for 2017-2018


The Finance and Administration Committee meets the third Tuesday morning of most months at 7:30 am.  If you wish to attend please contact the Executive Director so we know in advance who is attending and we can welcome you and get you material before the meeting, which helps in the preparation.  

Got Questions? email John@shirtikvah.net

Frequently Asked Financial Questions

Does Shir Tikvah have a balanced budget? The Finance and Administration (F&A) committee works very hard to create a balanced budget. Last year (which ended the year on June 30th) we had a small surplus.  Shir Tikvah is now carrying an accumulated deficit of just over $97,000, which has built up over the years, primarily because of the recession and staff change overs and the associated costs.  For the past two-years F&A put an $18,000 contingency into the budget to cover unexpected costs; last year we did need to use it. 

Do "Annual Pledges" (formally called Dues) and fees cover expenses? No. Annual Pledges/Dues only cover about 53% of the budget. LIfelong learning fees (school/adult ed/etc.) cover about 18% of Shir Tikvah's annual operating budget.  Shir Tikvah's board designated endowment (Shir L'Atid), building rental and Minneapolis Federation Support make up about 10%.  The development committee works to provide inspired moments for joyful giving such as High Holy Day Contributions, Give to the Max, other fundraising activities, and Memorials and Tributes to raise the remaining 14%.

Is each family paying their equal share?  If you took our budget of $1,000,000 and divided it by the number of households (515), the amount needed to cover our cost per household would be about $2,100, which is about the cost of sending 2 children to religious and Hebrew school for a year! Our average pledges (dues) is just over $1,100 - we always seem to need to raise another $130,000 - $150,000 from the congregation each year.  Some families contribute more because they can, and some do what they can. All is appreciated, and we don't turn anyone away. 

Why should I pay $2,100 (or about $180 per month) if I only go to Shir Tikvah a few times a year?  Shir Tikvah is here for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you are ill or a loved one dies, the clergy are here for you. At joyous times in life - anniversaries, weddings, baby namings and B'nei Mitzvah, we are here for you.  Shir Tikvah never sleeps and so your financial support keeps us going to stand up for what is right (or left) in the community at large and makes sure we are here for all of you when you need us.

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