YES Fund

The YES Fund was named in 1955, but the tzedakah roots of WRJ that initially were centered around rabbinic scholarships date to 1913, the same year the organization was founded. Over the past century, the YES Fund has raised millions of dollars through a combination of dedicated campaigns and product sales for projects which include: building the dormitory at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati and the URJ Headquarters in New York, establishing the Jewish Braille Institute (JBI International), founding the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), and helping to create the first URJ camp.

With your support, the YES Fund will continue to grow Reform institutions, fund clergy education, and inspire our youth. Inspired by the past and committed to the future, your gift today builds on our 100-year legacy and keeps Reform Judaism vibrant.

Through the YES Fund, WRJ is able to achieve what no one individual or one sisterhood could accomplish alone as it represents the collective efforts of our sisterhoods and our individual donors to advance our mission of strengthening Reform Judaism in our congregations, in North America, and around the world.

• The YES Fund trains future leaders of Reform Judaism by providing scholarships for rabbinical and cantorial students at HUC-JIR’s four campuses, Leo Baeck College in London, the Ibero-American Institute for Reform Rabbinical Education (IIFRR) in Buenos Aires, and Geiger College in Berlin.
  
  

• Support of youth is among the YES Fund’s proudest achievements. WRJ founded and continues to support NFTY, as well as URJ Camps and Israel programs, where youth build friendships, establish strong Jewish identities, and develop leadership skills. The YES Fund was among the initial donors of the URJ Campaign for Youth Engagement (CYE) when it launched in 2011 and continues to support programs that engage and inspire Reform Jewish youth.
  
  

• The YES Fund also provides annual support to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), helping to fund an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant, who advocates for Jewish values and social justice.
  
  

• The YES Fund’s reach is global, providing support for the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and its programs around the world. The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) receives funding to continue the struggle for religious pluralism in Israel.

Ask your sisterhood and sisterhood members to donate annually to the YES Fund. Donations made during the WRJ fiscal year (July 1-June 30) are credited to sisterhoods for the YES Fund honor roll level.

For more information on the YES Fund and how you/your sisterhood can help,
please contact WRJ Manager of Philanthropy
Shari Schulner
212.650.4072

Make Your Sisterhood a YES Fund Winner!

Here are the three award levels your Sisterhood can reach based on YES Fund contributions:

• Roll of Chair Honor - Contribution of $18 or more per member

• Roll of Special Merit - Contribution of $10 or more per member

• Roll of Honor – Contribution of $5 or more per member
  

WRJ recognizes the pressing current needs of our global Reform/Progressive Jewish community but is also aware of the need to plan for the future. Those who contribute to the WRJ YES Fund Lifeline Endowment Fund, the annual interest of which directly supports the YES Fund, are helping to ensure it endures l’dor vador (from generation to generation).

YES Fund Lifeline gifts are also a meaningful way to recognize someone who has touched your life or to honor a confirmation, graduation, an ordination, or as a memorial.

Upon completion of a YES Fund Lifeline level (listed below), you will receive a handmade sterling silver or 14K gold pin with the appropriate gemstones corresponding and signifying your generous contribution. Payment plans can be arranged.

Centennial Lifeline: $100,000
Emerald Lifeline: $36,000
Diamond Lifeline: $18,000
Pearl Lifeline: $10,000
Gold Lifeline: $5,000
Silver Lifeline: $1,800

Personal YES Fund donations in any amount are always welcome and appreciated.