Donations at Temple Beth El Knoxville
Your contribution, regardless of size, is deeply valued. Temple Beth El is supremely grateful for your donations. Your contribution will be recognized in the bulletin, and the honoree will receive notification that a gift has been made by you. If you have any questions, please contact secretary@tbeknox.org, or fill out our contact form.
Read more about the following types of donations:
Funds Supporting Congregational Activities
- General Operating Fund: used to support annual expenses of the Temple
- Security: helps provide for security personnel at Temple services and events
- Rabbi Discretionary Fund: funds used at the Rabbi’s discretion for Temple life and those in need
Endowed Funds Categories
Perpetual Funds
Temple Beth El Preservation Fund: supports the needs of Temple Beth El to preserve Reform Judaism in Knoxville. It supports activities not covered by existing endowed funds.
Temple Beth El Endowment Fund: provides for capital expenditures and major maintenance costs for the building
Life Membership Fund: proceeds from previously granted life memberships that can be used for needs of the congregation. These memberships are still available at the approval of the Temple Board.
Temple Beth El Cemetery Trust Fund: funds maintenance and supervision of the cemeteries owned by Temple Beth El.
Jewish Life and Cultural Funds
Erma Gerson Community Fund: recognizes and provides gifts for agencies and organizations with programs devoted to enhancing the life of individuals in our community.
Millie and Samuel Gelber Cultural Enrichment Fund of Temple Beth El: maintains, enhances, and supplements Temple cultural activities and programs.
Stanley and Elise Levy Enrichment Fund: to enrich the lives of members of Temple Beth El and provide for special or unanticipated needs of the congregation.
Del Moro Family Special Needs Caring Fund: supports the mission of the Temple Beth El Caring Committee. This fund aids individuals in special circumstances or extraordinary needs as requested by the Caring Committee. (fix sentence)
Religious Life and Building Funds
Clarence Strasburger Memorial Sacred Music Fund – provides for works of sacred music and equipment related to music or repair of it.
Gelber Family Rabbinic Fund – provides for the educational, spiritual, cultural, congregational and community needs of the Rabbi of Temple Beth El.
Jacob and Bettie Reich Family Memorial Fund – supplements the Temple budget for administrative expenses and operations of the Temple office.
Licht Prayer Book Fund – provides prayer books, songsters, Haggadahs, Bibles, etc.
Goldberger Memorial Sanctuary Fund – maintains and enhances the sanctuary, its ceremonial items and appurtenances.
Patio and Grounds Fund – provides for the beautification of our patio and Temple grounds.
Jewish Education Funds
Beiler Miscellaneous Library Shelves Fund – provides new books to the library. Funds in memory of Hermina Beiler, Hanna and Rudolph Bertram, and Charles and Yetta Konigsberg are maintained to purchase books and other library items.
The Fribourg-Brunschwig Holocaust Memorial Education and Observance Fund – In memory of our grandparents and other members of our families who were murdered during the 1933–1945 period, the purpose of this Fund is to pay for or supplement observances and educational activities to commemorate the historical events of the 1933–1945 years in Europe, its consequences and after-maths, known collectively as the Shoah (known in English as the Holocaust), as well as any other historical, current or future event or activity in the world which, by word or action, discriminates or persecutes persons of the Jewish faith for their beliefs, values, or ethical teachings. The monies of the Fund may be directed to Jewish or non-Jewish not-for-profit organizations or educational institutions primarily targeting East Tennessee.
Hermina Beiler Educational Capital Improvement Memorial Fund of Temple Beth El -provides funds to maintain, expand, and enhance educational activities and programs of Temple Beth El.
Harry and Matilda Davis and Herbert Louis Davis Educational Enhancement Memorial Fund of Temple Beth El – helps to maintain, enhance, and supplement educational activities and programs of Temple Beth El, and helps to provide religious school scholarships.
Gelber Winner’s Circle Fund – provides for enrichment programs for the youth of Temple Beth El, enhancing the spiritual, religious, and cultural life of our children from preschool age through college age.
Jay and Matilda Goodfriend Do Not Forget Fund for Holocaust Education – provides funding for educational events, programs, or memorials in the community to help keep the memory of the Holocaust alive among young people and the community. Funds are also provided for educational programs to prevent hatred and promote peaceful coexistence and tolerance.
Lester Popkin Memorial Campership and Scholarship Fund – contributes to the growth of personal Jewish identity by children, religious school age through college age.
Licht Youth Fund – provides older children of Temple Beth El, high school and college age youth, with the opportunity of learning traditions, ideals, ethics, and beliefs of Reform Judaism, so as to enhance the meaning of Judaism in their lives.
Marx Family Education Fund – supports religious education programs for youth and adults of Temple Beth El, and helps provide religious school scholarships.
Rona Simon Israel Scholarship Fund – provides monies for high school students, 10th grade and above, desirous of joining an Israel trip sanctioned by any official committee or governing body of Temple Beth El.
Memorial Boards
The Temple Beth El Memorial Tablets are located on both sides of our sanctuary and hold Yahrzeit plaques. Each Plaque commemorates the life of someone who has special meaning to one of our members. Donations are made to purchase the plaques. Plaques hold the engraved name of a loved one, family member or friend and a light is lit each year on the date of the yahrzeit.
Please contact the office or fill out our contact form for current plaque donation rates. Donations can be for a single plaque or a space for multiple plaques, as well as location preference request. Individuals remembered with a plaque will automatically be in the Memorial Book published for Yom Kippur each year. Donations are deposited in the Temple Beth El General Operating Fund.