On The Campaign Trail

Yeshiva seeking community support
to balance costs and pay teachers.

Robert A. Sklar
Editor

o help prevent a revenue crisis,
the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah has
initiated an emergency fund-
raising campaign that so far has netted
more than $100,000 in three months.
Like all Jewish day schools, the
Southfield-based Yeshiva has felt the
impact of Michigan's sour economy.
There are 100 teachers and miss-
ing payroll is a concern twice each
month. "It is only a combination of
miracles that gets us
from payroll to payroll,"
said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld,
executive director of
the Southfield-based
Yeshiva.
All of the day schools
Rabbi
host
fundraisers in addi-
Mayerfeld
tion to an annual dinner,
but the Yeshiva's six-figure campaign
may be the most ambitious. "It's the
first time in my memory that there
has been an emergency appeal by our
president," Rabbi Mayerfeld said.
In a personal letter sent out by
President Gary Torgow, the 91-year-old
Yeshiva challenged friends to contrib-
=7: 7%--
- ute to an operating bud-
get that has increased
1 percent per year over
five years through the
2006-2007 school year.
"The Yeshiva's fund-
raising goals for this
Gary Torgow
fiscal year have not been
met and more and more
parents are unable to pay full tuition.
The Yeshiva is struggling to cover
expenses and finance scholarships for
needy students," Torgow wrote.
The Yeshiva provides nearly $4
million a year in scholarships, high-
est among local Jewish day schools.
Tuition is $6,950 in grades 1-5, $7,300
in grades 6-8 and $7,950 in grades
9-12. Enrollment has been constant in
recent years. It stands at 754. Seventy-
five percent receive financial aid.
The slightly more than 52 million
in tuition collected annually after
scholarships represents just a third of
the school's $6.18 million budget. The
school's popular annual dinner raises
about 25 percent of the budget total.
Scholarship requests continue to

T

rise. "More parents have been applying
and more families are requiring larger
scholarships as a result of layoffs,
unemployment and job cuts," Rabbi
Mayerfeld said.
In the April letter, Torgow asked
donors for $1,000 each or as much as
they could individually afford on an
immediate one-time basis. Hundreds
of people responded. "Your support
of our Yeshiva will help build the next
generation of our community's leader-
ship," Torgow wrote.
There is no exact Campaign goal.
The Yeshiva received its full allo-
cation from the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit's Annual
Campaign this fiscal year ($733,200)
as well as an advance against the next
funding cycle that begins in June. So
Federation has been tapped out for
now. "We needed to go back to our
donors and ask them yet again to help:'
Rabbi Mayerfeld said.
Federation's annual allocation has
fallen each year from $771,701 in
2002. The 2006-2007 allocation will
be announced soon. The Federation-
managed Shiffman Family Tuition
Assistance Fund for all day schools has
designated $137,000 for the Yeshiva
in 2006-2007. The Shiffman gift has
climbed from $108,700 in 2002.
Rabbi Judah Issacs heads
Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education. He acknowledged that
Federation support does not meet
the current financial needs of the day
schools. "Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and
Yeshivas Darchei Torah are challenged
by a parent body that cannot afford to
pay the cost of education
due to the size of their
families and their annual
income as borne out by
Federation's demographic
study',' Rabbi Isaacs said.
The true, unsubsidized Rabbi Isaacs
cost of local tuition at
Hillel Day School, Yeshivat Akiva and
the Jewish Academy is prohibitive for
most middle-class families, Rabbi
Isaacs said.
This big picture is why our day
schools continue to embark on fund-
raising."It's to offset the difference
between tuition, the Federation alloca-
tion and the expenses of educating our
children',' Rabbi Isaacs said.

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