Be forewarned, this month's President's Update is all about temple business. But ultimately, the business side of Temple Micah is about making it possible for our congregation to experience our Jewish lives together, so maybe the report is not quite all business.

First, I'd like to bring you up to date on our efforts to expand our building. We have just concluded the second phase of our capital campaign, aptly named "Building Community". I am very aware of the problem of donor fatigue. Starting a second major campaign for building funds so soon after our first campaign concluded was not what any of us wanted to do. My heartfelt thanks to the stalwart chairs of this fund-raising committee, Paul Greenberg, Sid Booth, Marc L. and Andrea L., who picked up where our original chairs left off. all of these people represent the characteristics that make our community so vital. They are deeply committed to both our present well-being and to securing our future. I am grateful to them and to all the Micah members who committed so much time and energy to contacting other members to ask for support for this campaign.

Most importantly, I want to thank the entire Micah community. Micah members responded very generously, reaching yet deeper into their pockets to ensure that we could complete the expansion of our home on Wisconsin avenue. I am delighted to tell you that Phase II of the "Building Community" campaign has raised nearly $900,000. Phase I brought in $2.2 million, so we are within striking distance of our goal of $3.3 million.

As I have reported in earlier Vine articles, our current expansion plans have been scaled back somewhat from our original plan. We have identified several general contractors who have told us that they are very interested in bidding on these plans. Given the contractors' interest and the general slow-down in the DC real estate market, we hope to see lower bids than we got the first time. I have learned, however, that the only thing that is certain in this construction business is uncertainty. We expect to put the project out to bid in late October, review the bids in November and select a contractor in December. The building committee has been working very hard at tying up loose ends and moving this project along. Bill Nussbaum and others have put in many hours reviewing contracts and proposals, following up on permits, and otherwise managing the project. Working closely with our architect, Robert Weinstein, they are helping us to make sure that we stay on the right track.

The other piece of temple business I want to address in this report is a decision made by the Board of Directors several years ago that may have gone unnoticed or is now forgotten by some members. It is worth reminding our community about. Micah members are generous in many ways. Many members provide financial support to specific temple activities as a way to recognize milestones such as birthdays or anniversaries, to celebrate accomplishments or to honor the memory of a loved one. Donors often direct that their gifts be placed into one of a set of dedicated funds, from which money is then withdrawn to help support the specified activities. Other donors leave it to the temple to decide how their gifts are directed. The dedicated funds support the acquisition of prayer books and religious objects, social action projects, education programs, music at the temple and many other efforts. This is a wonderful Jewish custom. And it is important to note that these contributions do not need to be large. A double-digit gift is as welcome and appropriate as a major donation. We value them all.

Many charitable institutions allocate a percentage of each donation they receive to administrative and fund-raising expenses. Anyone who has reviewed a United Way catalog, for example will see that sometimes this percentage is substantial. Temple Micah does not do that. However, in 2003, the Micah Board of Directors decided to allocate two percent of each dedicated fund donation to help build the Temple Micah endowment. The board recently reaffirmed this decision. (The two percent allocation does not apply to the Capital Campaign, the Rabbis' Discretionary Funds or pass-through donations, such as those for Micah House or tsunami relief.)

In adopting this approach, the board's philosophy was forward looking. The endowment is a long-term security fund for the temple. Right now, the endowment is small. When it has grown larger, Temple Micah can use it to generate income to support special activities or events. Put another way, with this allocation policy, each donation provides both for Micah's immediate needs as well for its long-term needs. It is not enough to ensure that we have music today. We must ensure that we will have a place to gather, to worship and to sing decades from now.