WRJ Projects

YES Fund

The YES Fund (Youth, Education, and Special Projects) represents the collective financial efforts of our members and donors to strengthen the institutions of Reform/Progressive Judaism and ensure the future of Reform Jewish leadership. Together we are able to achieve what no one individual or sisterhood could accomplish alone.

Through the YES Fund, WRJ is able to provide financial assistance to our rabbinical and cantorial students, our youth, and organizations throughout the Reform/Progressive Jewish Movement.

In addition to scholarship aid for students at HUC-JIR, there are many other beneficiaries of YES Fund contributions including the NFTY and Kesher Programs for high school and college aged youth, the Religious Action Center, World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), and special services to sisterhoods.

In addition, several organizations are recipients of the YES Fund grant program including

Beit Daniel Conversion Center, Israel,
Congregation Or Hadash, Israel preschool,
the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, Israel
Kehilat Kol HaNeshama, Israel,
the Leo Baeck Education Center, Israel,
Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center, MA,
and the URJ Commission on Interreligious Affairs.

For more detailed information about these programs, please go to the WRJ website, www.womenofreformjudaism.org. You can support these and other important projects by contributing to the YES Fund, to the annual Circle of Service Campaign, or to the Lifeline Endowment Fund.

Why and How Your Sisterhood Supports the YES Fund

Just as each sisterhood supports the religious school, youth group, college students, and special sisterhood programs and projects within its own congregation, WRJ provides financial support for these types of programs throughout North America and around the world through the YES Fund (Youth, Education, and Special Projects).

YES Fund Honor Roll

Sisterhoods contribute to the YES Fund through cash contributions, the purchase of YES Fund items, or through a combination of both. Sisterhoods earn honors for their total annual contributions to the YES Fund each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) in the following categories:

Roll of Chai Honor	$18.00 or more per member
Roll of Special Merit	$10.00 or more per member
Roll of Honor	$5.00 or more per member

YES Fund Awards

The following awards are presented to sisterhoods every two years at each WRJ Assembly:

The Kavod (“Honor”) Award in Memory of Helen M. Dalsheimer

Helen M. Dalsheimer served as president of both WRJ (formerly National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods) and her district federation.

The Kavod award acknowledges sisterhoods who have demonstrated exemplary support of the YES Fund for three consecutive Assembly periods (six years). When a sisterhood becomes part of the distinguished Kavod Society, it is exempt from receiving other YES Fund Awards. This enables more sisterhoods an opportunity to be recognized for their support of the YES Fund. To continue as a member of the Kavod Society, a sisterhood must qualify to win or receive honorable mention in at least one YES Fund Award category at each successive Assembly.

If a sisterhood does not qualify to either win or achieve honorable mention of a YES Fund Award, the sisterhood will no longer be a member of the Society and will need to win or achieve honorable mention of a YES Fund Award over three additional consecutive Assemblies to be reinstated into the Kavod Society.

Sisterhoods that are members of the Kavod Society will not receive an award in any other YES Fund category, but will be honored as a member of the Kavod Society for their model support of the YES Fund.

The Achat [“individual”] Award is given to the one sisterhood with the largest per capita contribution through the sale of YES Fund items and/or cash contributions to the YES Fund during the two-year period prior to the Assembly.

The Avodah [“service”] Award is given to the sisterhood in each of four membership size categories that has made the highest total contribution through the sale of YES Fund items and/or cash contributions to the YES Fund during the two-year period prior to the Assembly.

The L’Chaim [“to Life”] Award is given to the sisterhood with the highest percentage of new Lifeline members during the two-year period prior to the Assembly. One winner and two honorable mentions are named.

The Ma’agal [“Circle”] Award is given to the one sisterhood with the highest percentage of new Circle of Service members (at any level other than Lifeline) during the two-year period prior to the Assembly. One winner and two honorable mentions are named.

Individual YES Fund Support

Individuals can support the YES fund by becoming Circle of Service (COS) members or by purchasing a Lifeline.

Circle of Service members make an annual contribution to the YES fund. There are several different levels that one can choose ranging from $36 to $1,000. Money from COS goes directly into the YES fund and is distributed directly to the institutions or grant recipients.

Another individual method for supporting the YES fund is by becoming a Lifeline Member. There are several different types of Lifelines beginning with Silver at $1,800 and climbing to the Centennial level for $100,000. The money from Lifelines goes into an endowment fund with the interest used to support WRJ YES Fund projects.