“And Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the Israelites that they may take for me a contribution; from everyone whose heart so moves him, take my contribution … and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:1-2,8).
Shir Hadash is committed to excellence - in programming, education, staffing, and service. Excellence includes meeting our budget. Shir Hadash exists because members recognize and fulfill their responsibility toward its preservation. When you become a part of Shir Hadash, your commitment of financial support helps assure the ongoing vitality of our community.
This page provides the links and instructions on how to become a new member or renew your membership, register for religious school and youth programming, and how to access your account in ShulCloud. If you prefer to join or renew with paper forms, just let us know and we will provide them to you.
Do NOT complete this form on your phone!
Links to Membership and School Forms <--- JUST LOOKING FOR THE FORMS ? CLICK HERE
Which Forms Do I Need to Fill Out ?
Voluntary Commitment for Membership
Volunteering Your Skills and Time
Religious School Voluntary Tuition (Grades K-7)
Madrichim Program Application, Tuition, and Compensation (Grades 8-12)
Links to Membership and School Forms
Before You Begin Checklist
1. Please be ready with ALL the information necessary before you begin (particularly including how many students will be enrolled in either Religious School or the Madrichim program, as well as having payment method ready).
2. In order to correctly view and submit most of these forms, you need to be logged in to your existing Shir Hadash account. If you are an existing member, please return to the top of this page and confirm that you are logged in. Please visit the Account Login Help section at the bottom of this page for more information.
3. Fill out these forms from a browser on a computer. These forms do not work on cell phones and other mobile devices.
4. If you need help deciding which forms to fill out, please visit the section entitled Which Forms Do I Need to Fill Out ?
Form Links
Membership Renewal Form - Requires household information, voluntary commitment for membership, building fund obligation, voluntary religious school commitment, Madrichim tuition, volunteering skills, and payment
New Membership Form - Requires household information, voluntary commitment for membership, building fund obligation, voluntary religious school commitment, Madrichim tuition, volunteering skills, and payment
Religious School Registration Form - Requires information about students enrolling in either Religious School or the Madrichim program, emergency contact information, and special-needs disclosures that are only seen by Religious School staff
Madrichim Application Form - Links to the application for our Madrichim program (each applicant should apply separately)
Which Forms Do I Need to Fill Out ?
If you are a new member, or you are returning after at least a one year break in which your membership was inactive, then you need to fill out the New Membership Form.
If you are were an active member last year and you are renewing your membership for the 2023-2024 calendar year, then you need to log in and then fill out the Membership Renewal From.
If you are registering one or more students in our Religious School or the Madrichim program, then you need to log in and additionally fill out the Religious School Registration Form.
For each teenager applying to the Madrichim program, they need to fill out the Madrichim Appplication Form (no login required).
If you have trouble logging in, please visit the Account Login Help section at the bottom of this page for more information.
There are 5 membership categories:
2 Adult Household, 1 Adult Household, 2 Senior Household, 1 Senior Household, and Lifetime Member
In a Senior Household, the oldest member of the family must have been born on or before July 1, 1957.
Any member of your family aged 26 and older should commit to their own membership. All other children should be registered under your household account. This helps us to predict service attendence and print the correct number of High Holiday tickets, etc.
Since Shir Hadash has adopted a voluntary commitment model for membership, these categories are for tracking/reporting purposes only, and the Lifetime Member category is no longer available as an option for new members.
Voluntary Commitment for Membership (Dues)
Belonging to our community at Shir Hadash is simple - Volunteer your time to help us grow and give what you can financially. It is that simple.
The funds raised from our Voluntary Financial Commitment model is how Shir Hadash attempts to make membership and religious school affordable and accessible to everyone.
But it is nearly as important to give a bit of your time and talent to Shir Hadash. Your skills contribute to your community. By being involved, you gain a vested interest in helping us grow. And the more people collaborating, the stronger we become. There are many ways to contribute: join a committee, participate in set-up and clean-up of an Oneg, help create the service content, assist fellow members of our synagogue, and ways we haven't even thought of yet (but maybe you have).
Your time and skills can really make a difference.
Finances are obviously also important. We need funds to do the hundreds of things we do and provide each month. From Religious school, the building, the beautiful grounds on which our communal home is based, to the social action and community outreach, we will always need financial backing to remain a solvent and vibrant community.
Each of us will decide for ourselves what level of commitment we can make. The amount each of us contributes will not be questioned or second guessed. It will be received with gratitude as a contribution to the financial health of our synagogue. Our goal is to recognize each congregant’s personal journey while embracing our belief that there is a congregation wide commitment to meeting our financial needs.
Our greatest asset is our members who bring energy, a wide range of expertise and experience and a desire to make Shir Hadash better each year. We value all our members equally and trust each to financially support the synagogue to the best of their ability.
So be a member of the community: volunteer your time and pay what you can.
How much is needed?
We are proud to become a congregation in which our members give freely and from their hearts. We believe in the integrity of our member families to appropriately self-determine their commitment level. To help make that determination we also believe that it is important for everyone to know how much it actually costs to operate Shir Hadash. Based upon the approved budget for the 2023/2024 fiscal year, our total expenses divided by the total number of current member households equals $2,862. This number represents our break-even amount, or the amount needed to meet all our expenses. Of course, the more members we recruit, the lower the break-even amount becomes and that's what we hope will happen in future years. Securing the break-even amount from every household as a congregation allows us to have a balanced budget which we've not been able to do for several years.
While we suggest the break-even amount of $2,862 per household as a voluntary commitment guideline, we understand not every household will be able to contribute at that amount. Others will be willing and able to contribute more than that amount. You will still need to pay building fund, voluntary school tuition and B'nai Mitzvah fees. You may still want to make a High Holiday contribution, buy a memorial plaque or contribute in other ways. It’s your choice.
Shir Hadash is much more than an organization: It is a congregational home. Just like your home, our facilities need upkeep and maintenance, but this can only be done through the generous support of congregants and members of the community.
In order to preserve our congregational home and keep it secure for future generations, we must keep it on a solid financial basis. Through the expected payment of the building fund, in addition to voluntary commitment, all members of the community help achieve this goal.
A Building Fund commitment of $350 a year for your first seven years of membership is a necessary charge. If you choose to pay your Building Fund commitment all at once, you receive a 20% discount from the total of $2,450, which is a lump sum of $1,960.
If you have fulfilled your building fund commitment at Shir Hadash, that's awesome! If you fulfilled it at another congregation, we will adjust your account appropriately after we receive written documentation from that synagogue.
Volunteering Your Skills and Time
In addition to this economic contribution, we ask that everyone also commit volunteer time and expertise to Shir Hadash.
There are many volunteer opportunities, including joining a standing committee, a single project task force, or participating in Oneg set-up and clean-up. Shir Hadash has a small professional staff and much of what we accomplish is done by members.
As a volunteer you can become a leader at Shir Hadash and can help shape our future path.The volunteer time commitment and payment information is embedded in the renewal form.
Religious School Voluntary Tuition (Grades K-7)
For this school year, Shir Hadash will continue to use a voluntary commitment model for school tuition for all students in grades K-7. This model is identical to our membership structure which allows families to place a monetary amount on how much they value their membership to the congregation and then commit to paying that amount over the course of the year (or all at once depending on preference).
It is suggested that each family donate at least $1,600 per student enrolled. While we don't expect to break even on our school, we do hope that parental contributions will cover a significant portion of the expenses. The congregation as a whole will cover the rest.
While we certainly encourage you to contribute at least that amount, we understand that some of you may not be able or choose to do so. We do not want to have anyone in our community to feel as though they have to choose between everyday life and whether or not have your children participate in religious school.
Madrichim Program Application, Tuition and Compensation (Grades 8-12)
Learn about our exciting opportunity for students entering grades 8-12 by clicking on this link that describes our Madrichim Program.
Application
Each student that wishes to participate in the Madrichim program must submit an application. Click here to visit the Madrichim Application Form.
Tuition
Tuition for all Madrichim entering grades 8-12 is $200 for the year.
Compensation
For this year, as in other years, Eighth grade Madrichim will not be compensated for their time.
However, Madrichim entering grades 9-12 are eligible for compensation as follows:
- Once they attended sixty percent (60%) of the sessions for the year, they will be eligible to receive payment of $250.
- Once they have attended eighty percent (80%) of the sessions for the year, they will be eligible to receive an additional payment of $100.
Religious School Registration (Grades K-12)
Every child enrolled in either Religious School (grades K-7) or the Madrichim Program (grades 8-12) needs to be registered for school using the Religious School Registration Form. This form should be filled out by an adult (logged in to an account). Multiple children can be registered using the same form.
The form will capture important information related to legal guardians, emergency contact information, special medical or learning needs, authorization for medical treatment, and prior camping experience.
Please refer to the Religious School web pages for more information about the religious school and to contact the educational director.
New Membership Registration and Membership Renewal both require payment at the time of submission.
Your membership will not be considered submitted/renewed unless you continue and complete the payment forms.
Payment Methods
Please have one of the following forms of payment available when you sit down to fill out the form:
o Credit Card
o ACH (a checking account number and a routing number)
Payment Plans
Shir Hadash is happy to offer the following payment plans:
o Full Payment, paid immediately when completing the form
o Monthly installments billed starting from the month when you register until and including May, with the first payment occurring immediately when completing the form
Payment Visibility
Your payment method will be either charged once in full or once per month for an amount that includes all of your voluntary commitment for membership, building fund charges, voluntary commitment for religious school, and Madrichim tuition.
However, our internal database maintains records each of the separate charges for those areas, and you can view the breakdown of your charges by logging into your account and viewing your Transactions. The Type column there will indicate different charge codes such as "Voluntary Commitment", "Religious School Voluntary Commitment", "Building Fund Installment", and others.
You must be signed in to use these forms.
There is a "Forgot Password" button in the upper right-hand corner under Login tab if you need it.
Once you have renewed your membership, you will be able to enter your account and check and update your yahrzeits, as well as any other information.
If you have any issues or have trouble, please contact the Administrative office at admin@shir-hadash.org
or call 847-498-8218. We will respond as soon as we possible