The Story
Reb Menashe was quite pleased with his accomplishments. He had opened a Yeshiva for the bochurim in his neighborhood at the periphery of the Charedi centres, around six years ago, and he had seen much success. The bochurim had transformed into true Bnei Torah, and the neighborhood was slowly changing to reflect the kedusha that he had brought into town.
The budget, however, had not kept pace with the developments. The Yeshiva could not charge much tuition, and the government stipends were too negligible to cover the costs of reaching the hearts of the large group of bochurim that chose to call Yeshivas Mevakshei Torah their home. There was a dedicated staff of Magidei Shiur and Mashgichim, Yungeleit to learn with the bochurim who needed it, and kitchen and janitorial staff. The Yeshiva existed on nissim, and the Rosh Yeshiva Reb Menashe slowly came to the realization that he was not permitted to rely on nissim for the lives of so many people.
Reb Menashe was a refined soul; he had no idea about the world outside of the four amos of halacha. He had lived a life of Torah and Chessed, and he had never had any interaction with people from foreign countries or mindsets, besides the Tana’im and Amora’im. Yet now he was forced to renew his passport, pack his bags, and travel to America to raise funds for his institution. He knew he would have to work hard, pounding the streets and knocking on doors to explain the situation. He was sure that the famous open hearts of Yidden in America would be open to the story of his Yeshiva and they would respond generously. All he needed was a foot in the door; after his first sentence everyone would be as convinced as he was regarding the uniqueness of Yeshivas Mevakshei Torah.
He decided to make his first trip to the United States after Chanuka. He wanted to spend Chanuka with his family and Talmidim, to bring the light of the Neiros with him on his travels. On Motzei Shabbos Chanuka, his brothers and brothers in law came to visit him with their families, to discuss words of Torah and inspiration at a Melave Malka in honor of Chanuka. When they heard that he was planning on traveling outside of the country for the benefit of his Yeshiva, the ideas came in thick and heavy.
“Make sure you make up your price with the driver before you start, otherwise he will really take you for a ride”, said Reb Yosef, who served as a Maggid Shiur in Bney Berak, and had heard all kinds of stories from other Roshei Yeshiva.
“Who is taking care of the tax issues?” asked Reb Binyomin, his brother from Ramot.
“Tax issues? What tax issues? I am not doing business or charging taxes, I am begging for tzedaka,” answered Reb Menashe, with rising panic at the overwhelming nature of what he had undertaken.
“Oy, you really have no clue. Nobody in America will give you a penny without receiving a tax deduction from his government. Any institution that collects money must have recognition as a charity from the United States government”, explained Reb Binyomin to his refined brother in law.
“I didn’t know that. And what did you say about a driver, Reb Yosef?”
The rosy future that Reb Menashe had drawn for himself was suddenly covered with a dark cloud. He had not thought much about the logistics of his trip. He had reserved a ticket and arranged somewhere to stay, but as far as the rest was concerned, he had been convinced that everything would fall into place by itself. Now he had a whole new list of questions and his brothers and brothers in law were not making it easier. And they were also not experts, who knows how many issues they had forgotten about?
Reb Menashe needed help.
The need
When a Menahel of an organization decides to grow to the next level and travel to the United States to raise money, the idea sounds quite formidable. There are many issues that veteran fundraisers do not need to think about, yet the newbie, still wet behind his ears, cannot fathom them.
“Where do we start?”
“What are the first steps to success?”
“How will I receive the money?”
“To which name should checks be written?”
“What if someone wants to give with a credit card?”
“How do I bring the money with me to Eretz Yisroel?”
“How do I ensure the donor gets his tax deduction in a timely fashion?”
All of these questions and more occupy the minds of everyone who comes to America to collect money for any worthy cause in Eretz Yisroel. Even those who have been here a few times often do not have these questions fully answered and they can make costly mistakes on the way, losing out on donations and alienating those who would otherwise be receptive to their message.
Yidden in America truly have open hearts, they really want to give money and support the poor of Eretz Yisroel. They generally recognize the importance of the Yeshivos, schools, Kollelim and welfare organizations of Eretz Yisroel, and many of them have spent much money over the years on a variety of causes. The meshulach needs to find a method to get to this people and reach their hearts. The fear that overcomes many of these people as they board the plane in Ben-Gurion airport may not be completely visible to the onlooker, but it is real and palpable, and anything we can do to ameliorate it is quite welcome.
Enter Tomchei Tzedaka
Our organization was formed a few years ago, after realizing the effects of this fear and the issues that face every fundraiser that comes to America.
Until a few short years ago, only major Yeshivos and organizations could come to America to collect. They had the organizational abilities to set up their system and to maximize their abilities to reach as many donors as possible. The large Yeshivos have office space, accountants and lawyers on hand, along with databases of information and the economy of scale to make it worth their while to invest their own efforts and time into solving all of their logistical issues. The smaller organizations did not see America as an option at all. Their fundraising was limited to family and friends, and the hope that a wealthy person on a visit to Eretz Yisroel would notice them amongst the myriad organizations that dot the land. Smaller organizations just stayed small.
After studying this topic, Tomchei Tzedaka set up a host of creative solutions for all of these issues and more. Lawyers, accountants and business managers were either hired or donated their time to ensure the validity of these solutions and Tomchei Tzedaka was underway.
Tomchei Tzedaka’s mission is to grant the smaller fundraiser the abilities and backing that the larger organizations have. There is a website to accept donations on their behalf, a credit card processing system for those who would prefer to donate that way, and a bank account to process checks. We have portable credit card machines to lend to the fundraisers out in the field, and a direct telephone line for donations.
Tomchei Tzedaka has 501(c) 3 accreditation, so the organizations that use them can benefit from their tax deductions. Automated email receipts are sent to each donor as soon as their donation is processed through the system.
There is also the option for each organization to have their own webpage on our site, which can showcase the organization or Yeshiva’s uniqueness, with videos, pictures, testimonials and letters of support.
Now anyone who has a worthy cause in Eretz Yisroel can give Americans the zechus of partnering with them. They have the ability to use their time wisely and focus on their organization and its unique nature to showcase the reasons for donors to donate to them.