Fundraising for Kulanu is a great way to support our mission no matter how old you are or where you live. Here are two effective ways to help raise funds:
- Mention us on your own website, blog, or social media channel, or send an email to friends, family, and colleagues. Add some oomph by picking out your favorite photos from kulanu.smugmug.com and adding them to your appeal.
- Start a tzedakah/mitzvah project. Encourage your children, friends, extended family, summer camp, synagogue, Hillel/Chabad house, or other local community to commit to a fundraising project for a bar/bat mitzvah, or create a twinning project between your group and a Kulanu partner community. We recommend that you contact us for ideas about specific communities or projects that need funds right now. We can also assist with educational materials and ideas to enhance your tzedakah efforts. For some ideas to get your creative juices flowing, check out our PDF of mitzvah project ideas. We’ve also prepared some sample letters to send to your friends and family.
Here are a few inspiring stories of past Kulanu fundraising projects.
- Miriam from MA showed a slide show about the Abayudaya at her wedding shower.
- Joel in MD discussed Kulanu’s work in Nigeria in his bar mitzvah d’var torah, and he arranged for an article in the Washington Jewish Week about Nigerian Jews, Kulanu, and his bar mitzvah project.
- Paige in CA set up an exhibit about Kulanu at her bat mitzvah.
- Sandon in CT bought Abayudaya music CDs from Kulanu’s online marketplace and gave them as party favors.
- Sandon in CT made and sold jewelry and donated proceeds.
- Lynne’s family asked invitees to donate to the Abayudaya in honor of her 85th birthday and surprised Lynne with this gift at her celebration.
- Justin in NJ made a haunted house in his basement for Halloween, invited the children in the neighborhood, and asked for donations for Kulanu. He showed the Abayudaya slide show nearby.
- Juliana in VA sold Mirembe Kawomera Coffee (Mirembe Kawomera Coffee). She sold it for more than the price she paid and donated the profits to Kulanu.
- Hebrew High School students in Ithaca, NY held a concert to raise money for Kulanu.
- Zak from NY had his bar mitzvah in Uganda. Instead of paying for a big party, his family donated two classrooms to the Abayudaya school and worked with local kids to decorate the rooms.
If you have an idea for a fundraising project, we’d love to help make it happen. Simply write us a note and we’ll get back to you.