Sustainability Fund FAQ

 JCamp180®, a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation  generously initiated the All Together Now matching challenge, offering up to $296,000 for the three Cohen Camps, toward the $3 million need.

Then the  Greene Family (Merritt and Bob, and Pam and Mark)  and the  Wolfe Family (Carol and Larry, and Liz and Bruce)  extended the challenge by $115,000. Donors like you secured all these funds!

Now another set of donors has put forward another $100,000! We’re grateful to  Renee Goldberg & Paul Greenberg, with their family, and Bernie Goldberg; Michael & Andrea Leven; and Charlotte & Irving Backman… and to YOU for responding to their call!
Make Your Gift    See the Donor Honor Roll

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the need?
Camp has weathered many challenges over the years, but none as financially devastating as this one.

Making sure camp is ready, strong and available for campers next summer—and for the next generation—will take everyone’s help and partnership. This is not a “regular” fundraising campaign. This is a matter of nonprofit survival.
 
Preparing for camp is a year-round effort. 40% of costs (facilities, repairs, insurance, payroll, hiring, etc.) come due before any camper enters a bunk. That’s $3 million already invested, spent, and now lost for the three Cohen Camps toward this summer: a precarious position.
 
Families who are able to convert their tuition to a donation and donors who can shore up the difference: your gift directly opens up the future for children and teens at Sunset Lake.
 
What's been raised so far?
Created using the Donation Thermometer plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/donation-thermometer/.$3,000,000Raised $1,231,018 towards the $3,000,000 target.$1,231,018$1,000,000$2,000,000Raised $1,231,018 towards the $3,000,000 target.41%As of July 6, 2020:
You’ve raised $1,231,018 toward the camps’ $3,000,000 gap.
Together we’re 41% of the way there!
You’ve achieved:
$8,738 thanks to the Camp Tel Noar Alumni For the Love of CTN Facebook Fundraiser!
$13,319 thanks to the Pembroke Alumnae Save Our Sisterhood Facebook fundraiser!
$43,700+ of the $100,000 Friends of Camp Challenge Match; $56,300 still waits!
$115,000 FULL MATCH SECURED from the Greene and Wolfe Families!
$204,000+ in Sustainability Fund donations by alumni, families & friends!
$296,000 FULL MATCH SECURED from JCamp180!
$550,200 in Donated Tuition!

The Cohen Camps are fortunate to have secured some SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for our year-round staff. The $3 million gap is beyond what those funds can cover.

 

Who can give to the All Together Now match?
EVERYONE in the Cohen Camps family! Gifts from parents, alumni, grandparents, campers, staff, vendors, partners, and all friends of camp are eligible.

In making their leadership gift, Bob Greene told us, “Camp shaped the values each of us live by today. In this critical time, we’re compelled to ‘pay it forward’ to guarantee that campers next summer and beyond can share in this life-changing experience.”

Larry Wolfe added, “We believe in the power of all three Cohen Camps, which is why we invite all families, alumni and friends of Pembroke, Tel Noar, and Tevya to take part.”
 
Interested in making your own leadership gift? Please email Barbara, Development Director, or call her at 781.489.2070.

 

How does the match work?
All Together Now will:

  • DOUBLE any tuition that Summer 2020 families convert to a donation, dollar-for-dollar
  • ADD 50% to all other unrestricted gifts from families, alumni, and friends

 

Is my gift tax-deductible?
Yes! The Cohen Camps are nonprofits.

 

When should I give?
Now, please! The sooner you give, the sooner the matching money comes to camp. The cash flow pinch is already beginning. The match is available for gifts made before December 31, 2020 or until the match gets met. Please help secure it quickly.

 

Why give now?
We all know the difference camp makes in the lives of so many. Creativity, resilience, compassion, care for others—the qualities we’ve all relied on during the COVID-19 crisis—are at the heart of what children and teens gain from every summer at Camps Pembroke, Tel Noar, and Tevya.
 
Camp gives kids and teens hope. This year, they’ve lost so much: school, sports, activities, time with friends, and now their camp’s 2020 season, along with the Dor L’Dor Israel and Kadima Teen Leadership programs. Not opening camp or running programs is emotionally devastating. For the three  Cohen Camps, it’s financially devastating, too. Now is the time to ensure that our community recovers, and that camp survives this pandemic.

 

Is this match enough? Does it cover the whole $3 million hole?
The match is an essential start—and a phenomenal way to increase your impact. Meeting the match will raise 1/3 of what camp needs to survive this pandemic. By not opening camp in 2020, the Cohen Camps face a $3+ million budget hole. $3+ million is the full need.
 
The $3+ million is what we have ALREADY spent preparing for this season. Campers say they “live 10-for-2,” dreaming all year of the two months of camp; at camp, we “work 10-for-2” to get ready. Over 40% of camp costs occur outside of the summer months: facility maintenance and repair, insurance, utilities, year-round core staff, hiring, and everything else required. As enormous as this number is, we are fortunate to face this loss together, as a family of three camps with careful management and shared efficiencies.
 
That $3+ million is also the gap left AFTER figuring in the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for which we’ve been approved. We wonder whether 2021 may bring additional Covid-related costs and whether we may receive more Scholarship Aid requests than usual; the gap may grow. For now, it looks like just about $3 million.
 
Is there an endowment to help absorb 2020's $3 million loss?
No. The camps are almost-entirely self-supported by tuition, which provide 97% of income; the other 3% comes from donations. It all gets spent every year on the campers’ experience. There is no endowment to fall back on (yet!). Nor do the camps receive any funding from Boston’s CJP or other Federations, synagogues, or movements.
 
We have some reserves available, and we’ll gladly use them up for the short-term… although this simply shifts the $3 million gap and reduces what we have for backup, renovations, and new costs we must be ready for next summer. Your donation of any amount matters a great deal, and even more while we work toward this match.

 

Is there a 'Cohen Foundation' that helps?
No. Alumni from 1965-2006 may recall that the organization was called the “Eli & Bessie Cohen Foundation.” This was never an endowment for the camps; in fact, it was the opposite. During those years, camp tuition generated funds which were then donated to support Jewish organizations in the US and Israel.

Since 2004, all tuition funds now get invested in the camp experience at Pembroke, Tel Noar, and Tevya. Changing the name to “The Cohen Camps” in 2006 reflected this switch.

 

Could the camps repurpose the Kadima yurt money?
No. The Kadima Teen Leadership Program yurts were going to be covered, initially, mostly by using the camps’ reserve funds. Several generous donors provided seed funds for the initial construction work. Those seed funds were spent on the initial construction stages this spring.

What are the yurts? They are eco-friendly, budget-friendly structures we had planned to build at each camp. The teens were to have lived there during the Kadima program, our redesigned CAT/CIT/CA program slated for launch this year. We paused construction right away this spring, as soon as it became clear that the pandemic might complicate summer plans. We hope to build the yurts in the future. Now the yurt effort will have to rely fully on camp community investment, since the reserves may be used up in tandem with the funds raised for the Sustainability Fund.

 

How do I give by check?
Mailing a donation? Thank you!
Please make your check payable to your camp’s name OR to “The Cohen Camps” if you’d like your gift to sustain all three camps.

Mail it to:

Barbara Stevens, Development Director
The Cohen Camps
888 Worcester Street, Suite 350
Wellesley, MA 02482

 

How do I give using appreciated stock?
Donated stock and securities qualify for the match!

Donating appreciated stock is easy and can come with financial or tax advantages, as well as allow you to make a gift with a larger impact, at lower cost to you. Please consult your financial planner or tax advisor to learn how these advantages may apply to your circumstances.

Step 1:

Direct your broker to transfer the stock electronically to:
DTC #0062
Receiving DTC Brokerage Firm: Vanguard

  • For Camp Pembroke or the Cohen Camps overall, specify:
    Account Name: Eli and Bessie Cohen Camps of Massachusetts, Inc.
    Account Number: 27312643
  • For Camp Tel Noar or Camp Tevya, specify:
    Account Name: Eli and Bessie Cohen Camps
    Account Number: 63399999

Step 2:

Let us know!
So we may confirm the transfer and provide you with an appropriate donation receipt, please notify us of your gift by contacting the Cohen Camps Development Office at development@cohencamps.org or by calling 781.489.2070.

Please include:

  • Name of securities
  • Number of shares you are transferring
  • Brokerage house / accounting firm and contact name
  • Your name, phone number and e-mail address
  • How you would like to be listed in the Donor Honor Roll
  • Which camp you would like to benefit, or whether your gift should support the Cohen Camps overall (going to all three camps equally)

 

How do I give through my Donor Advised Fund?
Gifts through Donor-Advised Funds (DAF) qualify for the match! A DAF is a philanthropic giving vehicle that provides an immediate tax benefit to you, and allows you to grant funds to charities of your choice. You can give in two ways:

  • Recommend a DAF through your financial institution or foundation
    OR
  • Contact your fund manager to make your recommendation

Step 1:

  • For Camp Pembroke or the Cohen Camps overall, recommend supporting:
    Eli and Bessie Cohen Camps of Massachusetts, Inc., with Tax ID 04-6003680
  • For Camp Tel Noar or Camp Tevya, recommend supporting:
    Eli and Bessie Cohen Camps, with Tax ID 04-6152862

For both please provide the year-round mailing address:
The Cohen Camps
888 Worcester Street, Suite 350
Wellesley, MA 02482

The grant will arrive at The Cohen Camps with only the fund’s name and address on it, unless you request otherwise. Please be sure to request for your name and address to be included as well as the name of your preferred camp(s).

Step 2:

Let us know!
So we may confirm the gift and thank you for your generosity, please inform us of your gift by contacting the Cohen Camps Development Office at development@cohencamps.org or by calling 781.489.2070.

Please include:

  • Name of your Donor Advised Fund
  • Brokerage house / accounting firm and contact name
  • Your name, phone number and e-mail address
  • How you would like to be listed in the Donor Honor Roll
  • Which camp you would like to benefit, or whether your gift should support the Cohen Camps overall (going to all three camps equally)

 

May I invite my friends and family?
Yes, please! Share your passion for camp on social media. If you’d like to dedicate your birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, wedding, or other special occasion to camp, learn more about setting up a Mitzvah Project fundraiser. Thank you!

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Create a Mitzvah Project

 

Donate Now

Questions?

To discuss your giving

Please contact Cohen Camps Development Director Barbara Stevens at bstevens@cohencamps.org or 781.489.2070.
 

To discuss camp

Please contact your camp’s directors. We are all here for you.
Camp Pembroke Co-Directors Amy (acoran@cohencamps.org) and Becca (bgoldman@cohencamps.org)
Camp Tel Noar Director Efraim (efraim@cohencamps.org) and Assistant Directors Amanda (amanda@cohencamps.org) and Michelle (mjackson@camptelnoar.org)
Camp Tevya Director Ben (bportnoy@cohencamps.org) and Assistant Director Lauren (lfishman@cohencamps.org)

Thank you!