Real-Life Math -- Solution
1. You will only raise dues to make up the shortfall. By what percentage
would you need to raise dues to meet your budget?
$930,000 - $800,000=
$130,000
You are $130,000 short.
$130,000 increase /
$450,000 originally from dues x 100 = 29
You would need to raise
dues by 29 percent to meet the budget.
2. You will only increase
fund-raising to make up the shortfall. By what percentage would you need to
increase fund-raising to meet your budget? You know you're $130,000 short.
$130,000
/ $350,000 originally from fund-raising x 100 = 37
You would need
to increase fund-raising by 37 percent to meet the budget.
3. If
you raised dues by 10 percent, how many more dollars would you need from fund-raising?
Fund-raising
increase = (total needed - dues) - original amount from fund-raising
Fund-raising
increase = ($930,000 - ($450,000 x 1.10)) - $350,000
Fund-raising
increase = ($930,000 - $495,000) - $350,000
Fund-raising increase
= $435,000 - $350,000
Fund-raising increase = $85,000
If
dues were increased 10 percent, you would need to get an extra $85,000 from
fund-raising.
Math skills can be useful for a rabbi. They're
not the most important skill you can have, but they come in handy.
"It's
good to have some math skills," says rabbi Moshe Saks. "For example, you take
a look at the budget, and you want to see the percentage of dues and the percentage
of fund-raising."
Saks says rabbis deal almost always with people,
not numbers. However, because budgets for large congregations can be over
$1 million, it's good to be comfortable dealing with numbers.
"Truthfully,
it's not critical, but it might be helpful," Saks says.