The Cohen Camps’ Annual Campaign
Meet Your Match Capital Campaign a Success
The Cohen Camps’ Annual Campaign
Recently you received a solicitation, if we have your correct mailing address, signed by fellow alumni asking for you to contribute to an annual campaign. This is the first part of a nascent fundraising effort started by the Cohen Camps (Camps Pembroke, Tel Noar and Tevya). We have begun reaching out to our alumni to help the Cohen Camps to fund scholarships for Camp Tel Noar – which have hitherto been funded out of tuition income – so we can keep tuition affordable in order to continue to provide the memorable, life-changing experiences to others you had as campers.
Shortly before that mailing a team of students from MIT’s Sloan School of Business, with our permission, studied the Cohen Camps and its fundraising initiative for a course project. Many of you participated in a survey which was part of the project. One survey finding was that many alumni are not aware of the scholarships given or the extent that scholarships have always been a part of the Cohen Camps’ history. The availability of financial assistance is advertised, but obviously not strongly enough, so we thought it deserved some explanation.
Scholarships
Eli and Bessie Cohen had the foresight to establish the camps as non-profit organizations from their very beginnings. They were interested in creating strong Jewish connections and believed summer camping was one way to achieve that. The first camp, Camp Pembroke, was started in 1935 as an all-girls equivalent camp to an all-boys camp Eli was involved in founding with four YMHA's (antecedents of the Jewish Community Centers) from the north shore of Boston. When the board didn't want to be involved in doing for girls what they did for boys, Eli did it on his own. Camp Tevya followed in 1940 as a true 'fresh air camp' to get poor Jewish kids out of the city during a time when the country was still in the Depression, which ended with the advent of the Second World War. Tevya's original tuition was $8 per week for a two-week session. Camp Tel Noar was founded in 1945, as Tel Noar Lodge, to teach young adults about Zionism before the founding of the State of Israel – its faculty included some leading educators in the American Jewish world.
Eventually all three camps evolved into a similar format of informal Jewish education woven into a well-rounded camp program of land and water sports, and creative and performing arts which you experienced as alumni, and which children continue to experience today. The Cohens believed strongly then, and still do now, in the mission the camps pursue. No child is turned away because their family cannot afford the tuition.
Scholarships are awarded based on proven financial need and each family’s situation is evaluated separately. All three Cohen Camps have always given generous scholarships – currently up to two-thirds of tuition, based on a family's ability to pay – with occasional full scholarships. Parents need only to request the forms to apply for financial aid.
Unlike other organizations, no budget is set to limit the amount of assistance given. Everyone who applies and qualifies receives what is warranted. Also unlike some other organizations, the only people who know about the scholarships are the families and the committee determining the award. No one in camp knows who is on scholarship – not even the Director. (Whether parents tell their children is an individual family decision.) At camp everyone is treated equally regardless of means.
Why Start Fundraising?
The camps, which have tuitions far lower than those of private camps, have always been funded mostly out of tuition income. However, with no specific scholarship fund, the aid given reduces the total income to operate the camp. Today it has become more and more expensive to run first-class, affordable camp programs. Not only is there more regulation and cost to keep facilities up-to-date, but it is increasingly harder and more expensive to find qualified staff and develop innovative programs. The Cohen Camps organization continuously strives to make the camps the best they can be and is never satisfied to rest on its past reputation.
So, we are starting down this path, like many other non-profit camps have done, to continue to provide memorable experiences like our alumni had. Raising money for scholarships is just one part of the overall fundraising effort, and funds raised for scholarship will allow more money to be reinvested in the camp facilities and programs.
Some alumni have asked whether donations can be designated for a specific camp or a specific purpose. Such requests are, of course, honored. The connection that alumni have to their camps is undoubtedly strong and there will be opportunities for alumni donations to benefit their particular camp. The Annual Campaign has been launched for all three Cohen Camps together because the organization treats the camps as parents do their children: equally, but sometimes one requires additional attention. All support is appreciated and welcomed.
Annual Campaign Status
Results of our inaugural annual campaign have been encouraging. Camp Tel Noar greatly appreciates Carl and Arthur for lending their support in this effort and signing the initial letter.
| Camp | Funds Raised |
| Camp Pembroke | $9,306 |
| Camp Tel Noar | $5,553 |
| Camp Tevya | $5,847 |
For those alumni who would still like to contribute, go to www.camptelnoar.org/AlumniSupport.php to download the Donation Form for a contribution by check, or contribute online using a credit card. Contributions by check are preferred since they allow for your full gift to benefit Camp Tel Noar.
Meet Your Match Capital Campaign a Success
The Cohen Camps are happy to announce that it has raised over $125,000 in gifts and pledges from alumni and friends, which resulted in $60,000 in matching funds from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation through the Meet Your Match Program which ended in June, 2006.
The Meet Your Match campaign was a success for all three of the Cohen Camps. As our first formal fundraising activity, we met our financial goals, but more importantly we learned much that will help us in the future. We are very thankful for everyone who contributed to the campaign for all three camps, and appreciate their support. See MYM Donor List.
As important as the contributions, we are enormously grateful for the alumni volunteers who gave their time and energy to this campaign: organizing, writing letters and making telephone calls. Without them, we would have been unable to achieve our goals. We look forward to increased involvement of our alumni in the future.
| Camp Pembroke | $ 40,114 |
| Camp Tel Noar | $ 44,816 |
| Camp Tevya | $ 40,085 |
The Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy launched the Meet Your Match program to motivate non-profit Jewish camps to find and inspire donors for overnight Jewish camps. The Institute focuses on generating energy around the importance of Jewish camping in shaping Jewish identity and fostering continuity for today’s Jewish youth.
The aim of the Meet Your Match program was to raise money for capital improvements, and to that end we were busy in the spring of 2006 with a number of capital projects. We built two new head counselor cabins at Camp Tevya with three bedrooms and an office in each, and at Camp Pembroke we installed a sports floor in the new recreation building, and rebuilt the septic system for the Horseshoe. Planning is underway for future projects at all three camps.
Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to this campaign and especially to the alumni who gave their precious time to this effort.
CTN Alumna to Direct
We want to share with you the news that Benjie Marchette has resigned as Director of Camp Tel Noar in order to pursue a new position as the Northern New England Area Director for The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Benjie received his Masters Degree in International Affairs in National Security and Middle East studies from Columbia University, and we wish him well in this new endeavor that will allow him to pursue a career in the field of study for which he trained.
While we are disappointed that Benjie is leaving the Tel Noar community, we are delighted to announce that Molly Lourie Butter has been appointed as Tel Noar’s new Director.
Molly is a 12-year camper and counselor alumna of Camp Tel Noar, and it was her experience at CTN that prompted her to pursue her career in summer camping and informal Jewish education. Molly joined the Cohen Camps in 2003 as the Director of the Dor L’Dor Leadership Program and Marketing Coordinator. She led our CIT’s in Israel in summers 2004 and 2005 and has since supervised the entire leadership program. Most recently, Molly served as Assistant Director at Camp Tevya overseeing programming. Prior to rejoining the Cohen Camps, Molly worked for four years at national law firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding LLP in Washington, DC, ultimately serving as Marketing Coordinator. On a part-time basis, Molly also has served as the Youth Educator at Temple Sinai in Brookline overseeing their high school youth group (SCOOBY) and as an advisor for the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration from The George Washington University.
Molly worked closely with Benjie prior to his departure to ease the transition. We are thrilled that Molly has accepted this position. You would be hard pressed to find someone with as deep a passion for CTN as Molly; she even requested the use of the Tel Noar Dining Hall in June 2006 for her wedding and we were all too happy to oblige.
