Understanding Your
Annual Partner Contribution
What Should I Contribute?
At Kavana, we believe in building a cooperative community where everyone contributes financially in a way that is both personally meaningful and helps to sustain our organization. In an attempt to be both clear and transparent, we are sharing a few frameworks below to help guide your giving during this year’s partner renewal process. We trust each of our partners to determine the amount that is right for you, using the context below.
Average Cost-Per-Household
In 2016, in response to partner feedback, we began sharing a “cost-per-household” to help provide greater clarity beyond the invitation to “give a meaningful amount.” This number is calculated by dividing our projected operating and personnel costs by the anticipated number of partner households.
This year, we've updated our calculation to reflect what’s currently needed to maintain a balanced budget, factoring in support from our generous external donors. For Fiscal Year 2026, our target cost-per-household is $4,067.
What Our Partners Actually Give
Kavana partners contribute at a wide range of levels. Everyone’s financial situation is different, and we deeply value every contribution.
Single-adult households: Fiscal Year 2025 contributions ranged from $120 to $10,000 annually.
Two-adult households: Fiscal Year 20205 contributions range from $1,150 to $30,000 annually.
Last year, about a quarter of partner households gave at or above the cost-per-household. The chart shows a full distribution of partner gifts from Fiscal Year 2025.
When choosing your annual partner contribution for this year, we ask you to consider:
Your current income and expenses
Your wealth and assets (savings, homeownership, inheritance)
Your access to family support or generational wealth
Your desire to support others in the community
Tithing & Percentage-Based Giving
Looking for a values-aligned approach to your partner giving? The concept of tithing comes from the Torah: that in ancient times, the Israelites were to separate out certain percentages of their income to support the priests, the Levites, and the poor (tithe = ma'aser = 10%).
Today, many Jews think about their philanthropic giving similarly, choosing an intentional percentage of income each year to designate to communal organizations such as Kavana and to direct service/social justice causes. If this approach appeals, we recommend using 1% to 3% of household income as a guideline to determine your annual Kavana partnership donation. This framework can help you ground your giving in intentionality and tradition.
Our Community for All
As you reflect on your annual partner pledge to Kavana this year, we invite you to consider the following:
If you have the ability to stretch toward or beyond this current cost-per-household of $4,067, we ask you to consider doing so — your support helps ensure Kavana remains an equitable, accessible Jewish community for all.
If your contribution falls below the cost-per-household amount, please know we are still genuinely grateful for your support, as every dollar helps cover essential personnel and operational costs.
If you’ve been renewing at the same level for multiple years now, we encourage you to consider recalibrating your contribution in light of our increased investment in personnel and programs requested by our partners, and the reality of inflation and rising costs.
Our most important priority is that everyone contributes at a level that is personally meaningful, so that we can continue building a vibrant cooperative Jewish community together.
“With my whole heart, I am delighted to contribute as a partner. Learning and leaning on ancient wisdom never felt as viscerally essential as it does in 2025.”