Join our Endowment Campaign!
The cemetery has annual maintenance, utility, and insurance expenses that total in
the hundreds of dollars, punctuated by occasional expenses, such as tree removal, tree planting, and fence repair that can reach the thousands of dollars. While we have been able to meet our basic expenses through donations and the proceeds from lot sales, we do have some deferred maintenance and we need to put the cemetery on a footing that does not depend so much on annual receipts.

The Endowment Fund will be managed by the Jewish Community Foundation in Milwaukee.
Management and service fees will be very low. Distributions from the Foundation to the cemetery will be only for the purpose of “maintenance, repair, upkeep, improvements, enhancements and other benevolent activities associated with a cemetery,” and will be limited to a small portion of the principal and earnings annually. The cemetery will not draw anything from the Endowment until the balance reaches $20,000. With these restrictions, we hope the Endowment will provide a firm financial foundation for the cemetery. Unless instructed otherwise by the donor, we will subtract 10% of each endowment contribution to be placed in the general operating fund for the support of cemetery operations while the endowment is grown.

Our Goal

Our goal is to raise at least $30,000 for the Endowment Fund. We believe this amount,
with a reasonable rate of return, will support a substantial portion of the cemetery’s annual expenses. As of this writing, we have already raised $28,148.52 of this goal.

Any donation to the Endowment Fund will be appreciated.

Please note that that the B’nai Israel Cemetery Association is recognized by the
IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and all donations
are deductible as provided by law. 

Thank You to Our Donors!

All donors to our Endowment Fund have our sincere gratitude and are listed below.
Donors at the following levels will receive special recognition: 
 

up to $180 - L'Chaim!
up to $500 - Chai Five
up to $1000 - Chai Hopes
up to $5,000 - Chai Society

more than $5,000 - Chai and Mighty

Here are ways you can donate:

Remember us in your Will. It is easy to leave a “specific bequest” for a fixed sum or a percentage of your estate to the cemetery. Please consult your attorney whenever making changes to your Will. The bequest should specify that it is to “B’nai Israel Cemetery Association, Ashland, Wisconsin.” We understand that you can always change your Will; still, we’d appreciate knowing if you have included us in your Will at this time. Please email our treasurer, Kate Siegler, at dksiegler@charter.net.