Membership

We invite you to become a member of Island Synagogue. Our membership is comprised of people who come from all walks of life, and one of the prime tenets of the congregation is to make all new members feel like a part of the shul as quickly as possible. Membership dues are used to fund the operations budget of the shul: employee salaries, rent; shul-hosted kiddushim, the kids program, etc. Our membership costs are among the lowest of the synagogues in the greater Seattle area. There are no additional charges for High Holiday seats.

Please review the details below and contact us at membership@islandsynagogue.org if you have questions about membership.

To join Island Synagogue, please complete the online member application form.   Please do not submit any payments for membership until your application has been approved and you have been notified.

Dues 5785 2024-2025

Dues are recorded on an annual basis and will be billed at the start of our September 1 fiscal year. You may choose to pay your dues in full at start of each year, or you may choose to be billed quarterly. You will be asked to make your annual dues commitment and billing selection at the start of each fiscal year.

During the second year of your membership you will be invited to contribute to our building fund.

Island Synagogue rates for 5785 (September 1st, 2023 - August 31st, 2024) are below. In keeping with the spirit of the shul, we ask you to support at the level that is financially feasible for you and/or your family. We do not ask for copies of your W-2 or IRS tax returns and your contribution will be kept confidential. Please consider the following categories when making your decision:

• BASIC membership at $2,600 per year

We also have higher levels of  chai membership for members who can afford to pay a higher amount of dues. This helps us greatly by offsetting some of the members that are paying a lower amount.. If you can afford to pay more, please consider upgrading your membership to one of the following:

• BRONZE CHAI membership at $3,600 per year
• SILVER CHAI membership at $5,400 per year
• GOLD CHAI membership at $7,200 or above per year
• ASSOCIATE membership at $825 per year (available if you have a primary membership at another shul, but wish to support Island Synagogue, does not include voting rights)
• All full memberships are assessed an additional $200 annual security fee and associate memberships an additional $100 annual security fee.
• What you can afford - please contact Keith at office@islandsynagogue.org to discuss. No one will be turned away due to inability to afford a full membership.

Payments

The Board of Directors has set a policy that dues are payable in full by October 31st each year unless another payment option has been arranged.

Payment options are:

1. Payment by check of the full dues amount by October 31, 2024.

To select this option, once your membership has been approved, please send a check payable to Island Synagogue.
All funds should be remitted to: Island Synagogue, 8685 SE 47th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040.

2. Monthly payments via ACH (recurring bank account withdrawal). Members who select this option pay their dues in equal monthly payments, and are not assessed any fee. Payments may be made from either a checking or a savings account.

To pay your dues via a one-time credit card charge, please login to your account on www.islandsynagogue.org, and pay your balance from the “My Account” screen.