JOIN US AS A FOUNDING MEMBER!
For July 2025–June 2026, Shtetl 2.0™ invites you to join as a Founding Member, with a donation of any amount that feels meaningful to you.
Rather than setting fixed membership dues, we are relying on founding donations to help launch and grow our community thoughtfully and inclusively. Founding gifts to date have ranged from $36 to $6,000.
Shtetl 2.0™ is a new, all-volunteer, grass-roots community. In these early years, our focus is on building relationships, offering engaging programs, and growing toward mutual support services as volunteer capacity allows.
Our shared goal is simple: to strengthen community among older adults and support one another as we age in Northwest Philadelphia.
Building Our Community: A Shared Tradition
We are inspired by the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary created in the wilderness through voluntary gifts—“from every person whose heart so moves them.” No gift was considered more important than another. (R. Adin Steinsaltz has called this "The First Crowdfunding Campaign.”)
In that same spirit, the Founders Fund is built through contributions of all sizes, each equally valued.
Your donation supports essential start-up costs such as software and, over time, part-time staffing—while helping ensure that no one is excluded because of financial circumstances.
How to Join
1. Enroll and submit a Founding Membership donation using the link below.
2. If you wish to give more than the listed amount, make a second donation to the Founders Fund for the difference.
(We know this two-step process is a bit clunky—oy!—but it’s required by our membership software. Thank you for your patience.)
Click here for the Founding Member Enrollment Form
As a Founding Member, you help shape Shtetl 2.0™ from the beginning and become part of a growing, caring Jewish community.
Suggested Giving Levels
- $36 Spinner
- $72 Weaver
- $144 Carpenter
- $288 Stonecutter
- Or any amount that feels right to you
Looking Ahead
Beginning in 2026–27, we may introduce a membership dues structure, likely with different service levels and confidential, need-based reductions. We also hope to develop reciprocal memberships with other Village organizations.
Tax Information
Founding donations are 100% tax-deductible for those who itemize. Beginning 2026, taxpayers who claim the standard deduction can deduct charitable contributions up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Shtetl 2.0™ is a Service Group of Mt. Airy Community Services Corp (MACSC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 23-2009048 | PA Registration No. 27814
"By sharing our gifts, we will meet the generational challenge of being able to age with vitality - here, in NWPhilly, where we have already created so much!"
Shtetl 2.0™: NWPhilly Jews & Friends Aging in Community
[email protected]
