Hindu Samaj Temple of Minnesota Inc.
A PRIVATE NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION
Tax ID# 41-1992073
911 11th Avenue NW, Rochester MN 55901
Plea for Donation to the Hindu Samaj Temple of Minnesota Inc.
October 21, 2006
Dear Friends,
Deepavali greetings to you all! Just over two years ago the members of the Indian community in Rochester made a landmark decision to have our own Temple. We pledged our time, energy and resources and got our own Hindu Mandir. Since its initial inception the Mandir has been a source of great joy and a place to meet our friends. It serves to meet our spiritual needs. It is a place where our children meet other children of Indian origin and learn language, culture and dance. It is also a place to celebrate community events. Our community reaches out to all our brothers and sisters and builds on our mutual strength. In fact, for many of us going to the Temple has become an essential part of our lives.
Thanks to the efforts of many in our community, the Temple has made tremendous progress in our mission to promote Hindu religion and culture. Almost everyday there are classes being held at the Temple for our children and adults to learn language, dance, culture and Yoga. Thanks to enthusiastic support from the community we have now installed a number of “Ishta Devatas”. Navarathri got off to a great start with the installation of Ma Durga moorthi. Enthusiastic devotees gather in the Temple to pray to together weekly.
We have also been working on improving our infrastructure. We have worked to make better use of the space in the building and make the building safe, secure and energy efficient. To this end, we have completed the repairs and upgrades of the upper floor, remodeled the basement, and repaved the parking lot.
As we look ahead we see new challenges and opportunities. While our monthly revenues are at least equal to or exceed our monthly expenses, we still have a large mortgage balance. Paying that off will drastically reduce our monthly expenses. From a building safety standpoint we need to install a security system. On the cultural side we would like to expand the breadth and depth of the classes that are currently offered. On the religious side, we are debating the need for an in-house priest. We get a number of requests for services of a priest from our community members. Also with installation of deities, “Nithyaradhana” or daily prayers should be performed. This can best be done by an in-house priest. To meet these and other challenges we again turn to you for your support.
These challenges are not insurmountable. We are fortunate that Rochester is home to a large number of talented professionals. The fact that this community has achieved so much in such a short time speaks volumes for the sincerity, dedication and commitment that have been shown by the members of our community. Our goals can be met if each one of us made a contribution commensurate with our abilities and circumstances. For example, $25/month ($300/year) contribute would help defray some of our monthly expenses. However, there are a number of us in the community who are fortunate to help in a more substantial way. To them, we would suggest a tax-deductible donation to paid over three years. The following levels of donation has been approved: Level 1: $500/ year for 3 years, Level 2: $1000/ year for 3 years, Level 3: $ 2500 / year for 3 years, Level 4: $ 3500/ year for 3 years, Level 5: $ 5000 / year for 3 years. We remain optimistic that with the support of the community, we will reach that goal in the near future.
We have convened a group of highly dedicated individuals who have been involved in Fund Raising effort. At this point, dear friends we would request you to make or pledge your donations to the Hindu Samaj Temple of Rochester.
In case of any questions/ suggestions, please feel free to call me at 507-285-3257 or email with your ideas of fundraising at ghosh006@yahoo.com.
Amit K. Ghosh
Head Fund Raising and Development Committee
Hindu Samaj Temple of Minnesota Inc.
Members:
Suresh Chari schari3@charter.net
Suresh Kotagal Skotagal@charter.net
Dev Mukhopadhya barna_dev@yahoo.com