This is the best time of year for someone in my role, director of development. The end of the year signifies an outpouring of support from donors. It’s the time of year when a lot of correspondence and updates from old and new friends alike arrive in our inboxes and mailboxes. It’s also a time to quantify some of the impact that the mission and ministries at Holy Wisdom Monastery had on the lives of our supporters.
We are in an important two-month stretch for fundraising to support the work at the monastery. In November and December 2012, we saw nearly one-third of the total dollars contributed throughout the entire year come in just two months.
One new initiative this year is that we are participating in the #GivingTuesday campaign. You’ve probably heard of Black Friday—when the masses visit shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving and lift retailers’ bottom lines into the black for the year. The retailers have also proclaimed the Monday after Thanksgiving to be Cyber Monday—the day when most people begin making online purchases and taking advantage of sales for the holidays.
The nonprofit community has come together to claim the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as #GivingTuesday. This year it falls on Tuesday, December 3, and donors are encouraged to make gifts in advance of the end of the calendar year. Read our year-end appeal, give online through our website and explore other ways to support our work.
Of course, not everyone gives at the end of the year. So far in 2013, 112 households (out of nearly 600 households who currently donate to Holy Wisdom) made ten or more donations. This signifies that we have a large group who make contributions throughout the year on a regular basis to support the works of the monastery. Many of these contributors are members of our Sunday Assembly worship community and oblate community. Our donors over the past year come from 38 different states, so the support for the sisters’ mission comes from every corner of the country.
Thank you to all our readers out there who support Holy Wisdom Monastery. Your donations breathe life into our work!