If I could please have 10 minutes of your time to read this note in its entirety, I would really appreciate it …
As you’ve probably noticed by now, we are in the middle of our Marriage Matters Matching Challenge. As a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, we rely on the generosity of our audience, friends, and family to provide us with the financial resources needed to keep our ministry up and running. Unfortunately we still have a significant monetary need to wrap up 2012 and set us up for the beginning of 2013. That’s why we are having this matching challenge.
A generous donor has pledged to match every donation dollar-for-dollar through December 31st to help us raise the $20,000 we desperately need. We’ve already raised nearly $8,000 as of December 10th, but we still have $12,000 to go. That’s where you come in. We NEED YOU!!! We need you to be willing to sow into our ministry with a tax-deductible donation TODAY!
I know that there are a lot of organizations that ask you for your money, and I know that you have a lot of your own personal financial obligations. What I would ask of you is that you would carefully and prayerfully consider making our organization a priority in your financial world for two reasons:
#1 – Marriage Matters! Marriages are truly the foundation of society. Strong marriages create strong families which in turn establish strong communities who come together to establish a healthy society as a whole. We can see firsthand that as the divorce rates trend upward, our society’s condition is crumbling. The effects of this foundational deterioration is devastating to say the very least.
We are passionate about the importance and power of marriage, which is why I have completely committed my entire life to restoring the foundation of society through Foundation Restoration’s resources. Every day I pour my heart and soul into doing what I can to make a difference. To helping marriages. To helping young people and couples prepare for marriage. To doing anything and everything I can to help relationships thrive!
If you believe that marriage matters, then I would urge you to join our fight! We can’t do this alone. We need YOU to come alongside of us in a tangible way!
#2 – There’s a blessing in it for you. God calls us to give, and He loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). He also promises this: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). When we are generous with others, God is generous with us. We pray over each donation and donor that God would pour out His abundant blessings on them as they have been a blessing to us. We claim Luke 6:38 over each donor, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I believe that when you donate to our organization, that your marriage, family, and life will be blessed because that’s what God promises in His word. He also tells us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). That means that where we put our money is where our heart is aimed, not the other way around. Giving to Foundation Restoration means you are aiming your heart toward marriage – your own as well as others. That’s so vital in the world we live in!
If I’m being honest, I hate asking for money. I wish that it was something I never had to do, but it’s the reality of running an organization, even a non-profit. But I want you to know that I am not asking for you to do something that I myself don’t do. In addition to the tremendous amount of time and energy my husband and I pour into this ministry with little to no compensation, we also donate to the organization regularly because we believe in it in every way. We can’t ask you to give if we ourselves aren’t.
All of this to say, we simply need people like you to be generous, believe in what we are doing, and sow into our ministry if we want to not only continue providing the resources that we do but to do much more. If there is ever a cause worthy of your investment, it’s marriage because it truly is the heartbeat of your family, community, and society!
Please, join our fight for marriages with YOUR tax-deductible donation that will be doubled now through December 31st!
Thank you and God bless you,
Ashley McIlwain
Founder and CEO, Foundation Restoration
Hi! I’ve been following your blog for some time now and
finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Tx!
Just wanted to mention keep up the great work!
Krista, WELCOME! Thank you so much for joining us and for leaving a comment so we know you’ve stopped by! I am thrilled to have you and hope you’ll continue to join us and that we’ll hear from you more in the future 🙂 Thanks so much for the encouragement too; it’s greatly appreciated!