When we are meeting with people, a number of the same questions keep coming up, so we thought, "why not post some of the questions and answers here?" So with this post we are starting a series as a place to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about our ministry. Our plan is to post a few at a time, every couple of weeks, so please stay tuned. We plan to discuss things like finances, what our roles in the ministry will be, who can stay at the retreat center, and even our dog Lacy! If you have a question you would like to see answered in a future post, please leave it in the comments below and we will add it to the list!
Our first set of questions deal with the financial side of raising support. We get a lot of financial questions because most people want to know where their money is going, and what kind of meaningful impact their investment is going to have. We totally understand because we feel the same way, so that is why we are starting with this topic!
FAQs #1: Financial Questions
How much of the money donated actually goes directly to your ministry?
Whenever we donate money, this is always one of our first questions. Where does the money go? Does it actually go to help people, or does it go to some administrator? When you donate to us through TEAM, 91% of your gift goes directly to us and our ministry. TEAM then uses the other 9% to cover administrative costs. TEAM's administration helps us in a number of ways including accounting, taxes, marketing, visas, medical help, member care, and other important logistics that we need in order to get to, and stay on, the field. TEAM currently has one of the lowest administrative percentages among US missions organizations. 100% of your donation is tax deductible.
What is a Pledge exactly?
When someone joins our support team as a financial partner, they make a pledge to give a specified dollar mount monthly, quarterly, or annually. Some partners pledge to start giving right away, and others pledge to start giving later. Even if a partner pledges to start giving in the future, the amount they have committed to giving can still be immediately counted towards our monthly financial goal. For example, we have to have 60% or more of our monthly support pledged before we can attend our next training, even if some of our partners are not yet giving.
Do I start giving now if I am a monthly partner? Where does the money go?
We have two different financial goals to reach before we are allowed to go to Portugal. The first is monthly support that our financial partners will contribute on a regular basis. These are the finances that will enable us to live in Portugal and run the retreat center ministry. The other goal is for our one-time outgoing expenses. These are the finances that we will use to get to Portugal and set up life there, covering expenses like visa applications, plane tickets, moving costs, purchasing a car, and language classes.
All monthly support and one-time gifts that come in between now and when we leave, will go into our outgoing expenses account. The sooner our financial partners start giving their monthly pledged amounts, the more quickly we can raise the funds for our outgoing expenses. 100% of both monthly and outgoing goals must be fully funded, not just pledged, before we can depart.
