More than Just Junk Mail
In our advancement meeting this week, we were talking about ILT's end of the year fundraising campaign. This is the biggest yearly fundraiser for ILT and this year we have a donor who is willing to match $150,000 of donations received by January 21, 2018. This is exciting for us, but for many people, it is just another piece of junk mail on their dining room table at night.
I, of course, understand this attitude toward a donation letter. I have the same attitude for many of the appeal letters I receive in the mail on a regular basis. So let me tell you a little bit about how ILT uses the money we receive from donors.
The money is used in one of two ways. Some donations are restricted to a specific use by the donor. These funds are used in accord with the wishes of the donor. Mostly, these are donations given to the financial aid fund or other special projects. ILT budgets $30,000 a year to help students who have financial need. Last year we received $121,023 dollars in restricted funds. These funds were used to help support our international partners, our students through financial aid, and to create a reserve fund toward accreditation compliance.
For the most part, however, donations are given to be used for general operations. This is important because it helps us keep the cost of education low. Some of the feedback from the recent accreditation visit is that we have a very small staff for a school our size, with employees taking on multiple roles. We keep expense as low as we can.
The end of the year campaign is one of four that ILT runs as a part of its business plan. ILT depends upon donations for the majority of its income. However, we are conscious of the generosity of our donors. We know that there is no need to go to our donors every month. Most have a plan for giving to ILT already in place. It is still important to be able to offer regular information to you about the state of things around ILT.
Please think about donating to ILT this year. Our appeal letter is more than just junk mail. Donations to ILT support the students who will one day be our pastors and teachers. To learn more about giving to ILT click here.
I, of course, understand this attitude toward a donation letter. I have the same attitude for many of the appeal letters I receive in the mail on a regular basis. So let me tell you a little bit about how ILT uses the money we receive from donors.
The money is used in one of two ways. Some donations are restricted to a specific use by the donor. These funds are used in accord with the wishes of the donor. Mostly, these are donations given to the financial aid fund or other special projects. ILT budgets $30,000 a year to help students who have financial need. Last year we received $121,023 dollars in restricted funds. These funds were used to help support our international partners, our students through financial aid, and to create a reserve fund toward accreditation compliance.
For the most part, however, donations are given to be used for general operations. This is important because it helps us keep the cost of education low. Some of the feedback from the recent accreditation visit is that we have a very small staff for a school our size, with employees taking on multiple roles. We keep expense as low as we can.
The end of the year campaign is one of four that ILT runs as a part of its business plan. ILT depends upon donations for the majority of its income. However, we are conscious of the generosity of our donors. We know that there is no need to go to our donors every month. Most have a plan for giving to ILT already in place. It is still important to be able to offer regular information to you about the state of things around ILT.
Please think about donating to ILT this year. Our appeal letter is more than just junk mail. Donations to ILT support the students who will one day be our pastors and teachers. To learn more about giving to ILT click here.
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