CFU Fundraising 2023 Dec
U.S. taxpayers: Remember to take advantage of Donor Advised Funds (DAF) or Qualified Charitable Donations (QCD) programs.
CFU Fundraising 2023 December
By Rick Lyon
$100,000 MATCHING FUND IS NEARING SUCCESS!
We want to thank all of you who have donated to our matching-fund campaign and to all of our recurring donors too. As you can see from the graphic, we have almost reached our matching fund goal with only ten days still remaining. Your support has and will continue to help us improve and refine the AskJesus chatbot, expand the Discover Jesus website with new essays, art and features, and continue our work and planning for Cinematic Jesus and the Jesus Experience.
Just a reminder to our donors from the USA, be sure to get your year-end donations to us before December 31st to provide tax deductions for 2023. Donations by mail must be postmarked no later than December 30th to qualify for 2023.
Click here to donate online: DONATE TO THE CENTER FOR UNITY
Send checks to: The Center for Unity, 3223 Caroline Street, South Bend, IN 46614
For instructions to wire funds to the Center for Unity, call Rick Lyon at 1-765-366-7203
Or you can text "UNITY" to: 765-722-2911 to donate!
We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. EIN: 87-3413918
For U.S. taxpayers: Remember to take advantage of Donor Advised Funds (DAF) or Qualified Charitable Donations (QCD) programs.
CFU GOOGLE AD GRANT UPDATE
Our Google Ad Grant campaign is off to a great start. We are getting about 1,000 views and 100 clicks to our website each day. In the past two weeks, our newsletter subscriber list has grown by almost 200 people. The top search is going out to our AskJesus chatbot which is the current active campaign we are featuring.
According to Google, 49% of our visitors are 18-24 years old, 21% are 25-34 years old, and 12% are 35-45 years old. So, we are seeing young people discovering Jesus through AskJesus and the Discover Jesus website. Both AskJesus and DiscoverJesus.com are free to the user in order to bring the life and teachings of Jesus to more people around the world.
While the Google Ads are free to us as a not-for-profit spiritual organization, we have hired Cause Inspired to create the campaigns for us. Cause Inspired fees cost us $485 per month but we needed help with the technical aspects of setting up the campaigns allowing us to take advantage of this Google Ad Grant, but it certainly seems to be paying off in the growth of our interested audience and supporters.
FUNDRAISING FOR THE JESUS EXPERIENCE
Many of you have asked how the horrific war in Israel will affect our project, The Jesus Experience. This past week we met with the entire team in Israel to consider the way forward. Three major points came from this meeting.
First, we do not know when or how this conflict will be resolved but we know (and pray) that it will be. Our attorney said that when the war is over, Israel will rebuild itself and Gaza. We will be part of that new growth and we need to be ready when that time comes. He advised that during this time, we should focus on fundraising to be prepared when peace and prosperity return to Israel.
Second, part of that preparation should be to form a steering committee to develop the plans for the broadest appeal and the greatest impact upon this world. What can the Center for Unity and the Jesus Experience do to bring peace and unity to this area?
Third, once again they told us not to despair because this project is too important and too valuable not to be completed. It WILL be done. With your prayers and support, this project and our Father's will, shall both be done.
PEER-TO-PEER CROWDFUNDING
Our new Peer-to-Peer fundraising project is a crowdfunding opportunity that gives you the chance to multiply your support of the Center for Unity projects by enlisting family and friends to join your team to raise the necessary funds to bring the AskJesus chatbot, the Discover Jesus web app, Cinematic Jesus, and the Jesus Experience to reality.
