Thank you so much for generously supporting GTD in 2011. We are blown away by your thoughtfulness and kindness!
I am happy to report that we just completed our 2nd straight year of finishing in the black during a very harsh economy! Thank You Jesus! This is especially significant after the financial struggle we encountered in 2008/9 when the U.S. economy tanked.
I am also happy to report that we have made several adjustments based on the wisdom of God’s Word to “weatherproof” our ministry against our nation’s current economic climate as well as any future economic instabilities.
I could talk for hours about all that God has been teaching me about financial stability in ministry. Each lesson has transformed into an action point that has already been applied to GTD. This has caused a branch that began to wither in 2008/9 to be revived and begin to bear fruit again. I will be writing more about this topic in an upcoming post on the GTD Blog.
Our goal for many years has been to become a ministry that is not donation dependent. We desire to be 100% program supported and allow all donations to go towards the growth, development & expansion of GTD rather than going towards paying the monthly bills to keep GTD in business. I’m so excited to tell you that we are almost there. In 2011, 78% of our budget expenses were paid by the programs we run. That means that we were donation dependent for only 22% of our budget. That’s amazing!! Our goal for 2012 is to be only 12% donation dependent! And our prayer is to be 100% program funded by this time next year (Jan 2013)!!!
Of course, as a non-profit we will always receive donations, but our God-inspired ambition has always been to one day grow to a point where we are self sustaining through the programs we offer. I believe this is how many non-profits should operate so that donors help to start-up and support ministries until those ministries reach the maturity phase of being self sustaining. This will unleash donors to adopt other new great ministries & causes every few years.
But we’re not quite there yet so we ask that you continue to partner with us as we strive to hit this great goal. We thank God for you and the vital role that you play in this ministry!
And we are very excited about all the events God has blessed us with already in 2012. We already have 9 mission trips to Costa Rica, 5 adventure trips, and several retreats & day trips planned for this year. We have all kinds of God-awesome events that are open to the public - The Grand Canyon Trip, 17th Annual Slammed Adventure Trip, CR2012 Costa Rica Mission Trip, Grunge Caving Day Trip, Liquid Canoeing Day Trip, and so much more!
God has filled us with an expectant spirit that 2012 is going to be “Our Greatest Year Ever!” We look forward to all the lives that will be eternally impacted through our unique programs as we share the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ in the great outdoors. Thank you for supporting GTD! May God richly bless you for your generosity!
PS: Check out all the amazing updates & upcoming events on our website: www.goingthedistance.org
Sincerely,
Doug Garner
CEO / Founder / Grunt
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