Raising Support for the Transforming Community
An informational zoom call will be held on December 15, 2023 to answer any questions/concerns you may have about the financial commitment.
Guidance on creating a crowdfunding campaign.*
Please be sure to fill out an Application for Transforming Community and receive confirmation of your acceptance before you begin fundraising.
For more information regarding application see our Frequently Asked Questions and look under Application Process.
One of the first decisions you will need to make is whether or not to engage social media to make contact with your network of friends. Some of our fundraisers have posted their appeals on Facebook and had good results. Others have chosen not to be so public about their experience, and have written emails and letters to family and friends active in their relational networks. Of course, you can combine these strategies...your particular approach is up to you!
After you have been accepted into Transforming Community, paid your registration fee, and have decided to fundraise for your Transforming Community experience, send an email to accounting@transformingcenter.org. In your email, please provide your first and last name and the community number you are joining. The subject line should be New Crowdfunding Account Request.
You will receive an email from our crowdfunding platform Virtuous that will invite you to set up your account. This invitation expires within 7 days so make sure you accept it when it comes in.
After you accept the invitation, you will be sent a link that will connect your future donors directly with your account. You can use this link in your email and letters.
You can also include this link (link to come) in your appeal letters/emails. This webpage will give your contacts a bit more information about the Transforming Community. There is a YouTube video and some FAQs.
Please note: The deadline to raise funds for your Transforming Community experience is 2 months before the start of the community. If all funds are not raised at that time, we will begin monthly payments to finish your invoice.
Create Your Contact List
Consider your circles of influence and support, those who might be most likely to understand your desire to participate in this type of spiritual formation journey. Gather their contact information and decide whether to send an email, a mailed letter or both.
All the of our sample letters can be edited to suit your needs.
Use the Sample Letter provided. This letter/email will need tweaking and personalization so be sure to read it through carefully before sending.
Send out your appeal letters and emails as soon as possible so you can reach your fundraising goal by Feb. 21, 2024.
Schedule any meetings or phone calls with those you think might be uniquely interested or capable of supporting you in this experience.
FOLLOW UP
Stay connected with perspective donors. The most successful campaigns are completed within 30 days and have several touchpoints including follow up emails and conversations. Create at least 1 update per week to share with your network.
Your contacts may have questions that they bring to you regarding the Transforming Center and the Transforming Community experience. Please feel free to direct them to any part of our website or see the FAQ section below.
Here are a couple emails that might be helpful as well.
SAMPLE- follow up email to letter
SAMPLE- Mid-campaign Follow Up Email-F
APPRECIATION
While your supporters will get a thank you and confirmation of their gift through the micro site, it is always meaningful to send your own thank you as well.
Donations made by check should be sent directly to the Transforming Center with the words "Mulholland Fund - (insert your name here)" in the memo, or with the remittance stub found at the bottom of the sample fundraising letter.
REACH OUT
If at any point you have questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to us!
Below are some answers to frequently asked questions that you may encounter as you invite your family and friends to help with your TC expense.
What happens in a Transforming Community?
A Transforming Community is a retreat-based spiritual formation experience with nine quarterly retreats. Each retreat includes substantive teaching on spiritual formation themes and practices, guided experiences with spiritual disciplines, and significant engagement in community with influencers from diverse backgrounds and theological traditions. We ask our retreatants to abstain from technology during retreats so they will have opportunities for extended silence and solitude to rest and pay attention to what is happening in their souls.
Why does a Transforming Community require 27 months to complete?
Leaders are accustomed to attending weekend seminars or conferences that last 1-3 days, and cost several hundred dollars. Sadly, the impact of these one-time events is often short-lived. The Transforming Center believes that true change happens incrementally…over time…in community with others. Retreatants use the three-month intervals between retreats to practice what they have learned in retreats, and integrate those new practices and learnings into their lives.
Can you help me understand the cost of a Transforming Community?
Because of the comprehensive nature of this program and the fact that it spans over two years, there is a significant cost associated with a Transforming Community experience. The fees include everything you need while on retreat: a private room and bath, five hot meals, healthy and plentiful refreshments throughout the retreat, retreat materials, plus a celebratory reception the second night while on retreat. That is in addition to the six teaching sessions, eight worship services, spiritual guidance for your solitude times, and group spiritual direction.
Comparable leadership experiences in the corporate sector are far more expensive, while the cost of similar programs hosted by other ministries are in line with or more expensive than the cost of a Transforming Community.
Currently the Transforming Center is affiliated with an academic institution so that a degree can be earned in concert with the experience. As well, if retreatants complete certain requirements, they are eligible to receive a Certificate of Spiritual Transformation from the Transforming Center at the conclusion of their community.
Based on the track record of previous Transforming Communities, what impact would you expect to see on your life, leadership, and ministry?
Our 600+ Transforming Community alumni have not been shy about sharing the impact of their experience upon their lives and ministries. In a recent survey, more than 85 percent of our alumni said their Transforming Community experience had a profound impact! Many have said that the experience literally saved them—spiritually and emotionally—as well as saving their ministries. At the conclusion of each community, we are always in awe at the ways that God has shown up so personally and profoundly for so many. There are countless stories of transformation that have led to rejuvenated leaders in their families, churches and organizations.
Will you be updating me re: your Transforming Community experience?
We recommend that you consider offering updates. But how, and when you do so will be up to you.
Note: Some inquirers may want to know more about what, if anything, has happened in your ministry or leadership experience that would make you want to participate in a Transforming Community. We advise you to use discernment about what you share, and how openly you share some of these things that can be deeply personal. While you may wish to give your prospective donors some sense of what has happened to you in your life in leadership or the deepest longings you have as it relates to your spiritual journey, you are not obligated to give intimate details of your experience to anyone other than those you trust you most. And the same is true when you update your donors during and after your community experience.
How is the donation allocated?
Crowdfunding can be a great way to raise money for a variety of experiences and projects, however, it is important to realize that our version of crowdfunding is established to support the Mulholland Scholarship Fund - not you specifically. This way, each donation made to the Mulholland Scholarship Fund of the Transforming Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is considered tax deductible to the donor. The Transforming Center will prioritize the donor's request to fund your retreat experience. If you withdraw from the Community at any time, that money you raised will remain in the scholarship fund for other scholarships. If an excess of funds is raised, that excess will remain in the fund and cannot be refunded to the donors because it was given as a tax deductible donation. The Mulholland Scholarship Fund is in place so every dollar counts towards investing in Christian leaders!
* Crowdfunding can be a great way to raise money for a variety of experiences and projects, however, it is important to realize that our version of crowdfunding is established to support the Mulholland Scholarship Fund - not you specifically. This way, each donation made to the Mulholland Scholarship Fund of the Transforming Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is considered tax deductible to the donor. The Transforming Center will prioritize the donor's request to fund your retreat experience. If you withdraw from the Community at any time, that money you raised will remain in the scholarship fund for other scholarships. If an excess of funds is raised, that excess will remain in the fund and cannot be refunded to the donors because it was given as a tax deductible donation. The Mulholland Scholarship Fund is in place so every dollar counts towards investing in Christian Leaders!