For my 31st birthday today, Dec 16, I humbly ask you consider donating $31 to the work of The Marin Foundation as a one time gift; or $31 per month, totaling $372 in one year. This video details what a $372 donation will go towards!

Here is a link to find out more information of how The Marin Foundation spends our donations, as well as the opportunity to make a secure one time or reoccurring donation to our work.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

From here on out, as much as I can get to a computer on a Sunday if I’m not speaking, I will start posting the up to date financial donation records (just cash donations, not including in-kind donations) of The Marin Foundation so you all can keep real-time track of where we’re at. Here is our 2011 budget. Here are the donations from Jan 1-22:

Individual donations: $700

Church donations: $1,625

Honorariums: $2,000

Book sales: $0

Total Donations: $4,325

Please consider donating to our work so we can keep our bridge building movement rolling! You can donate a one-time or reoccurring gift here. Every dollar truly makes a world of difference for us. Thank you so much.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Here is The Marin Foundation’s 2010 donations and expenses

Here is The Marin Foundation’s 2011 budget

What follows is The Marin Foundation’s 2011 Revenue Plan:

You can donate here to financially join us in our bridge building work

The Marin Foundation 2011 Revenue Plan

Index to Revenue Plan for $313,599

A.        Churches

B.        Individuals

C.        Major Donors

D.        Honorariums

E.         Blog

F.         Board of Directors

G.        Events

H.        Swag

Goal:

For The Marin Foundation to become more of an ongoing resource within bridge building throughout faith, sexuality and culture for our partners that they might give on a more consistent basis.

Strategic Direction:

To achieve a sustainable donation stream.

Objective: 

To develop a revenue plan that will raise the full 2011 budget of $313,599 by December 31, 2011.

A. Churches

Objective:

Obtain $100,000 from churches donating to The Marin Foundation.

Facts:

5 churches currently donate a yearly total of $31,000 to The Marin Foundation.

1 church currently donates free office space to The Marin Foundation, equaling an in-kind donation of $30,000.

Left to Raise from Churches: $69,000

Plan to Obtain Additional $69,000:

Meet with the 30 churches that have brought in Andrew Marin in the past to speak/teach/preach year and petition them to donate (estimated total $72,000, which averages $200/month per church).

Completed Plan Totals $104,100

B. Individual Donors

Objective:

Obtain $100,000 from individual donors giving to The Marin Foundation.

Facts:

2010 monthly individual giving totaled $528

2010 projected total individual giving is $30,000

Left to Raise from Individual Giving: $70,000

Plan to Obtain Additional $70,000:

The Marin Foundation just signed up with Etapestry, a company that automatically takes money out of a person’s bank account each month. Until now, The Marin Foundation only had the capability of having people donate one at a time, each month. Each member of The Marin Foundation team will petition all of their contacts (aiming for 200 total individuals) to give $30 per month (only $360 a year!), which totals $72,000 over the course of a year.

Petitions will also be made every Sunday on Love is an Orientation Blog, which averages almost 80,000 views a month, through The Marin Foundation’s 12 Newsletters per year and as well as through Facebook and Twitter.

Completed Plan Totals $102,000

C. Major Donors

Objective:

Obtain $45,000 from major donors giving to The Marin Foundation (Major Donor is greater than $15,000).

Facts:

The Marin Foundation currently has 0 major donors, though has yet to ask.

Left to Raise from Major Donors: $45,000

Plan to Obtain Remaining $45,000:

The Marin Foundation currently knows 6 individuals with the capacity to be considered a Major Donor who have a committed interested in our bridge building work. Andrew Marin will petition these people, as well as cultivate new relationships with recent contacts made in the private foundation world.

Completed Plan Totals $45,000

D. Speaking/Teaching/Lecturing/Preaching Honorariums

Objective:

Obtain $40,000 through The Marin Foundation’s speaking, teaching, lecturing, preaching honorariums.

Facts:

From day one, Andrew Marin has given 100% of his honorariums directly to The Marin Foundation, a very rare thing that is done by authors and national speakers.

The total honorariums for 2010 were 45,000.

Plan to Obtain the $40,000:

Andrew Marin plans on continuing to travel around the world to speak, teach. lecture and preach in any forum that asks of his knowledge within the individual (or combined) topics of faith, sexuality and culture, in order to obtain the budgeted financial goal.

For information on how to book Andrew Marin, please email speaking@themarinfoundation.org. For Andrew Marin’s current 2011 schedule, please see http://www.loveisanorientation.com/speaking-schedule/.

Completed Plan Totals $40,000

E. Blog Advertisements

Objective:

Obtain $5,000 through secular and religious businesses, universities, publishers, artists and non-profits to have advertisements on Andrew Marin’s blog, www.loveisanorientation.com.

Facts:

Currently there is 1 advertiser on Andrew Marin’s blog (starting Feb 2011), www.loveisanorientation.com. Love is an Orientation Blog continues to grow each month, and this month is currently on pace for over 26,000 unique visitors and over 90,000 page views.

Plan to Obtain the Remaining $5,000:

100% of all Advertising money will go directly to The Marin Foundation. Love is an Orientation Blog has significant traffic for any standard of a blog, and yet there are no advertisers, even though Andrew Marin has approached a number of secular and religious businesses, universities, publishers, artists and non-profits. There are a number of blogs that receive much less traffic than Love is an Orientation, and they have a number of advertisers—thus the plan is to pray some businesses, universities, publishers, artists and non-profits decide to take a chance on a blog with such a controversial subject matter. Love is an Orientation Blog has an extremely diverse audience, and would be a great outlet for any advertiser. For advertising pricing please visit http://www.loveisanorientation.com/advertise/.

Completed Plan Totals $5,000

F. Board of Directors

Objective:

Obtain a total $15,000 in donations from The Marin Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Facts:

Currently The Marin Foundation’s Board of Directors donates $10,000 per year.

Left to Raise from The Marin Foundation’s Board of Directors: $5,000

Plan to Obtain Remaining $5,000:

With the current restructuring of The Marin Foundation’s Board of Directors, the new requirement is for each of the 5 newly appointed Board of Director members to either give, or get at least $3,000 per person.

Completed Plan Totals $15,000

G. Events

Objective:

Obtain $5,000 from The Marin Foundation fundraiser events throughout the year.

Facts:

Currently The Marin Foundation has never held a fundraiser.

Plan to Obtain Remaining $5,000:

The Marin Foundation plans on having a two public figure friends to host fundraising parties in their homes (expected total: $2,500).

The Marin Foundation plans on holding an annual fundraiser event TBD (expected total $2-5,000).

Completed Plan Totals $5,000

H. Love is an Orientation Book Sales and Other Swag

Objective:

Obtain $10,000 throughout the course of the year from selling Andrew Marin’s award winning book, Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community, as well as wrist bands and t-shirts.

Facts:

In 2010 The Marin Foundation profited $10,000 from selling swag. Andrew Marin currently sells his book, wrist bands and t-shirts at every engagement, as The Marin Foundation receives more profit through that medium than through [book sales at] Christian Book Stores, Amazon.com, Borders or Barnes & Noble.

Andrew Marin will continue to sell the swag at his engagements, and he will also continue to give 100% of those profits to The Marin Foundation—a rare thing for any author.

Completed Plan Totals $10,000

Revenue Plan Total:  $320,000 from the goal of $313,599

*Note: The Marin Foundation always strives to offer their programming for free—therefore the Living in the Tension Gatherings, Educational Classes and other programs are not included in the Revenue Plan.

The Marin Foundation

5241 N. Ashland Ave. 1^st Floor

Chicago, IL 60640

www.themarinfoundation.org

www.loveisanorientation.com

Office: 773-572-5983

Email: Info@themarinfoundation.org

Donate here to join us in our bridge building work

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Yesterday I posted The Marin Foundation’s 2010 donation and expense records. And here is our vision and budget for 2011, which totals $313,599 (if you want to financially join in our work, you can set up a reocurring donation here)

Five Sections in The Marin Foundation (TMF) Budget:

I.          Bridge Building

II.        New Way Activism

III.       Dissemination

IV.       Organizational

V.        Overhead

VI.       Summary

I. Bridge Building

A. Trainings

Includes the full TMF Bridge Building Framework:

Educational Classes, Living in the Tension Gatherings, Organizational Leadership, Staff, Member, and Community Training, Assistance with Strategic Bridge Building Partnerships, Regular In-Person Follow-Ups, Live Chats (online and over Skype) and On-Going Sustainability Consulting.

1. North America:

TMF gets more requests to implement our Bridge Building Framework than we can possibly accept due to a lack of funding. The following North American breakdown is to fund the entities that do not have the budget to cover the expenses.

Churches: $16,500

Universities (Secular and Christian): $16,500

Government and Partners: $9,000

NGOs: $9,000

Total: $51,000

(50% of this total, in each of the four target groups, is allocated specifically for minority populations)

2. International:          

The following budgeted money funds the expenses international agencies cannot cover:

Government and Partners: $8,500

Churches: $8,500

Universities (Secular and Christian): $5,500 

NGOs: $5,000

Total: $27,500

B. Education

1. Culture War Curriculum: Elevating the Conversation

Track #1 for LGBT: $2,750

Track #2 for Straight Christian (specifically for Conservatives): $2,750

Total: $5,500

These numbers are based on a total of 100 people going through TMF’s Culture War Curriculum, which would cost TMF $55/person. It includes the curriculum in hard copy, the book Love is an Orientation, and food throughout. After these 100 people, TMF will have to charge for the classes.

C. Bridge Building Summit 2011

This is a national gathering of LGBT secular, Christian and academics, as well as straight secular, Christian and academics, to engage lectures and Question and Response (Q&R) surrounding Bridge Building and Reconciliation between the LGBT and faith communities.

Total: $10,000

That covers facilities, and budgets $2,000/honorarium and flight for four unique presenters from the LGBT community and the conservative community.

D. Latino and African-American Youth

There is a homeless youth “problem” in Boystown. Gay African-American and Latino boys are getting kicked out of their homes by their strong believing Baptist and Catholic parents by the masses. With no where to go they come to Boystown seeking help. There is no help designated for them. In fact, the predominantly white Boystown neighborhood abuses these boys while calling the boys “the problem.” So quite a few of them end up prostituting themselves and turning tricks to get along. TMF’s vision is to rent and equip space and personnel that can be a 24/7 refuge and community center for these youth.

Our goal would be to rent an apartment with supervisors to house some of these kids:

1. 24/7 Community Center (Apartment): $24,000

($1,500/month rent and $500/month for food, utilities. We would have a permanent live-in host in one bedroom, and bunks in the other bedroom)

Bridge Building Total: $118,000

II. New Way Activism

A. Living in the Tension Gatherings

These gatherings form intentional, sustainable communities that bring together in one place all different shades of what is faith and sexuality in our culture today: non-Christian LGBT, Gay Christian, Celibate, ‘Ex-Gay’, Liberal and Conservative Straight Christians and non-Christian Straight people. Where else in our culture do these groups get together for a common goal of reconciliation? The point is to learn and struggle through what it means to peacefully and productively connect with ‘the other’ and then take that out into your own sphere of influence to affect the same change. These gatherings rotate locations between the oldest and most well known gay bar in Chicago, Roscoes, and a conservative church. The point is to get each group out of their comfort zones by taking them to places they usually wouldn’t go.

TMF has also had the opportunity to ‘plant’ Living in the Tension groups throughout the United States (mostly on college campuses) as well as throughout the United Kingdom.

Small Group Gatherings—Twice a Month $2,400 ($100/gathering)

-These small gatherings are the core group.   

Large Group Gatherings—Once a Quarter $4,000 ($1,000/gathering)

These large gatherings are all of the core groups coming together, and involve a speaker. The last two large group gatherings, the speakers have been an Intersex person (anatomically male and female) as well as Tony Campolo (a Christian who was the spiritual advisor to President Clinton).

Total: $6,400

2. Leadership Roundtables: $6,000 (12 gatherings at $500)

These leadership roundtables are, in essence, private Living in the Tension Gatherings for executives from government, NGOs, universities and churches.

B. TMF Grant

In 2011 TMF will give out a grant to support a unique work of bridge building. Applications are due December 15^th each year, and the award is given in January. 2011’s total grant is $1,000.

C. I’m Sorry Campaign

What was originally a small form of TMF’s understanding of a new way of activism, turned into national headlines. From 29,000 people ‘liking’ it on Facebook to spots on ABC to almost a million hits to our page in one month…

From all of the attention that followed, TMF has gotten a number of request to do the I’m Sorry Campaign in cities all over. We have narrowed the list down to these cities in which we have gotten the most support for the Campaign, and are planning on attending:

Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Atlanta, Cleveland, London and Brighton, UK

Domestic:  $3,500

International: $2,000

Total costs include two plane tickets, lodging and material for up to twenty people: $5,500

New Way Activism Total:        $18,900

III. Dissemination

1. Website/Blog: $0 ($12,000 in-kind work on the website and blog is donated each year by McLane Creative)

2. Email Newsletters: $600 (Cost $50/month to send out the ENews via MailChimp)

3. Postal Newsletters: $3,000 (Cost $250/month for printing, stamps and envelopes)

4. Bulk Love is an Orientation Books to Sell: $4,500 (TMF is able to buy 1,000 LIAO books for $4.50/book. After selling them for $15, TMF nets $6,000)

5. Swag: $1,500 (Includes wrist bands and t-shirts to sell for profit)

Dissemination Total:               $9,600

IV. Organizational

1. Continuing Education and Staff Development: $10,000 (Includes books, seminars and certain college credits)

2. Board of Director Meetings: $2,000 (Two meetings annually)

3. Partner Meetings: $2,000 (Meetings around the country with partners and funders of the work of TMF)

4. TMF Savings Account: $2,500

Organizational Total: $16,500

V. Overhead

A. Salaries

1. Andrew Marin, President and Founder: $49,999

2. Kevin Harris, Assistant to Andrew Marin and Director of Community Relations: $18,000 (Kevin would have to raise $6,000 in personal support)

3. Nathan Albert, Director of Pastoral Care: $9,000 (Nathan would have to raise $15,000 in personal support)

4. Brenda Marin, MBA/MS Organizational Behavior, Director of Operations: $6,000

B. Insurance and Fees

5. Payroll taxes and Fees (including credit card fees for books and swag): $29,000

6. Health, Dental and Eye Insurance: $33,600

7. Offices: $0 ($30,000 worth of office space donated in-kind to TMF each year by First Evangelical Free Church & Community Center)

8. Supplies and Maintenance: $3,000

9. Utilities: $2,000

Overhead Total: $150,599

VI.       Summary

$163,000 (programs) + $150,599 (overhead) = $313,599

If you want to financially join in our work, you can set up a one-time or reocurring monthly donation here!

If you have any questions, please ask and I will answer them.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

As I have done each year since creating this blog, I am going to post the donation and expense records (rounded) for The Marin Foundation for the current year. Seeing that there are still three days left in 2010, there is still time for further donations or expenses, so below is what we have up to this morning:

The Marin Foundation Total 2010 Donations received: $160,500

That $160,500 received is broken down by gifts from the following categories:

Cash Donations: $117,000

Teaching, Training, Speaking and Lecturing Honorariums: $45,000 (as always, 100% of the honorariums go directly to The Marin Foundation to support our work)

Church Donations: $31,000 (from a total of 5 churches)

Individual Donations: $30,000 (from a total of 130 individuals - we had 6 individual ‘major’ donors of $1,000 or more totaling $7,400; and we had 11 monthly donors give a total of $528 per month)

Book Sales: $10,000 (as always, 100% of my book sales go directly to The Marin Foundation)

‘I’m Sorry’ T-Shirts: $1,000

In-Kind Donations: $43,500

Office Space: $30,000 (our office space is fully donated to us by First Evangelical Free Church and Community Center)

Website/Blog: $12,000 (the blog maintenance and forthcoming new website are donated to us by McLane Creative)

Admin: $1,500

The Marin Foundation 2010 Expenses: $115,000

$60,000 Combined salary between myself and Kevin Harris (Director of Community Relations)

$37,500 Trainings, Educational Classes and Living in the Tension Gatherings for LGBT and conservative churches, universities, NGOs, gov agencies

$10,000 Scientific Research

$4,500   Buy my book in bulk to sell for profit, as well as office supplies

$3,000   International Trainings

Full Donation History for The Marin Foundation:

2005: $11,000 (all cash)

2006: $25,000 (all cash)

2007: $52,000 (all cash)

2008: $57,000 (all cash)

2009: $83,000 ($4,000 in-kind)

2010: $160,500 ($43,500 in-kind)

Full Expense History for The Marin Foundation:

2005: $12,500

2006: $21,500

2007: $49,900

2008: $47,300

2009: $52,000

2010: $115,000

I’ve got nothing to hide. Not me personally. Not my organization. That is why I make an intentional commitment to post all of The Marin Foundation’s financials! And if you want a copy of our actual IRS documents to prove these numbers correct, please visit the IRS and they will send you as many official copies as you like.

As you can see, we have been given us way more influence than our budget should ever allow us to have!

I ask that you please consider donating to The Marin Foundation (click here) so our important bridge building movement (and this blog) will continue to permeate our cultures across the world to the point that we see what an actual reconciliation looks like, today. There are anywhere between 500-900 unique visitors to this blog per day, and if only half of you sign up to give $30/month (which is only $1 per day) on the link above, in 2011 The Marin Foundation will have the ability to sustainably continue, and further build upon, our unique work.

If you follow our work you know we have been given influence in the realms of individual’s lives all over the world; and in universities, seminaries, media and government agencies 10-15x’s greater than our budget should ever allow. Your gift will humbly allow us to keep up with the pace and influence that has been afforded to us.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask and I will answer them all.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Wow. 30. I know for many out there 30 years old is young. To me, it’s a huge day because at 8:56am Central Time I was ushered into a new decade. 30 seems so grown-up. So old…

I was already 5 years old when my parents turned 30. And here I am on a completely different path trying to just live and get by moment by moment in this crazy work that the Lord has given me; and you all as well – a group of people trying to show our culture a new bold way to live reconciliation.

I will be getting more into The Marin Foundation’s financial situation in the upcoming week, but 30 years old was ushered in by my wife and I getting the news that she has been let-go from her job. That means we don’t have her income. We no longer have insurance as of January 14. We need some help for real.

Here is a link to a new online giving site for The Marin Foundation through our website where all you have to do is sign up once, and your credit card will automatically be charged monthly, quarterly or annually without you having to think about it.  We never had this capability before through PayPal (the donation button on the left), so instead of going to PayPal sign up at this new link; which we will be embedding on all of our sites soon.

Instead of gifts and loving words, please, please sign up to donate $30 per month for my 30th birthday. If we can get 100 people to give $30/month my wife and I will be able to have health insurance for the entire 2011 year – including the two other full time employees for The Marin Foundation will have it as well, who to this point have not had any health insurance because we couldn’t afford it.

I’ll be honest, for all of the unreal opportunities we have been given over the past year, hey, the past six years since The Marin Foundation came into existence, this new decade scares the heck out of me. My head is telling me that at 30 you are supposed to be hitting your stride; your comfort zone; a solid way to move forward for the rest of your life. And here I (and my wife and the newly unknown financial stability of The Marin Foundation because my wife’s income has been the stability factor for The Marin Foundation to be able to save and grow) more insecure than ever.

Our ultimate fundraising goal for this next year would be to get enough people to sign up giving a total of just over $300,000 per year. I will break down all of our entire budget, expenses and fundraising plan over the next week, but, let’s shoot high. The Marin Foundation’s total 2011 budget can be reached if 900 people sign up to give $30/month; which totals $360/year. $1 per day will secure our entire work.

On any given day there are an average of between 500-800 unique visitors to this blog. If each of you, who come to this site for a reason, would be so bold and gracious to give, our entire 2011 budget will almost be met. We then wouldn’t have to worry about taking time to fundraise, but will be able to continue doing our actual work!

Please give to The Marin Foundation for my birthday; to sustain this work that you care so much about.

Thank you all so much. I love you dearly.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

To all my homies who read this blog, The Marin Foundation needs some cool swag:

Sw ‘ AAG: Sweet looking T-Shirts with a clever design and slogan to wear everywhere!

I have absolutely zero artistic ability! So I am calling on your help. If you, or you know of someone who loves designing stuff like this, I’m starting a contest which will result in thousands (hopefully gazillions) of people pimping your work all over the world. Here are some ideas of slogan stuff that I was thinking about:

Love is My Orientation

Love is an Orientation

Be Bold.

Much love

That’s about all my unclever mind can come up with…feel free to ad-lib as much as your clever minds can! So if you are interested, or know someone interested, just email me [andrew@themarinfoundation.org] to let me know of your intent to design, and then, here are the rules:

1. Be as clever as you possibly can and make up as many designs as you want

2. All submissions must be emailed to me by April 27, 2010

3. Vote on the blog/twitter/facebook/email will commence May 1-5

4. Winner will be picked May 7th

If this is any-amount-of-your-thing, please help a brother out!

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

It’s Sunday, which according to Western-inspired Church, this means that it’s the day to donate.

Look what you all have done! We’re up to $53,000 for this year! Let me put this in persepctive:

From 2005-2008 the most The Marin Foundation ever recieved in donations in an entire year was $52,000! I’m not lying! To hit this mark of $53,000 in March is beyond a huge deal for us. ’Thank you’ just doesn’t do it justice. But what does is the tangible realization that systemic culture and individual lives and being changed for real!

Don’t forget to DONATE to this important bridge building work of The Marin Foundation! Here is the breakdown thus far (of which 100% of each of these categories go directly to The Marin Foundation):

Your Individual Donations: $25,210.00

Speaking Honorariums: $14,948.30

Churches: $10,050.00

Book Sales: $2,580.00

In-Kind: $152.16

Total donations thus far for 2010: $52,940.46

(Once again, if you’re wondering where each dollar donated to The Marin Foundation goes, click here)

As of today, we also have 40 new people committed to donating at least $15/month. If you’re interested in helping us reach our goal of 275 new people donating $15/month, please do so and then email andrew@themarinfoundation.org so we can track everything.

You can humbly give a tax-deductible donation securely on-line through this blog right now!

Thank you so much for believing and making this work happen. Help us see it continue…

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

On Sunday I’ll be preaching both services at Fox Valley Church in West Dundee, IL; then holding a two-hour workshop in the afternoon for the church as well.

Look what you all have done! Don’t forget to DONATE to this important bridge building work of The Marin Foundation! Here is the breakdown thus far (of which 100% of each of these categories go directly to The Marin Foundation):

Your Individual Donations: $23,210.00

Speaking Honorariums: $13,748.30

Churches: $10,050.00

Book Sales: $2,170.00

In-Kind: $152.16

Total donations thus far for 2010: $49,330.46

(Once again, if you’re wondering where each dollar donated to The Marin Foundation goes, click here)

As of today, we also have 40 new people committed to donating at least $15/month. If you’re interested in helping us reach our goal of 275 new people donating $15/month, please do so and then email andrew@themarinfoundation.org so we can track everything.

You can humbly give a tax-deductible donation securely on-line through this blog right now!

Thank you so much for believing and making this work happen. Help us see it continue…

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Today I’m speaking in Irvine, CA at Mariners Church (no relation ) at their Lumen131 event. Each of the four people speaking get 20 minutes to communicate one big idea, and then we each have a 40 minute Q&A to follow. I’m really looking forward to this. Although, me and just 1 idea? I’ll try…

As for our fundraising efforts. Due to your extreme generosity, we have raised just over $28,000 thus far.

Here is the breakdown:

Your individual donations: $20,000

My speaking: $5,500

Churches: $2,000

My book: $500

Also, we had a goal of 275 new people giving $15 per month. Thus far, we have had 36 new people sign up! If you’re interested in signing up, please email me at andrew@themarinfoundation.org so we can keep track of our running total. You can securely donate via Paypal on the right. As for automatic monthly giving, we were planning to have that capability as of Feb 1, but it has been pushed back a few weeks. We should have that up and running by mid Feb.

I am continually humbled by all of your generosity. Thank you so much, and literally, this work and The Marin Foundation could not continue without you.

I love you all dearly.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I woke up today realizing that today is the last day of the decade. Hello Captain Obvious! 10 years ago this day I just completed my first semester in college and my best friends had yet to ‘come out’ to me. Wow. I was quite the unsuspecting homophobe at that moment. 

Who would have thought a decade later this is where I would be, talking to you all about how dramatically my life, life’s goals and my Christian walk have all changed 180 degrees. This is the first time that I’ve actually retrospectively thought about things in this fashion before. It’s so crazy that I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it right now. And today I end this decade speaking to a thousand more college students in a few hours whom many of which will probably find themselves in the same strange place a decade from now. I pray this morning for their encouragement, peace and boldness in walking in all of the ways the Lord sets before them – no matter how negative and insane anyone might tell them their calling is.

Today is also the last day to donate for 2009. I have been overwhelmed with the support this month: we’re up to just over $13,000! I am so darn humbled by all of you and your extreme generosity, it has brought me to tears more than a few times over the last few weeks. You believe in this bridge building work and are really making a difference in your own local communities through it, and that is more than I could ever ask of anyone. Thank you so much for living out what few others have the guts or passion to sustainablly do.

As you can see I (and by “I” I actually mean Adam McLane) has added a new thermometer to the blog so everyone can stay updated on The Marin Foundation’s fundraising efforts. We will be updating the thermometer the first week of every month so you all will know as much as I do.

AND, thus far there are 15 of you (from our goal of 275) who have newly committed to give at least $15 per month! Only 260 left! Here is how you are able to make those donations:

1. We are in the process right now of establishing a reoccurring direct deposit account, where you sign up to give and the donation is automatically given each month without you having to do anything. This should be up and running by mid/end January. So I will let you all know on the blog!

2. Until then, there are two ways to give:

Online through the secure PayPal Donation button, in which donations can be made one at a time,

or

Mail a check to:

The Marin Foundation

5241 N. Ashland Ave. 1st Floor

Chicago, IL 60640  

[On our website is says to send donations to 700 W. Bittersweet Pl. Suite 208; you can still do that and we will receive them for a little longer, but we are transitioning fully to the new address. We will be making this change on the website soon.]

Have a fun night tonight, and an exciting day of watching college football tomorrow (at least I know I will!)

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I wanted to update everyone on the fundraising. First off, I have to sincerely thank you all for your generosity. Since Part 1 of this series three weeks ago, you all have given $10,000! I’m serious … $10,000. I can’t believe it. I am so humbled I don’t know what to say, other than

Thank you.

Thank you.

From the core of my being, thank you.

Your overwhelming support has been out of this world, and it was honestly something I didn’t expect to happen. I guess there is power in asking?! This money has given The Marin Foundation a great start to 2010, and I do actually have hope for the future fundraising efforts! I will also be putting up a thermometer on the blog to track our funding so you all can stay as current as I do with everything.

Once again, my goal for individual giving is for 275 new people to give $15 per month: $180 total for the year! Outside of the one time giving this past month, I have had 5 new people commit to give $15 per month. Only 270 left! If you would be so generous to be one of those new 270 people, please email me at andrew@themarinfoundation.org to let me know so I can track everything. It’s only $180 per year … but if you have the capacity to give more, please, freely give more per month!

Here is a person directly affected by your small amount of money:

Alex:

Alex has been involved with The Marin Foundation for the past year—he was raised in a Christian home, went to Christian schools, tried for the past 10 years to ‘get rid of his same-sex attraction’ to no avail, and now he’s struggling to come to grips with the fact that he is a man with a same-sex attraction that is never going away; and he’s Christian. He’s been going to a conservative church that he has felt relatively safe within, and has enjoyed reconnecting with a faith he felt he could no longer be a part of. The other night he was visiting friends from college out of town and they all went to a gay bar. He ended up making out with a guy, went home with the guy and ended up getting violently raped (with no protection) by this guy.

Alex was freaking out because he realized his life might have just forever changed, against his will. And he couldn’t help but to solely blame himself. When he got back to Chicago he immediately got tested for HIV and the doctors put him on strong medication right away. Those next two weeks were sickening for Alex—the medicine was taking its toll on his body and his emotions of pain, guilt, uncertainty and betrayal were all running wild.

He didn’t feel as though he could tell his roommates what happened.

He didn’t feel as though he could tell his family what happened.

He didn’t feel as though he could tell his church what happened.

But the only entity he knew he could trust with his life to tell was The Marin Foundation. So he called me.

We were there for him, helped walk him through this process, and thank the Lord he has come up negative for HIV. So where is your mind with Alex?

Did he deserve what he got, regardless of how many times he said “no”?

Did he make a mistake in a struggle, or was he asking for something like this to happen to him?

Regardless of what your opinions, the knowledge that The Marin Foundation was the only place he knew he could trust is as important of a fact than any. This is all a small part of the wholistic Kingdom work The Marin Foundation is all about.

If not The Marin Foundation, than who would Alex have turned to?

It’s a haunting answer to think about …

Please give and be a regular monthly supporter, for as little as $15/month or $180 per year.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org