The Community of Monthly Supporters

 

People often ask: How is Iona House funded?


Iona House is made possible entirely by generous givers*.

* We receive and utilize both one-time gifts and monthly donations.

A major goal at Iona House is growing our monthly community of givers we call the ARBOR community. These are folks who, out of their great love for the mission of Iona House, joyfully give a regular monthly gift to support our operational needs. The ARBOR community allows us to offer our ministry to everyone without charge, as a gift. This generosity model is a vital part of our vision and ethos.

Why ARBOR? An arbor is a kind of structure necessary for plants and trees to grow on. It is something that can be relied upon; it is strong, dependable, and when doing its job well is often hidden and not the focus of attention.

We love this image of an arbor as a description of the community of support that makes the ministry of Iona House possible. For us, A.R.B.O.R. is also a helpful acronym that stands for: Active, Regular Benefactors for Operations and Resources.

 
 
 

Monthly Operational Costs: $30,000

This chart reflects only the recurring expenses of running Iona House (it does not include special projects, property development, or capital improvements)

Operating a 71 acre campus with homes, outbuildings, and a farm offering hospitality to hundreds of out-of-town people a year, welcoming local participants daily, and running a residency cohort program requires a significant operational budget and staff. We are committed to operating in simplicity and frugality, and stewarding our resources well. Iona House carries no debt on the land/homes that we own. Thanks be to God!

Currently, Iona House has monthly operational needs of approx. $30,000 a month (think, $1,000 a day to operate). This budget covers all of the costs associated with running the ongoing, day-to-day life of Iona House. It does not include any money needed for special projects or campus development. For more about the vision of capital improvements, see our campus development page.

Current Giving

Our current recurring giving amounts to approx. $11,500 a month, which represents a little more than one-third of our monthly operational needs. This situation requires us to rely on unpredictable one-time gifts to make up the monthly short-fall. We realize that in order to achieve long-term financial stability for Iona House, we require consistent giving partners that fully fund our monthly budget. A major priority for Iona House is building the ARBOR community.

 
 
 

An Invitation

We believe God has provided Iona House as place / community uniquely equipped to address the spiritual challenges and opportunities of 21st century life - offering a distinctive, communal setting to learn and practice contemplative life… a place to reimagine all of life in reference to Christ.

If you share this conviction, if you have been blessed by your experience of Iona House, and if you want to ensure the continued presence and viability of Iona House into the future, we invite you to join the ARBOR community today.

Becoming part of the ARBOR community includes an opportunity to receive occasional, special updates with stories of transformation as well as an invitation to join our bi-annual ARBOR community call with the founders (Ryan & Elizabeth Jones) - offering a unique, inside perspective on the development of the Iona House vision.

 
 

 Be sure to click the box for “recurring donation” on the form. Add “Arbor” in the comments box.

Examples of what your monthly giving can support:

  • $25 a month can cover fuel for the UTV (Kawasaki Mule)

  • $50 a month can cover bottled water and coffee for Community Day and other events

  • $100 a month can buy alfalfa for Mink the horse

  • $500 a month can cover the cost of food and medical care for our goats, llama, duck, and mini-mule

  • $1000 a month can cover our electricity costs for one month

  • $2500 a month can cover insurance for Iona House for one month

  • Any gift can be helpful for covering our biggest expense: staffing - leadership, administration, maintenance, cleaning, etc.

*If you are interested in supporting Iona House with a one-time gift to help develop the remainder of our campus (e.g. our Abbey complex) please reach out to Ryan directly: ryan@ionahouse.org

 
 

MORE INFO

If you’d like to have a conversation with the Executive Director about finances,
please reach out using this form.