Our Community of Recurring Supporters
People often ask: How is Iona House funded?
Iona House is made possible entirely by generous givers*.
* We receive and are grateful for one-time gifts as well as recurring monthly support.
A major goal at Iona House is growing our monthly community of givers we call ARBOR. These are folks who, out of their great love for the mission of Iona House, joyfully give a recurring gift to support our operational needs. ARBOR 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 network 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: $47,185
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 program all require a significant operational budget and staff. The budget described above 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 coming from around 110 households amounts to approx. $26,000 a month, which represents a little over half of our monthly operational needs. This requires us to rely on unpredictable one-time gifts to make up the monthly short-fall. In order to achieve long-term financial stability, our mission requires consistent giving partners that fund our monthly budget. A major priority for Iona House is building the ARBOR network.
A Commitment to Integrity & Stewardship
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! We subscribe to nonprofit best practices including a yearly financial review with an outside accounting firm. You can view our public 990 form here and are always welcome to contact us for any financial questions or to request a financial report.
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 experience monastic-inspired Christian formation and renewal… 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 our ARBOR community affords you the opportunity to receive occasional, special updates with stories of transformation as well as an invitation to join our annual ARBORFEST: a joyous day of feasting, celebration, and 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 link.