November 29, 2010
Friends,
With this letter, the board of directors brings you good news.
Last week, a very generous person whose family has been blessed by Grove City Christian Academy visited administrator Kennedy Henriquez at his office and dropped off an unsolicited gift – the largest by far in the school’s history.
Stunning, breathtaking!
In the twinkle of an eye, God changed Grove City Christian Academy’s financial standing through the faithfulness of one of His families. Many of us have been affiliated with the Academy for a decade or longer. For some like Treasurer Kay Spiker it’s been even longer. This is a new experience – uncharted territory – for veterans and newcomers to the school. How should the Academy family react when experiencing God’s sudden and overwhelming blessing?
Perhaps we’ll have a formal time of praise but, for now, please take time to praise God quietly on your own. Please put this letter down for a few moments and thank God for His blessing.
What does this gift mean to Grove City Christian Academy? Can we finally build our long-awaited building? No, it would take several gifts the size we received to be able to do that. But, this gift does put the Academy on a solid financial foundation for the first time in the school’s history.
The board will take its time deciding how to best use the undesignated funds. You will be hearing more about these plans soon from Financial Committee Chairman Joe Hines. Be assured that the board will act conservatively and prudently as stewards of this significant donation.
A solid financial foundation: this is just the beginning. We will now seek to build on that foundation. Actually, we, and our predecessors, have been working to establish this foundation for years. We owe much to those who have gone before us in this service. A few years ago, we decided to pause the capital campaign (fund raising for a building) in order to focus on creating a larger base of friends and donors. Moreover, in order to make significant institutional advancements, we decided to increase the responsibilities of the administrator and hire Kennedy Henriquez. These decisions are paying dividends thanks to our professional staff and the many volunteers who contribute countless hours to fund raising and public relations activities.
Before we continue, we must acknowledge the True Foundation, the bedrock, of Grove City Christian Academy, the word our Triune God. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” This is where we begin. In order to do well, we must begin well and that means beginning at the right place—seeking to obey our Lord’s precepts for educating children. We build on the True Foundation by hiring servant teachers—teachers who share this vision as the passion for their professional lives. Indeed, the financial gift we received is in response to their faithful work!
Built on the bedrock of God’s word, Grove City Christian Academy has now arrived at a place where it has a firm financial foundation. Now, we must build on that financial foundation. The first step will be to enhance our operational budgeting process (again, you’ll hear more from Joe Hines soon). And we must continue to raise funds to enhance our scholarship fund while maintaining our vision to build our own building. The generous gift we received allows us to move forward with hope.
What can you do? First, please thank God for His blessings. Then, tell others that the school has been blessed. And please tell others about the quality Christian education that Grove City Christian Academy teachers provide. Tell your friends about the education that your children and grandchildren are receiving. If you’re able, please contribute to the Academy’s work … and ask others who might be interested in the Academy’s work to consider giving as well. Or, encourage them to call Mr. Henriquez at 724.458.5253 to schedule an appointment to talk about the school. Finally, and most importantly, please continuously lift up Grove City Christian Academy in prayer.
As part of our standard budgeted operations we must raise $50,000 – in addition to ongoing Booster Club fund raising (e.g., hoagie sales, auction, etc.) – to break even for the 2010-2011 year. Why do we need to raise $50,000 when we just received a large gift? Rather than dipping into the gift to fund the $50,000 need, we believe it is prudent to reserve most of the gift as seed money for funding future scholarship awards. In other words, we need to use our donor’s gift wisely to provide for the future of Grove City Christian Academy. Therefore, we must continue as usual in our fund raising operations. We envision the $50,000 coming in as follows: 1) $25,000 in response to this letter, and, 2) we hope to identify 10 donors who will make a gift of $2,500 each.
Last week God blessed Grove City Christian Academy with the largest financial gift in its history through the faithfulness of His servants. With a firm foundation in place, we must move forward in our fund raising efforts to be good stewards of that gift and to ensure that the Academy’s foundation and future remain secure. Please consider making a gift to Grove City Christian Academy and, or, please pass this letter along to a friend who may be interested in supporting quality Christian education in Grove City and the surrounding area. Thank you for your faithful support!
Sincerely,
Lee Wishing
President
