giving

A Special Season of Giving 

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Today is November 28, 2023, Giving Tuesday around the nonprofit world. Here's a quick explanation: the Friday after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday due to the increase in sales for the upcoming Christmas season (to put retailers in the "black"). Online merchants got on board this marketing train and began to run sales the following Monday calling it "Cyber Monday". Then, with this wave of capitalism running hot, those of us in the fundraising world wanted to participate and began what is called "Giving Tuesday" as we understood that as much as 30% of donations occur within the last 6 weeks of the year.

This year, we enter this Special Season of Giving for our partners amidst our year-long transition from Brazil to the USA for our next season of life and ministry. We invite you to read the summary below of where we are and what the need is for us to begin 2024 in a great position.

  • Over the past 5 years, we have lost significant monthly support, have not raised enough new support to offset that loss, all while our family's expenses have increased. We have been in a positive support position because of our faithful monthly supporters and our one-time campaigns. 

  • Our transition to a US-based staff has significantly increased our tax and insurance burden, beyond what I had expected. Thus, our support account has gone into a concerning deficit, currently around negative $15,000.

  • We will participate in a Debrief and Rest for long-term missionaries returning from the field with Mission Training International in Colorado in February. The cost for the program and travel is around $5000.

Just 2 years ago God provided $20,000 for our 20 year celebration, and those funds have been instrumental in our current financial health in the midst of a major life event - uprooting from Brazil and bringing our reality to Birmingham, AL. That was only possible because our partners believed in our labor and our ministry, under God's provision.

Would you consider participating in this Special Season on Giving for these specific needs and help us raise another $20,000 to position our family to begin 2024 in our new role and new season for expanded impact of even more CO Staff and Regions around the globe?

Our online giving link is here: https://www.campusoutreach.org/donate/jon-elam/

Summer Project 2017: #pnp2017

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Our annual Summer Project (in Portuguese: Prosa na Praia) for 2017 is almost here! Our team will spend January 24-31 with a group of students and recent graduates. We are returning to Cabo Frio beach in the state of Rio de Janeiro for the third year.

For this year's edition we made a decision to invest in a better option for housing to facilitate a project that is attractive to students and, also, provides an environment conducive to building community and a shared experience for the students who will attend. Since most Brazilian universities do not have campus housing, time with students is always a challenge, and our Summer Project allows for us to create a unique experience that we rarely get throughout the year with students. Our project is 8 days and involves talks, discussion groups, bible studies and a leadership training option for room leaders. Our project has a more evangelistic scope, continuing with relationships built over the previous year, or even years! For that reason the “greenhouse” effect of relationships and gospel conversations makes this project a great tool for our ministry.

As a team, we made the decision to cover the ensuing deficit that we knew would be incurred with available funds and staff participation. However, an added challenge to the 2017 Project began in October of 2016. Our main campus focus, UFMG, had classes suspended because of a student occupation in protest of a change in Legislation to the Ministry of Education, that was followed by a professor strike. Both these events have severely limited our recruitment for lack of contact with students on campus, and we do not expect to reach the contractual minimum of spots at the hotel.

I ask for prayer for our Summer Project for the following requests:

  • For this project to facilitate a momentum for 2017 as we have been tracking with a number of students who are investigating Jesus.
  • For young and new Christians to grow in their knowledge and relationship with God.
  • For the financial challenges to be minimized by participation from students, graduates and others who are considering joining us.

If anyone would like to consider making a donation specifically to the Project or to help a student attend the Project, please follow this LINK to donate online through the Campus Outreach giving site, with the Brazilian Summer Project already selected. 

Year-End Giving 2014

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Many pledged supporters use year-end as a time to make sure their yearly pledge amount has been met, and sometimes give some extra 1-time gifts, or even for some unexpected 1-time gifts from other friends who do not give through a pledged amount.

This year-end, due to the fact that we are beginning a support-raising season and our account balance needs some help, we make a special request to everyone to complete your pledge for 2014. Also, should anyone wish to make any other gifts other than regularly pledged amounts, these options are available:

  1. Via donate.campusoutreach.org: if you are a pledged supporter you may have an online account already or need to signup for one. Gifts for up to $100 can be given through credit card or debit draft, however anything over $100 must be processed through draft of a bank account.
  2. Via check: make to "Campus Outreach", with "Jon Elam 2180" on the memo line and sent to: Campus Outreach Int'l Network / PO BOX 43737 / Birmingham, AL 35243

Remember, all gifts to Campus Outreach are tax-deductible. Any and all donations need to be made online, delivered or post-marked by Dec 31st, 2014 to be considered for the 2014 calendar year.

Thank you for your partnership and commitment to us and the work of Jesus's gospel in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.