SGM Spiritual Directors Formation Programme Alumni Partnership Fund
Partner with us in forming future spiritual directors by providing financial support to those who need it most.
Do you value what you received during your formation as a spiritual director with Spiritual Growth Ministries?
Would you like to help open the door to the formation programme
to those who can’t afford it?
Could you donate to our November Alumni Appeal?
Fran Francis
SDFP National Co-ordinator
As kaitiaki of Spiritual Growth Ministries (SGM), we invite alumni of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme who feel moved to do so to partner with us financially to support those who would otherwise miss out.
Your generosity helps to open the door to potential spiritual directors from a variety of economic backgrounds, ensuring that loving justice is woven into our formation culture here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
We see it every year.
Not everyone who demonstrates a sense of call to the ministry of spiritual direction can afford the course fees.
The SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund provides an opportunity for our alumni to wrap their collective arms around these potential spiritual directors. How? By providing financial support to those who need it most.
With your support, we hope to provide a fully-paid Year One Scholarship and several $500 - $1000 Financial Support Grants to each cohort of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme.
You don’t have to be a “high roller” to give. Every dollar helps opens the door of the formation programme to worthy participants who will go on to touch the lives of people in their communities and spheres of influence.
Every dollar given is a seed of manaakitanga (loving care) being sown into the lives of participants whom God sees and knows.
Feedback from donors
“The Spiritual Directors Formation Programme is excellent and truly formative. I cheerfully support the SDFP Alumni Fund because I would like to see everyone who senses a sincere call to practice spiritual direction able to train without financial hindrance.”
“I have received so many blessings from the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme. Giving back through donations is just an expression of my gratitude and desire to see more people benefiting from the programme.”
“While in the programme I saw that there were financial barriers for some people to participate. I greatly benefited from the programme and I see donating as a way of allowing a wider group of people to participate. My involvement in this alumni fund is an extension of the rich experience of belonging to the SGM community. ”
A Deeper Dive
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The SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund invites alumni who feel moved to do so, to partner with SGM in our ministry of forming spiritual directors and fostering the growth of contemplative spirituality in Aotearoa, New Zealand. You can do this by making a monthly, annual, or a one-off donation to SGM in an amount of your choosing. Your donation will help to provide financial support to applicants who demonstrate a genuine call towards the ministry of spiritual direction, but for whom finances are a barrier.
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Our vision is for the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme (SDFP) to be financially sustainable long-term.
Despite our prudence with expenses, some years the formation programme costs more to deliver than we recover in fees.After consultation with alumni and discernment as SGM Workgroup, we have recently made a moderate increase in SDFP course fees to help address this issue. We recognise that while many applicants will be able to manage the fees, the programme will remain out of reach financially for some promising applicants.
SGM desires to offer financial support pathways towards formation for
people who show promise but for whom finances are a barrier.
The SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund is one of the ways we can work together as the contemplative community in Aotearoa, New Zealand to maintain equitable access and loving justice as lived values in our formation culture.
We gratefully receive donations to this fund from those who feel moved to support in this way. -
As alumni of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme you embody the ministry of spiritual direction and the gifts of contemplative practice in your own lives and work. You are part of the stream of contemplative spirituality that flows with unique expression right here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
We know you are a generous-hearted bunch. You may welcome an opportunity to support the sustainability of the SDFP, and to open an door for people who might otherwise be shut out of the programme due to financial hardship.
This is a no-pressure invitation to make a “pay-it-forward” blessing for those who come after you.
How to Donate
Give via online banking to Spiritual Growth Ministries 03-0166-0198782-00. Add your name and town in reference line, and Alumni Fund in particulars. Please email Jenna Edgar (admin@sgm.org.nz ) your postal address so we can supply you with an official donations receipt for tax purposes.
Donate using credit card via Donorbox on our Donate page. Select one of the set amount buttons on Donorbox, or specify a particular amount. You will receive a donations receipt by email. Please tick the check box ‘Write us a comment’ and write Alumni Fund.
Ways you can partner with SGM as alumni:
Make a one-off donation to the SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund.
Make a recurring monthly donation to the SDFP Alumni Alumni Partnership Fund by setting up an automatic payment to the SGM bank account or via Donorbox.
Make a recurring annual donation to the SDFP Alumni Alumni Partnership Fund by setting up an automatic payment to the SGM bank account or via Donorbox.
Leave a bequest to SGM in your will.
Notice any God-promptings to let people in your life know about the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme. Most people find their way to this unique ministry because someone saw something in them and pointed the way. Having healthy numbers of participants in each cohort make a huge difference to our financial sustainability.
“To be able to contribute financially in this way is an honour. I see it as planting a seed for another in the very place I feel I have come to life myself. I love creating opportunities for others to experience the gifts that I received in this special programme.”
“I donated to the fund because the SDFP is a great training programme. I’ve enjoyed being part of it over the last two years and I hope my small contribution will help others benefit from it. It would be great to see spiritual direction impact more corners of the church in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
“I found the formation programme to be a deeply rewarding experience. I am delighted to be able to contribute so there is an opportunity for someone to be able to say yes to joining the programme and not be hampered by financial constraints.”
“I am pleased to be able to support this valuable programme to help make it more accessible. Having been through the programme myself then having had the opportunity to be a supervisor, I have seen how participants grow through the two years and carry on to use these skills in ministry as well as in their day to day interactions with others.”
Naturally this is a no-pressure invitation. We acknowledge that just paying for your own fees may have been a stretch of faith - a miracle of provision in itself.
For those who do feel moved to donate, thank you for considering this invitation to invest in those who need it most.
Whether you can afford to give $5 or $5000, we are grateful for your support.
~ SGM Workgroup
