SDFP Alumni Partnership Appeal 2024 | Providing aroha and financial support to those who need it most.
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?
Fran Francis, SDFP National Co-ordinator
David Crawley, SDFP Assistant Co-ordinator
Our vision
For the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme (SDFP) to be financially sustainable long-term.
The obstacle
Despite our prudence with expenses, some years the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme (SDFP) costs more to deliver than we recover in fees.
Our solutions
1. Raising the fees for the Spiritual Direction Formation Programme
After consultation with alumni and discernment as SGM Workgroup, we have made a moderate increase in SDFP Course Fees to help address this issue.
However, we recognise that the formation programme will remain financially out of reach for some promising applicants.
2. Inviting alumni to support more equitable access to the SDFP by donating to the SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund.
Our desire is to offer pathways towards formation for people who demonstrate a sense of calling to this ministry, but for whom finances are a barrier. With your help, we can support more people than we can alone.
How can you help?
The SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund is one of the ways we can work together as the contemplative community in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Your donation helps 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. One-off, or regular donations are all welcome. No amount is too small!
Why might you want to donate?
As alumni of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme you embody the ministry of spiritual direction and the gifts of contemplative practice in your work and lives.
We know you are 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, and to invest in the health and growth of contemplative spirituality in our land.
Quotes from our donors.
Jim McInnes
"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.”
Beng Kuan
“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.”
Maree Shepherd
“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. ”
Tracey Hunt
“I donated to the fund because it 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 NZ.”
Jenna Edgar
“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.”
Sharon Penny
“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.”
How to Donate to 2024 Alumni Appeal
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
You might consider the following for our 2024 alumni appeal:
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.
Naturally this is a no-pressure invitation.
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 generosity.
~ SGM Workgroup
