Of course, money is not the only resource that sustains a community.
For a community of faith, prayer and spiritual formation are of utmost importance. So, while I'm not yet accepting funds toward the opening of a community in Nashville (I will let you know when that happens), I do covet your prayers as all sorts of seeds are sown toward that end.
However...always a big question from folks is: How do you fund something like that?
Well, the answer is multi-faceted. From what I gather from talking to folks with L'Arche communities:
-a lot of the day-to-day funds for supporting individuals with disabilities comes from Medicaid waiver, SSI disability funds, and the like
-a donation of property (or offering a lease at $1/year) sets a community much further on its way to opening its first doors in a new place
-each Friends of L'Arche gathers a Board, who raises funds to hire an Executive Director - who then also works to raise funds in order to get to the point of opening the community
-some communities also hire a Development Director
And methods used by those folks might include:
-developing relationships with major donors, businesses, and faith congregations
-maintaining communication and relationship with all "friends" of the organization (whether already donors or not) and maintaining the means by which individuals donate - via both traditional and social media
-fundraising events
-grant applications to foundations, governmental entities and the like
I would add a couple of components of sustenance to those methods of "acquiring" enough to support a community:
-Simple living is one of the core principles of L'Arche communities. I'm still getting my head around what this means in L'Arche versus other communities where I've lived and shared ideas. It often includes communal sharing of goods and space. For example, in Jacksonville, it means each of the houses makes a trip to the Food Bank each week as their primary "grocery (and other supplies) shopping" trip.
-In my vision for a new community, I would hope that the community could grow some of its own food. This could curb food spending, and even potentially provide a means of income, if enough is produced to take to market (or CSA), or if other products are made from items from the garden (pressed flower cards, pickles, jams).
-Also related - individuals in such communities often work or participate in various workshops or day programs. This could be more mainstream employment, an arts/craft workshop where products are eventually sold, or a workshop where groups are contracted to do piece work for large companies. Individuals may receive pay checks from these work programs. And perhaps there are ideas that could be expanded upon for either income for individuals or a community.
...I welcome any and all fundraising and entrepreneurial ideas.
