Help SIFAT on GivingTuesday – Dec. 3!

Click here to download a PDF version of this page!

Dear SIFAT family,

I am humbled and thankful for your prayers and support during the last 45 years. When SIFAT was founded in 1979, we had a budget of $12,000 and a call to help the poor learn to stand on their own feet. We have come a long way in 45 years, but now have an urgent need for funding that only God, through you, can help.

GivingTuesday is December 3. We ask for your help to continue the work for which God has called us. Generous donors have committed to double donations up to the first $65,000 we raise. We cannot do it alone, but with your support, we can make a difference in the world for some of the least of these.

In October, I led a team to Ecuador to help SIFAT graduate Anita and her husband, Pastor Rafael, plant their eighth church, which includes an after-school program that offers support, spiritual and educational tutoring, meals and medical attention for 75+ street children. Through these churches and others we have served, thousands of children have received opportunities that most of us take for granted. Young adult leaders are now serving as tutors, pastors and musicians because their lives were changed because of these programs. God is allowing us to impact the future of Ecuador one child at a time.

The last few years have been difficult financially for our ministry. We need you to join SIFAT at this critical time, so that we can continue to make an impact for years to come. Information on how to donate is on the back of this letter. Thank you in advance for your gift to help us meet our goal to raise $200,000 on GivingTuesday.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Tom Corson
Executive Director

Since 1979, SIFAT has been training community leaders in appropriate technology and community development. We need your help on GivingTuesday, so that we can continue our ministry for years to come!

Three Ways to Participate

Share your SIFAT Experience. Everyone needs a smile and encouragement these days. Share one of your favorite SIFAT memories (funny or serious) on social media. Use the hashtag #MySIFATMoment, so we can share them.

Commit to Pray and/or Participate. Pray for SIFAT staff, projects and programs. Your daily prayers are heard and are such an encouragement. Choose a way to get personally involved in SIFAT. Begin to volunteer, choose a Learn & Serve retreat to bring a group to experience our campus or join an international mission team!

Donate to SIFAT. Generous donors created a $65,000 matching fund that doubles your donation! Our goal is $200,000. You can donate by check or online.

Designate your check GivingTuesday and mail by Dec. 3. Any designated donations received for GivingTuesday  count  toward our goals!

SIFAT believes building relationships is key to understanding the daily struggles others face and how we can help communities develop to their full potential. How will you support SIFAT on GivingTuesday?

Three Online Giving Options
www.sifat.org/donate

Give directly to SIFAT. You will be redirected to our PayPal page, where you can donate with your credit/ debit card. A transaction fee will be deducted from your donation, or you can choose to supplement this fee. Remember,  SIFAT’s legal name is Southern Institute for Appropriate Technology.

Give through the PayPal Giving Fund. You will be redirected to the PayPal Giving Fund, which covers the transaction fee. Donations given through this method can take up to 45 days for us to receive. To designate your gift for GivingTuesday, please e-mail accounting@sifat.org.

Give through The Advance (UMC Global Ministries). SIFAT receives 100% of each donation without any transaction fees being taken. Donors can choose to give credit to their local UMC congregation, as well. There is a delay for SIFAT to receive funds and donor information.

SIFAT’s projects and programs are for all ages! Get involved in missions today — in Alabama or internationally!

Maximize Your Gift to SIFAT

Matching Funds from Employers   Have you checked to see if your company matches donations made to nonprofits? Many companies will double or triple your donation! Check with your employer to see if they offer matches for donations to 501(c)(3) organizations. Let us know if you need any supporting paperwork from SIFAT—accounting@sifat.org.

Give Directly from IRA   If you are required to take a disbursement from your IRA, you can donate a percentage or all of it directly to SIFAT. By donating to a nonprofit without receiving the disbursement, you do not pay taxes on the disbursement. For higher income earners, the taxable gross income used to calculate Social Security payments is less and, depending on income level, can result in higher monthly Social Security payments. Consult your tax advisor to see if donating directly to SIFAT could benefit you.

Donate Stock to SIFAT      Did you know that you can donate stock to SIFAT? You generally take a tax deduction for the full fair market value. By donating stock that has appreciated for more than a year, you are actually giving 20% more than if you sold the stock and then made a cash donation because of taxes. Consult your tax advisor about your options for giving stock to SIFAT.

Help SIFAT continue serving those in need throughout the world! Your support makes a difference!

August 2024: A True Story About Pastor Obi

Editor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version.

Written by Sarah Corson, SIFAT co-founder

I just finished reading Pastor Obi’s final report from his most recent project funded through SIFAT’s Graduates’ Projects Committee (GPC). This report shows a well-done project. I am so happy that SIFAT can help Pastor Obi. He is a dedicated Christian, and I will never forget when he attended the Practicum years ago at SIFAT.

This may be a long story, but I feel I must share it with you. While I sit here writing, I remember Pastor Obi and the last day he was with us in Alabama. I cannot keep the tears from my eyes, but they are tears of joy because of what God has done in Pastor Obi’s life, spiritually and physically. It is based on a very hard decision he had to make, and thank God, he chose right!

Because of his training at SIFAT, Pastor Obi realized that his ministry could help meet both the spiritual and physical needs of those he is serving.

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June 2024: A Month in Pictures

Because our May/June 2024 update is mainly pictures, we are posting images of both pages. You can download a PDF version, too.

Worship on the Water 2024

Worship on the Water at Lake Wedowee this summer …

WOW friends,

We are sorry to announce that WOW 2024 will be delayed this summer. With many unknowns for our location under the pines at Lakeside Marina, we waited as long as we could to plan, while also searching for alternative locations. Unfortunately, we must postpone WOW at this time. We are hopeful we will be able to start WOW midseason — please watch for updates here and on our social media.

Thanks!
Your SIFAT/WOW team

Each Sunday during the summer, we invite different speakers and musicians to lead our nondenominational, casual service on Lake Wedowee!

Helping Hungry People Can Help Us, Too

Editor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version.

Written by Sarah Corson, SIFAT co-founder

A search on my cell phone tells me there are 281 million migrants in the world today. The situation presents life-threatening circumstances to the migrants themselves, as well as untold suffering and chaos to the people in the areas to which they go. SIFAT believes an answer to solving this problem is to work on the root causes, which start, not at our border, but long before in the homeland of the migrants. SIFAT hosts workshops and training practicums on community development and providing one’s basic human needs. We have had a number of Central Americans attend a weekend training in their hometown and, afterward, tell us they had planned to cross our border to look for work, which was nonexistent where they lived. However, SIFAT’s training gave them hope and ideas of how they could make a living in their own hometown. “We don’t want to be migrants,” they told us, “but when our families are hungry, we have to do something. Now you have taught us things we can use here at home. We have canceled our plan of migrating to the U.S. and are going to try your ideas to make a living at home.”

Yurima is a Venezuelan Christian working with a needy community, where they had little land to grow food. She first came to study with SIFAT in 1994. She has started a community garden behind her church and has gotten her people interested in growing their own food. Later, the church bought a larger plot of land in an area called Villa Paraiso. It is near Yurima’s home, but extends their outreach into this community of approximately 180 families.

In 2022, Yurima took classes from trainer Oswaldo Páez at SIFAT’s Central American Training Center in Costa Rica.

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