A Review of the 2023 Legacy Offering
Between November 22 and December 31, 2023 our community gave generously and sacrificially, over and above our tithes, towards the Legacy Offering. As of January 11, 2024 over 240 people have contributed a total of $96,326, allowing us to work towards the fulfillment of all our initiatives! At the outset of the Offering we set a participation goal, aiming to have 338 individuals (representing 75% of our adult community) participate in the offering. Despite not reaching our goal, we are excited and encouraged by how our community came together. Here are a few key Legacy Offering insights as they relate to our participation goal.
While falling short of our participation goal, this year’s Offering saw a 78% increase in participation over last year’s Offering. Last year 135 individuals contributed, whereas 240 individuals contributed this year. This increase demonstrates how our community rallied together in pursuit of making a difference through the Legacy Offering.
Just under 50% (97/198) of the gifts received between November 22 and December 31 were donations under $100. For reference, in 2022 only 5% (4/89) of gifts received were under $100. Our desire in setting a participation goal for the Legacy Offering was to demonstrate that giving isn’t about how much we give, but rather that we do give—regardless of the amount. This teaching was clearly received by the Soul community.
This year saw many children, youth, and young adults give towards the Legacy Offering. As previously noted, those under 30 were nearly absent from last year’s Legacy Offering donor list. This year, around 15 children and youth gave towards the Offering alongside their parents and around 50 young adults under the age of 30 contributed.
As we reflect on these statistics we recognize the goodness and faithfulness of God as he gently forms us into a generous people. We thank all those who have supported the Legacy Offering initiatives and we pray that God uses these resources to further minister to people. In keeping with our desire to be a transparent and accountable community, here is an update (as of January 11) on the progress of our Legacy Offering initiatives.
1. Local and Global Initiatives
Later this month Soul Sanctuary will gift portions of the Legacy Offering to Rose Church, a young church plant located in Transcona, and Little Hands Kenya (a ministry of Helping Hands Kenya and long term mission partner of Soul). Rose Church will use the funds to furnish their children’s classrooms in their new location, while Little Hands will use the funds to purchase playground equipment and new technology for their computer lab. We will further update the community on the impact of these gifts in the months to come.
2. Upgrades to our Children’s and Youth Spaces
A portion of our Legacy Offering will be used to upgrade aging and defective audio and visual equipment in our Soul Kids room and Student Centre. Our team will start by drafting design plans for each space in partnership with professional vendors before making purchases to upgrade audio and visual equipment in both rooms.
3. Church Vitality Initiatives
A portion of our Legacy Offering will cover strategic vision-based expenditures in our 2023 operating budget at the discretion of the Steering Committee. These decisions will be made by the Steering Committee, and reported back to the Soul community, in the first quarter of 2024.
Throughout the year we’ll continue to provide updates on these projects as we work towards actualizing our vision of being a place of refuge, repair, and rejuvenation for all people.