I wrote Coach John Calapari two weeks ago and asked him to make a donation to the Academy of Preachers–well, not exactly to the Academy but to his archbishop, the Reverend Joseph Kurtz of Louisville.
Rev. Kurtz is hosting four events of next year’s National Festival of Young Preachers. While the majority of the preaching, especially during the day, will be in the Seelbach Hilton Hotel, the Cathedral of the Assumption is hosting a reception, a worship service, a lunch, and the closing convocation. So the coach, if he responds to our appeal, will help his archbishop host the festival, and that helps us.
Last week I called an old friend whose son preached at the 2010 festival of young preachers. The young man’s alma mater wants to host a campus festival for their students and prospective students. I want to encourage them, so I call my friend, whose pastor attended the 2010 festival as a mentor and has since retired (not that there is any connection between the two events!), and asked if he thought we could raise several thousand dollars in honor of his retiring pastor to underwrite the cost of the campus festival including 3-4 scholarships to the national festival in January 2011. He said, “Sure!”
In both of these cases, the donations do not come directly to the Academy, but to a church or a university. But indirectly they help us, and this is why I work to secure this type of funding.
Of course, we need our share of donations. Today’s mail brought $2,000 in gifts. This helps us toward our Spring 2011 goal of $50,000. We are planning fund-raising events in Owensboro and Louisville, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and anywhere else there is an interest).
This $50,000 goal is part of a larger two-year campaign to secure $200,000 for the Academy. The Lilly Endowment is generous in launching our endeavor and in providing support for salaries and administration; but they do not fund our programs: leadership team, preaching camp, festival of young preachers. So we are seeking your support.
Can you help us? All donations are tax deductable. They will be used to pay the cost of these three events: festivals, camps, and the leadership team. Give what you can and help us find people who will invest in the next generation of great preachers.
And if Coach Calipari sends in that donation, I will let you know!