As 2024 draws to a close and throughout 2025, A Rocha faces a significant financial challenge, which allows us to exercise our faith and expect wonderful responses from the Lord… and perhaps from you too?
The development of A Rocha France with the CoCliCo project
For two years, we benefited from European Life funding (CoCliCo project). This European funding, supplemented by additional funding received in 2023, has enabled A Rocha France to scale up over the last three years. Thanks to CoCliCo, we were able to recruit Yoanna Rigotto and Sarah Kemp-Dubreuil to support the growing number of ambassadors and local groups. We were also able to recruit a communications manager, Nadège Peter, to set up communications tools tailored to an association that has grown significantly and now has 16 employees.
On the conservation side, we have been able to strengthen the work carried out at Mas Mireille and Les Courmettes and develop our educational garden. Finally, we have been able to continue raising awareness in churches, the media, Christian gatherings, and Protestant and Evangelical umbrella organizations about the importance of caring for creation. More generally, CoCliCo has given us the means to carry out our mission of mobilizing Christians, preserving life, and bringing hope to a world that is increasingly suffering from eco-anxiety and despair.
When we accepted CoCliCo funding three years ago, we of course anticipated the challenge of sustaining this change in scale by implementing strategies to find other sources of funding. Sarah Kemp-Dubreuil was recruited, for example, to seek funds from private and public foundations, which is starting to bear fruit. Nadège Peter and Philippe Chapron-Duran, administrative and financial managers, are working to improve our fundraising methods from one-off or regular donors. We are also looking to raise funds from businesses, etc.
A Rocha needs you to find funds!
But the salaried team’s time is limited… We therefore wish to leverage the many talents and goodwill that exist among our Ambassadors and the network of our many friends to help us accelerate our fundraising efforts, with the aim of better carrying out our mission.
We have therefore decided to (re)activate the Fundraising Working Group, which met only once, in spring 2023. I invite you to send me an email ([email protected]) if:
- you have ideas to help us raise funds, and/or
- you would like to receive a Doodle (availability survey) to participate in the first meeting (the date of which will be determined based on volunteer availability, in October).
For this first meeting, which will be a reflection and brainstorming session, everyone is welcome, and there are no specific skills or prerequisites. You can simply participate to listen and share ideas and discern if you can help in any of the following ways:
🙏 Pray for the Lord to provide for the needs, so that we can continue our important mission in this distressed world.
☎️ Share with J.F. on the 6th of 🎸Bono, 🖥️ Bill Gates, or ⚽ Olivier Giroud…
🤘 Give our bank details to one of your friends (✅millionaire ✅ celebrity…) who is interested in ecology and wants to make a large donation to a Christian environmental protection organization. 😉
🗣️ Talk to your friends, your friend with 500,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, in churches, at gatherings, about the importance of caring for creation and the financial needs of A. Rocha
💻Help clean up a contact database and prepare to send out a donation appeal
🤙Chat with a company CEO to help them understand that the ecological crisis deserves a 1% donation for the planet
🤝Convince people to leave a legacy to A Rocha or include us in their wills
🤌Convince friends/family to become one-time or regular donors
👣Introduce us to new members or donors (companies, individuals, churches, etc.)
(This list is, of course, non-exhaustive and can be expanded at the first meeting – bring your ideas!)
So, whoever you are, whatever your talents, you can help (even if it’s just by coming to this first meeting and carrying A Rocha’s mission forward in prayer). So, don’t hesitate to sign up to receive updates!
