Celebrating Sky Lake’s 72 Years of Ministry by Sustaining its Future
In 1947, twelve pastors and laypersons pooled their personal financial savings to purchase the Sky Lake property. On April 10th of that same year, this daring act of faith was rewarded when the former Wyoming Conference voted to officially establish Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Center. At its dedication in 2003, Founders’ Lodge was named to honor the legacy of this group of committed individuals.
You are now invited to become a co-founder of sorts yourself. To celebrate Sky Lake’s 72nd birthday we are establishing the Sustainable Forest of Giving—a group of Sky Lake supporters who commit to contributing monthly, quarterly, or annually to the Sky Lake Annual Fund. While you may choose to give at any level, all those who set up a recurring contribution to the Sky Lake Annual Fund, by April 30, 2019, at the Hemlock level or higher will be officially recognized as a co-founder of the Sustainable Forest of Giving.
It takes financial resources beyond camp and retreat fees and conference financial support to provide the life-transforming ministry that many of us have experienced at Sky Lake at some point over the past 72 years. Your contribution to the Sky Lake Annual Fund helps defray the costs associated with operating our ministry: electricity, propane, hospitality supplies, program equipment, tractor fuel, and more. In other words, the parts of the ministry that are not apt to be the most photogenic, but without which our ministry could not thrive.
How to Become a Co-Founder
In the table below, we’ve provided several different recommended levels at which Sustainable Forest of Giving contributors may feel called to give. Each level is named for a tree which can be found here at Sky Lake along with its prevalence in our physical forest. Other than the minimum requirement for being considered a co-founder of the Sustainable Forest of Giving (the Hemlock level), we invite you to give at the highest level your means allow.
When it comes to setting up your recurring contribution, the quickest and easiest method is to visit the online donation portal which we share with our sibling sites of Upper New York Camp and Retreat Ministries.
Once on the donation page:
+ Click the “Designation” field; select “Sky Lake Annual Fund” (please note that contributions to the Sky Lake Campership Fund and/or any other fund are gratefully accepted, however only recurring contributions to the Sky Lake Annual Fund, at or above $19.47 per month, are counted toward you becoming a co-founder of the Sustainable Forest of Giving)
+Click on the amount you wish to give monthly, quarterly, or annually (please note that in order for your contribution to count toward becoming a co-founder of the Sustainable Forest of Giving, your monthly, quarterly, or annual contribution must match or exceed the designated amount of your desired level on the table on the front of this document. If you plan to give quarterly or annually at an amount other than what is listed on the site, you will need to select “Other” and manually input that amount.
+Check the “Make this a recurring gift” box under “Choose how often to give”
+The default frequency is monthly, if you wish to give quarterly or annually select the box next to “Give” and a drop-down menu will appear (please note that all gifts are processed by UNYCRM on the 8th day of the month)
+Select which payment method you desire to use for your recurring contribution—both credit cards and direct debit are accepted
+If you are giving this gift on behalf of an organization (e.g. First Church or UMWomen) check the designated box
+We may publicly thank you for your contribution, if you desire to not be publicly acknowledged, please check the “I would like this gift to remain anonymous” box (you’ll still receive a thank you and an invite to join the Sky Lake Donor Newsletter email list.)
+If you have the means to give above and beyond the suggested levels, please contact Matt Williams, Director of Sky Lake, to discuss additional opportunities for giving.
Thank You! Now Let’s Stay in Touch
We thank you in advance for your generosity and promise to remain good stewards of your resources.
We would also like to invite you to join our email list to receive all the latest news from Sky Lake. There are several newsletters from which to chose—including one to provide donors with updates!