Announcing a BRAND NEW Sound of Hope

For a while now we’ve known that in order to keep The Sound of Hope productive and successful, we needed to focus on improving our organization. As many non-profits do in the beginning, we had been “getting by” with free websites and print-work designed by friends. While we’re grateful for those “freebies” getting us this far, it just didn’t do our work justice. The children we serve overseas have INCREDIBLE stories, and we want to make sure people hear them, see them, and have a way to respond to them. So this Fall, we hired an amazing firm to make The Sound of Hope even better!

For the past few weeks, we’ve been working a lot of 10, 12, 15, and even 18 hour work days. But I’m thrilled to announce that all that work was worth it, because last week we revealed our BRAND NEW logo, website, and online store for The Sound of Hope

The team at Ideogram has worked tirelessly to create this awesome site for us, and we’re so excited to see it live! On our homepage you’ll find an interactive slider that shows each country we work in, our main video for that country, our latest tweet, and the projects we’re currently fundraising for. (Move the boxes with your up & down & left & right arrows.)

Click on the map (or the menu in the top right of the page) and you can visit 4 country specific pages. For the first time, you can see (in detail) where we work, how many children we care for, and exactly what we do in each country. You can also find our latest country specific videos, blogs, and fundraising projects. There are 2 brand new Feature videos too – check them out on our India & Swaziland pages!

There are several other new pages, but I’ll let you peruse the site and discover them yourself. I do want to point out one more INCREDIBLE addition though. Last week, we opened up our first ever online store for The Sound of Hope

For the past year we have been collecting merchandise from around the world to sell in our shop. We have so many beautiful, unique products from India, Thailand, Burma, and Swaziland – and I’m so excited to finally share them with you! There’s original art, handmade jewelry, silk scarves, handpainted brass bowls and MUCH more! And the best part is – every single purchase helps us provide RESCUE, PROTECTION, and HOLISTIC CARE to children in need.

So, what are you waiting for?! Go check out our new site and shop in our new store! (If you place an order by Monday night (the 17th), you should get it in time for Christmas.) And please help us get the word out by sharing our new site with your friends via email, blog, facebook, and twitter. ‘Tis the season for year-end tax-deductible gifts, and we need your help to finish 2012 strong!

Return on Investment

Lately I've taken an interest in the stock market. I find the whole thing just fascinating - understanding how the market moves, what forces drive a stock, earnings, price action, charts, valuation, etc.

I never knew it could be so much fun researching a stock, and I mean really digging into a company's balance sheet, income statement and cash flow report.  If you're looking for long-term investments, doing this type of "homework" is a must. Ultimately, what you're trying to figure out is what kind of return on investment (ROI) you can get from a particular company/stock.

Anyway, I've learned a TON about all this stuff, and it's made me think differently about The Sound of Hope. You see, we've got ADMIN donors - people who donate monthly toward our operating budget so that we can work full-time for orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland, India, Thailand and Burma. Now, when I look at these donors through a stock market frame of mind, I see investors, or shareholders. So, recently I've been asking, "what kind of return on investment does my organization offer them?"

It's a good question, because rest assured "shareholders" in The Sound of Hope are receiving a return. It just looks a little different from Wall Street. Every monthly investment makes it possible for us to care for 200+ kids in FIVE children's homes and one carepoint. Our donors' financial investment returns physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life to these children. Now that's a profitable investment right there, but that's not all!

Another way to look at our shareholder "ROI" is to ask this question. How efficient is The Sound of Hope at turning operating dollars into dollars released to our overseas projects? Well, let me tell you. So far this year we've generated $3.10 of charitable revenue for every $1 spent on operations.

"Charitable revenue" is the money we send our overseas partners, and "operations" is what the organization spends to operate - such as payroll, taxes, travel costs, media, office supplies, etc.

So lets say you support The Sound of Hope $10 bucks a month - that means we turn your $10 into $31 of charitable revenue EACH MONTH. That's a 310% return on investment! I promise you, finding that kind of ROI on Wall Street ain't gonna be easy!

So, do I have any buyers? I've got a great company here folks, doing amazing things in the nations. Consider this our IPO (Initial Public Offering). If you want to be a part of an organization that turns your money into changed lives, then you've found it. We take financial stewardship seriously, and we'll bust our tails to bring you a return on your investment.

Will you give The Sound of Hope an opportunity to put your money to work?

To become a monthly "shareholder" and get a tax-deduction, click the big obvious button below.

 

It's Official

This is a post from The Sound of Hope website. I just wanted to share it with my blog readers! Check out these happy faces!

In our last blog we shared the miraculous story of how the full $190,000 came in for the Asha Mission Land Fund. Well today, we are thrilled to report that the land has been purchased!!!

The Founder of the Asha Mission Children's Home flew to India a few weeks ago to buy the land and make sure all the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed. And now that it's OFFICIAL, the children are beside themselves with joy! They know that this means they are one huge step closer to a big, new, permanent home!

Babu, the Founder, took the House Dad and a few of the boys to see the land while he was in India. As you can tell by these pictures, they are really excited to see the place their new home will be!

I love how open this location is, and how lush and green the land is. Those are 2 things you don't see much of in this area of India!

To everyone who gave to this need - whether it was $5 or $5,000 - you have made an extraordinary impact on the lives of these little boys and girls! We are still so humbled and amazed by your support! We know this land will provide a safe place for children to flourish and grow for generations.  It is incredible to think about the hope this place will bring into the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in India - for years and years to come!

Next up is the building project! Babu met with some builders when he was in India and began the process of drawing up plans for the new Children's Home. We will all work together to be sure it meets the government requirements and becomes a healthy place for the children to call home. We are so excited to see this part of the project take shape! We'll keep you updated as Phase 2 begins!

A Proud Husband

I was never so proud to be Ericka's husband as I was yesterday.

Let me give you the quick back-story. My wife grew up doing pageants, and not just a few, but scores of them! She competed for 19 years - including two trips to Miss Alabama in 2004 and 2005. Now let me tell you, this is quite an accomplishment in itself, because only 48 girls get to compete each year for the right to be called "Miss Alabama". The experiences and friendships from those two years are a big part of who my wife is today.

So, fast-forward to a couple months ago...

At the time we had some extra money from some side work I had been doing, so Ericka comes to me with an idea. She wanted to create a $1,000 scholarship for a Miss Alabama contestant called the IMPACT Award. It would be given to the young lady who was making the greatest impact in the lives of those around her. I loved the idea and said go for it!

Well, yesterday at the Miss Alabama luncheon Ericka got a chance to share some of her story and then present the award. I felt like her words carried so much weight and influence. You see, Ericka didn't win Miss Alabama, nor did she finish in the Top 10. That will be the case for 38 of the 48 girls in that room. Yet Ericka stood there as an example of life on the other side of Miss Alabama. I was so proud!

I was also proud to see who won the award - Beth Milam. She just got back from a mission trip in Haiti 20 days ago. A fitting winner to an award created by my wife!

Beth Milam - 2012 IMPACT Award winner!

Miracle

It's very hard to describe what I witnessed over the last 5 weeks. The only word I can think of is "miracle", but even that seems to fall short.

$75,000 in 30 days seemed like an impossibility. Three weeks in, the need was still as high as $54,000, and the day of we were short $20,000.

Yet by 9:30 Sunday night - two and a half hours before the deadline - we were FULLY FUNDED!

Yes, this is a miracle, but it's the stories behind these numbers that tell of something more. Obedience and sacrifice - and without the two this miracle would not have been possible.

I believe God's purpose for our lives is simple - love one another as He has loved us. OK, so let's ask - HOW has God loved us? By giving us His son, Jesus, who through obedience, sacrificed his life for ours! OBEDIENCE and SACRIFICE gave us a NEW life!

Just as the OBEDIENCE and SACRIFICE of those who gave to our need in India will give NEW life to 33 children now, and more in the future!

During this fundraising process we had complete strangers give $1,000 donations - multiple times. One guy sold a car and sent us the profits! Another donor took money from his child's college fund so that these kids could have a better life. A girl mailed us a large check with a letter saying she couldn't sleep until she donated! We had a pastor reallocate $10,000 that was meant for his church's building fund. One family even donated their DOWN PAYMENT toward a new home!

These are simple, ordinary people who responded in extraordinary faith. They were OBEDIENT to God's call to SACRIFICE so that others may have a better life. THIS was the fuel behind the miracle.

And that's exactly what our kids in India were praying for, a miracle - and God provided one, through YOU!

So thank you to all who gave, and who sacrificed so much. Your obedience will echo into future generations of children in India.

Oh, as a VERY important side note. Clearly we raised the money is US Dollars - but the land will be bought in Indian Rupees. Turns out the Rupee has been losing value over the last few weeks - so what does that mean? We will have MORE than enough for the land - and what is leftover will give us a good start toward construction costs of the new home!

Asha Land UPDATE

Yes, this is another post about the kids at Asha Mission Children's Home and our URGENT fundraising need for land! I don't normally inundate my blog readers with constant updates like this, but we have never had a need this BIG or this URGENT before. And I am reminded of what Asha Mission Founder, Babu John, said - "I will get on my knees and beg for these children, if it keeps them from becoming beggars." AMEN. (For those of you who don't know - many orphans and vulnerable children in India are kidnapped and disabled on purpose (eyes gouged out, legs cut off, arms cut off, etc) to become more pitiful, more "effective beggars". It's disgusting. And we will NOT let it happen to any of the precious kids we care for!)

But the good news is, we have a pretty INCREDIBLE update for you today! If you remember, months ago we started this fundraiser needing $200,000. On Sunday I updated you that the need had dropped to $54,000. Well friends - it has been an AMAZING week! Our current total needed is only $24,500!!!

WE are completely blown away! The stories people are telling us about their donations are so humbling and encouraging. One church gave away $11,000 out of their building fund so our precious kids could have a home. A dad in Mississippi gave away $5,000 he'd been saving for his son's college housing fund. People are choosing to sacrifice their future plans for the future of these 33 little boys and girls in India. It has been incredible to hear how God is moving in the hearts of people all over the nation! We are absolutely watching a miracle in the making!

Just a reminder - these are the precious kids you are caring for when you give to this need! 

Asha Mission Brothers (above) and Asha Mission Sisters (below).

But friends - we are down to the wire! We only have until midnight THIS Sunday night (May 20th) to raise the last $24,500! So I am asking all of you - one more time - to get involved! Ask yourself what you can sacrifice for these kids. Will you donate part of your savings account? Will you give away your tax return? Will you ask your friends and family to give by sharing this blog, this link, or this video?

Let's make a miracle happen!

$20,000 Raised... $55,000 to go

We're getting there people, like the title says - we've raised right at $20,000 - we got TEN DAYS to get another $55,000!

I've been consistently humbled throughout this process! Many folks out there have given so generously, people we don't even know dropping off $1,000 donations! In fact, today we got a $2,000 check in the mail from a guy who SOLD a car and donated the profits to our kids in India!

If you are getting this, I'm asking you to give, to pray, to share this video! These kids deserve a permanent home, and that can't happen until we buy this land!

URGENT NEED :: Asha Land Project from The Sound of Hope on Vimeo.