Book a Foundations Workshop in Your Community Today!
Have you ever questioned if the poverty-fighting efforts of the churches or nonprofits in your city are truly helping people live the flourishing life God intended?
Does it seem the ministries in your community are keeping people in a perpetual state of dependency instead of escaping their poverty?
Do you wish there was an educational experience to jump-start a movement of effective charity among the organizations in your community?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, the True Charity Foundations Workshop is for you!
Based on Marvin Olasky’s “7 Marks of Compassion,” this event couples dynamic presentations with opportunities for deep discussion and collaboration. The Foundations Workshop is a refreshing opportunity to explore principles of relational, responsible charity and to strategize with other vested community members to truly move the poverty needle in your community!
What to Expect
Philosophy
Investigate what flourishing means for those in poverty.
Application
Discover models and practices that get long-term results.
Implementation
Apply practical, effective charity concepts to your work.
Your Instructors
James Whitford
Founder & CEO
True Charity
Amanda Fisher
Community Engagement Director
True Charity
Savannah Aleckson
Events Director
True Charity
Sonya Stearns
Network Membership Manager
True CharityBook Your Foundations Workshop
Please submit the form below to get the process started!
Contact amanda@truecharity.us with any questions you have. We are excited to spread these concepts so together we can move toward more effective charity!
What Attendees Have to Say
Testimonials
The workshop was professional and personal; also very practical! The resources were outstanding. I was engaged the entire time.
Outstanding tools to help our community come together to help alleviate poverty but, more importantly, instill in others they are capable and important!
The day was packed with valuable and practical information for our organization. It was exciting to participate with other organizations and share ideas.
[True Charity] is a movement not based on theory only but from practiced experience over many years … grown out of efforts started at Watered Gardens Mission in Joplin, Missouri where the principles covered in the training have a proven track record. It’s truly an approach based on the wiser path to teach a person how to fish rather than just continuing to give them a fish and consequently creating dependency.
The (True Charity) philosophy and system…to transform the way charity is provided in this country is nothing short of revolutionary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this workshop be boring?
This is not one of those workshops!
Our three instructors promise variety throughout the day; this won’t be a snoozer! We will mix it up with a combination of lectures, stories, short videos, interactive workshopping, and sharing of ideas.
At the end of the day, do we want you to have increased knowledge? Yes! But most importantly, we want you to head out the door excited about specific next steps for your individual context.
What is the general idea of the content?
Following is the topical flow for the day:
Opening: What is your vision for your city? This is a time to review some local statistics, get to know your instructors and talk about the needs and assets in your community.
Morning Session 1:
Affiliation & Bonding: Who is the best person to help? If there is more to poverty than a lack of money, how do we address it? In this lesson, we’ll talk about the importance of walking alongside individuals and assisting with connections to family, friends, and community to live the flourishing life God intended.
Morning Session 2:
Categorization & Discernment: How do you differentiate the unique needs of individuals? Why is it important to know the details? Learn to contrast categories of need in order to apply a tailored solution and make your work less transactional and more transformational.
Lunch Break
Afternoon Session 1:
Exchange & Freedom: Do we believe that people in need bring gifts and skills to the table? How can we avoid entrapping people in a cycle of dependency so they can truly be free? Learn how incorporating exchange and reciprocity in your programs will send the message that individuals aren’t simply recipients, but protagonists in their own story of overcoming poverty.
Afternoon Session 2:
God: As holistic poverty-fighters, we know that meeting spiritual needs is just as important as meeting physical ones. We’ll discuss how the love of God transforms both the helper and the helped.
Closing
How much does a Foundations Workshop cost?
The cost for a group of up to 50 attendees is $3,000 plus our travel costs. (Contact us if you’re near Southwest Missouri). If you’d like to host a larger workshop, no worries! We just ask for an additional $15 for each person above 50 to cover materials.
In order to secure your dates, we ask for a $500 deposit at the time of booking the Foundations Workshop. This is refundable until 45 days prior to the workshop. The remaining balance will be calculated and submitted to the organization 3 days prior to the workshop, with payment being due on or before the date of the workshop.
If the organization chooses to charge a fee to participants collected through our on-line registration, the remaining balance due will be $2,500 less the fees paid by participants, plus travel costs. If any additional registrations come in during the three days, True Charity Initiative will refund that amount.
What does my organization provide?
We provide custom promotional tools specific to your event, a registration website with information for participants, an in-depth workbook with room for note-taking and other materials for the day. Here is what we need from you:
- Workshop venue large enough to accommodate number of participants expected
- Tables and chairs – round tables preferred to promote interaction during the workshopping portions
- Lunch and refreshments for the group (optional lunch out)
- Projector, screen, and microphone/speakers
- Laptop/Powerpoint access from stage area
- White board or chalkboard
- Table for books/products
What is the target audience?
The workshop is designed with nonprofit and church leaders in mind. The content is generally faith-based but geared toward any staff who are eager to see more impact in their work. In brief, participants who will find the workshop most helpful will agree that the best form of charity is:
- Voluntarily Resourced – provided by people who care
- Challenge Oriented – leverages relationship and accountability to challenge recipients to help themselves; and
- Outcome Driven – achieves long-term, measurable results.
(Check out our True Charity page for more information about our beliefs.)
Who specifically should be invited?
Here are some ideas to get you started on your invitation list:
- Pastors/Missions Pastors
- Church staff and volunteers, especially those involved or wanting to become involved in benevolence/poverty alleviation
- Nonprofit leaders, board members, and volunteers
- City officials (i.e., City Manager, Mayor, city council member)
- Community/Business Leaders – especially those who are active in church ministries/volunteering
- Donors/Financial supporters/Philanthropists
- Civic organizations that donate to poverty alleviation efforts
Do you have any tools to help us implement what we learn?
Yes! After learning about foundational principles of effective charity and examples of innovative models, True Charity Network membership grants you access to all our online training, model action plans, webinars, and tools to help you put ideas into practice. The Network also gives you the option to connect with other network members all across the country who are doing great work so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
How can we maintain momentum in our community after the workshop?
Hosting follow-up meetings for like-minded leaders can help keep things moving in the right direction. If you’re interested, we will work with your community for a full year after the workshop, providing educational content, instructions for completing a community needs and assets survey, agendas for periodic collaborative meetings, and connection to resources that will help you create or improve the right programs for your community. This might look like transitioning a food pantry into a food co-op, starting a financial skills class, or launching an earn-it project where clients from different organizations can earn what they need.
This benefit is included in the cost of the Foundations Workshop, but one network member organization will need to volunteer as the point of contact for collaboration so that we have a reliable partner to equip and engage.
Are any additional trainings offered in conjunction with the workshop?
For an additional $500, you have the option to add a two-hour Charity Tracker demonstration. Charity Tracker is a web-based software used to share charitable information within communities. Charity Tracker helps organizations and churches reduce dependency and steward their resources wisely. See FAQ below for more information!
What is Charity Tracker?
Charity Tracker is a collaboration software created by Simon Solutions after they witnessed the need for communication about resources in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Although the True Charity Initiative team didn’t design the tool, we recognize its value and are willing to share our experience. This assists organizations in the sharing about resources given and also serves as a platform for care coordination. Goal setting becomes more manageable when participants’ goals are documented and appropriate referrals can be made through the software.
How do I promote the Workshop in my community?
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to encourage attendance. True Charity will create and manage a registration site for the event and send you updates as people register. We will provide a step-by-step timeline for promoting the event in your community and a variety of customized documents for promoting (i.e., Save-the-date, flyer, graphics, etc.)
