Sustaining Hope: Investing in the Future
This giving season, we’re thinking long-term. For almost 16 years, Handspun Hope has been committed to answering God’s call to care for the poor, orphaned and widowed through providing dignified employment and holistic care for at-risk women in Rwanda.
As we dream about what’s in store for the next 16 years of our ministry and the 209 women under our employ, one thing is clear: we need you, our faithful community of supporters, to invest in sustaining hope. Read on for more about our heart behind this year’s giving campaign: it might just be our most important one yet.
Over the course of the last year, we’ve been blessed to have experienced tremendous growth within our organization—both in terms of sales demand for our handcrafted products and the number of women employed at our center in northern Rwanda. If you’ve ordered a custom felted sculpture or sweater, for example, you know that our delivery timelines are pushing 10-12 weeks, given growing order volumes. Due to these orders, as well the ongoing need in our community, the number of women working for Handspun Hope has also grown. What started with 10 women has now increased to 209 employed full time.
While we value this growth as affirmation of God’s hand over our ministry, it is not without its challenges—namely increased expenses and high demands on our already small-but-mighty management staff, which is responsible for overseeing core functions like sales, production, holistic care programs, fundraising and more.
In light of these challenges, we have found ourselves faced with a recurring annual funding gap and limited resources—both financial and human—to help close it. As we have been praying about this year’s giving season, we felt strongly that sustainably addressing this growing gap was essential to ensuring the longevity of our organization, and therefore the futures of the women that we serve.
Sustaining Hope: Handspun Hope’s Pathway to Sustainability is our commitment to steward well what God has entrusted to us, that it might last long beyond our lifetime. It’s more than a giving campaign; it’s a vision. A dream. A 5-year organizational development and fundraising plan poised to help us take the next step towards financial freedom for our organization.
It’s your invitation to invest in securing the livelihoods of the 209 women currently under our employ—and all those who will come after them.
About the Plan
Successfully addressing the demands on our organization in the long-term is going to require some significant shifts in how we operate. We are focusing on addressing three key areas:
Staffing
We currently operate with too few staff members to maintain both the sales, production and holistic care needs of the organization and 209 women. We need to hire necessary full-time staff, including a U.S. business manager and Rwandan counseling staff, to maintain and sustain ideal functioning of the organization for a minimum of the next three years.
Sales
While we are thankful for sales growth, the amount of time our team invests in managing current orders and production has grown unmanageable. We believe there is a way to work smarter, not harder, by simplifying our sales channels. This will, in turn, reduce resource output while increasing profitability. (More on this plan to come!)
Philanthropic Fundraising
By hiring new staff and simplifying our sales and production efforts, we expect that our current staff will experience a significant increase in bandwidth. This will allow us to redirect efforts more fully develop strategic and sustainable donor / campaign funding initiatives, ensuring that we are able to close future funding gaps.
So, what’s the challenge?
In order to act on these changes and promote future financial viability, we are anticipating a significant initial funding gap. This is due to a combination of factors, including the hiring of necessary staff while balancing an initial decrease in sales revenue as we reorganize and rebuild our client base.
The Ask
We’re raising $176,000 to close our 2023 funding gap, affording our small staff the financial runway and time to enact the necessary changes to position us for the future, including:
Restructuring wholesale vs. retail sales initiatives
Streamlining product offerings
Strategic staffing hires and role reorganization
Refocusing philanthropic fundraising development
After closing this initial 2023 gap, we project our restructuring efforts will allow us to operate with positive net revenue in 2024 and beyond.
The Impact
By successfully covering next year’s funding gap, we will be able to reposition ourselves to secure employment for 209 women in years to come. While we are most focused on sustaining the breadth of our current operations, we also believe this plan will also poise us for future growth, should God call us to step into it.
When you give this year, you are not just donating to another campaign. You are investing wisely in our ability to make the strategic pivot towards long-term viability.
The ultimate return on your investment? The hope you ensure for the 626 women and their dependents who benefit from employment and holistic care at Handspun Hope.
How to Give
Give securely through our online donation page. For questions about how to invest in Sustaining Hope this giving season, email us at info@handspunhope.org.
$150 is all it takes to employ one woman for one month, including her salary, healthcare, children’s education support and more.
Become a Hope Bringer
Looking to partner with us in the long-term, as we move into our next phase as an organization? Hope Bringers are our collective of financial partners who are committed to securing hope for the future through ongoing giving.
Become a Hope Bring by making a recurring gift! While every gift is meaningful, ongoing donations have the unique benefit of allowing us to better plan for our expenses month-over-month.
To join the collective, simply select the “Monthly” button at the top of the online giving form.
Other Ways to Give
Interested in setting up a matching donation through our company, or making Handspun Hope the beneficiary of a legacy gift? Visit our website for other ways you can support the life-saving work that God is doing among 209 at-risk women in Rwanda.
