In 2003 a group of Friends from Midlothian Monthly Meeting in the greater Richmond, Virginia area, got together to discuss the pervasive problem unprogrammed Friends seem to have in raising funds for meetinghouses and other facility needs of the local meeting. From that discussion was born the idea of beginning a non-profit corporation chartered to help Friends acquire desperately needed meetinghouses and other facilities.

It was determined this would be accomplished by providing to Friends grants to supplement their fundraising efforts, ideas and programs to help them effectively raise funding for facilities projects, and general support by becoming a vehicle through which the sharing of fundraising experiences could occur.

The group brought their proposal to Midlothian Monthly Meeting for Business for further discernment on how to proceed. The monthly meeting agreed to help the group charter a non-profit corporation that would be under the care of Midlothian Monthly Meeting. A proposal was then submitted by the meeting to the Chace Fund of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for a grant to establish The Quaker Facilities Foundation (QFF). The proposal was accepted and endorsed by the Chace Fund committee and funding for the Foundation's establishment was granted by them. Upon incorporating as a non-profit corporation and after careful review of the Foundation's charter, a 501(c)3 non-profit status was received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The board of directors for QFF are all volunteers who must be approved by Midlothian Monthly Meeting.

The Quaker Facilities Foundation should not be confused with the Friends Meetinghouse Fund maintained by Friends General Conference (FGC). The Friends Meetinghouse Fund primarily offers interest-bearing loans to meetings. They also provide a place for meetings and individuals to invest money, so there will be money to loan for the construction and expansion of meetinghouses. Occasionally, if hinds are available and a real need is demonstrated, they offer grants of a few thousand dollars.

The Quaker Facilities Foundation has a different mission. It is looking at the whole spectrum of helping with the acquisition and expansion of Quaker Facilities. The Foundation does not make loans to meetings as does the Friends Meetinghouse Fund. It does hope to be able to make grants to meetings for their facility projects. The sharing of ideas through its web site at www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org, and the development of fund-raising mechanisms for local meetings will be the primary focus of the Quaker Facilities Foundation. Eventually, QFF is anticipating that many other mechanisms and ways to help meetings will be provided.

The success of the Foundation will depend on the support and interest received from Friends. If it is supported, it will become a much-needed clearinghouse for ideas, fund-raising approaches, and support in many different forms.

The Foundation currently offers three fund-raising programs to Friends; Meetinghouse$hare, Friendly Excursions, and IdeaShare.Eventually, the Foundation plans to support more programs as ideas develop. Recently, a web site at www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org was established by the Foundation to promote these fund-raising programs.

Meetinghouse$hare

Meetinghouse$hare is both a "giving" and "receiving" program to help Quaker meetinghouses spring up all over the U.S. It centers on a campaign through the QFF website to receive from Friends a $5 continuous monthly donation to Meetinghouse$hare. Five dollars may not seem like it is enough to help - BUT IT IS! If just one out of every twenty Quakers associated with unprogrammed meetings donate $5 each month toMeetinghouse$hare, between $600,000 and $ 1,000,000 would be available to grant to local meetings EACH YEAR for their meetinghouse and other facility projects (figures depend on who is counted as a "Quaker"). You can do the math if even a greater proportion of Quakers participate. Meetinghouse$hare has the potential of having a tremendous impact on Quaker facility projects.

There are a number of meetings struggling to raise funds to build a meetinghouse. Friends at these meetings are meeting in private homes or in rented spaces where conditions are not conducive for the growth of Quakerism. It has been demonstrated often that meetings tend to grow once the meeting obtains its own meetinghouse. A meetinghouse tells the community, "We're here to stay". Upon owning a meetinghouse, the meeting may then need to expand their worship room, add religious education rooms, or add other facilities that enhance the life and community of the meeting.

Through Meetinghouse$hare you can easily help. If just 5% of Friends in the U.S. participate in this continuous giving program at just $5 each month, QFF could help 40 meetings each year with a sizable contribution. Visit www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org if you are interested in participating in this program that has the potential to have a high impact on providing meetinghouses and other Quaker facilities for Friends. Giving is made simple through the web site by allowing Friends to use a credit card that will be debited each month. The credit card processing is encrypted and secure. More than 93% of all donations through Meetinghouse$hare via credit card go directly to meetinghouse projects, as well as other facility projects of Friends. Since the Foundation utilizes the internet to conduct business, overhead is kept low. All operational expenses are related to credit card processing and maintenance of the Foundation's web site.

The Quaker Facilities Foundation will choose a benefiting meeting as soon as $15,000 in donations are accumulated. Meetings will be chosen based on three simple criteria:

• In existence for at least 5 years
• Continuous building fund for at least 1 year
• Has been on the Meetinghouse$hare application list the longest (first come, first serve)

Application can be made to be a benefiting meeting by accessing QFF's web site at www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org.

Friendly Excursions

Many Quaker meetings are struggling to raise enough hinds to build or expand their meetinghouse, retirement facility, school, or other facility. This is a program that would provide substantial funding for these facilities projects of Friends. Additionally, Friendly Excursions has the potential to increase interaction and visitation between Friends meetings. Also, Friendly Excursions provides an avenue for Quaker outreach by conveying to others the values represented by Quakerism: understanding between peoples, appreciation and respect for nature and the environment, wholesome activities that connect people, peaceful living, and socially responsible concern for others.

Friendly Excursions offers to the public:

• Tours and Day Trips to local sights of interest and education
• Seminars that inform and educate
• Workshops that improve awareness and knowledge through experience

The fundraising mission of Friendly Excursions is to help local meetings:

• Increase capital for a meetinghouse fund
• Provide funds for any other facilities under the care of the meeting such as retirement communities, schools, social service facilities, etc.
• Contribute towards the mortgage payment for any of the above Quaker facilities

Detailed information on how a meeting can begin their local Friendly Excursions can be found on the QFF web site at www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org.

IdeaShare

IdeaShare is a simple idea. It is a forum for Quakers to share ideas on obtaining funds for facility projects. As ideas are shared, we can learn from each other, try various fundraising approaches, and report back to each other through IdeaShare on the QFF web site about our experience with each idea.

To share an idea through ldeaShare or report on your experience with an idea you received from The Quaker Facilities Foundation, visit file QFF web site at www.QuakerFacilitiesFoundation.org.