Auction has ended - thanks for participating!
The Site
The website is available for preview at http://church.train-ee.com. This is a copy of the site that was built as part of the Train-ee Building a Church Website series of tutorials. It’s based on the ExpressionEngine content management system from EllisLab, and is designed to be maintainable and updateable by non-technical staff. The site features a weblog, event calendar, photo gallery, podcast library, staff library, and more. The site would be perfect for a relatively new church who is outgrowing a simpler or older site.
The Charity
Proceeds from the eBay auction and other fundraising efforts will be donated to charity:water. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the funds this event raises will directly fund a water project through charity:water.
Why charity:water?
Choosing a charity to benefit from this auction was the hardest part of the entire project. Finding worthy causes is easy. Choosing between good causes is incredibly hard. I felt arrogant - the rich American choosing who should be worthy to be blessed. I had no formalized process - I just prayed about it and looked at different ideas as they presented themselves. I can’t say that I woke up with a direct “Message from God” but all my efforts seemed to come back to that most basic need - the need for fresh water. I chose charity:water for the following reasons:
- Testimony: You can read the testimony of charity:water founder Scott Harrison here or view it here but suffice it to say that charity:water is the result of a personal revival of his Christian faith.
- Efficiency: 100% of the funds you and I raise with the auction will make it to projects on the ground. Most non-profits need to take at least a small amount off the top for administrative costs, etc.
- Proof: charity:water will provide GPS coordinates, photos and community information of the well that we sponsor. Call it selfish - but for me knowing I’m going to see concrete data and results from my efforts makes it that much easier and more exciting to give.
- Relevance: charity:water is a tech-savvy organization, using the web tools that the EE audience makes a living with. Their recent Twestival raised over $250,000 for water related projects
The Goal?
My goal is just this - I’d love to see one well put in the ground from support by the ExpressionEngine community. To pay for one well we need to raise $5,000 USD. This will completely fund one freshwater well and provide 250+ people with a constant source of clean drinking water.
Water.
From a website.
Will you help me?
Read more about what the auction includes, see other ways to contribute, or head over to eBay and place your bid.
