We are in a historical moment many of us have neither experienced, nor imagined. It is a moment crying out for peacemakers and peace seekers, for healers and those aching to heal, for teachers and those seeking to learn, for people who refuse to hate and those seeking to love. The ICN community includes an abundance of people who live their lives in these ways.

ICN is blessed with “an infrastructure of people” committed to its mission. Our people-based infrastructure requires considerable support. The need to support everyone -- from Luke Healy and Gee Baynosa, to every WeCreator, and each person who joins a WeSpace group or reads the Saturday Writings-- is work our community can only do together.

ICN is meeting this moment through a transition from our Founding Stage to the next phase of our communal life, our WeCreating Stage.

WeCreating growth involves all of us!

As we work together, the success of our audacious Mission draws nearer to fruition and

the impact becomes exponential.

Our divine vocation as ICN calls us to grow as

both an inspiring community and as a healthy organization.

To fulfill our dual goals with our people-based infrastructure,

we need to hire a third staff member who will

support, coordinate,  catalyze, and enhance our capacity.

Leap2OO is the fundraising campaign we are launching

   to grow our budget to $200,000 by the end of 2026 and hire our third employee.

How will a third staff member benefit ICN:

Our vision for WeCreating depends upon a people-based infrastructure that is well supported, equipped, and encouraged in this sacred work.

Since the first WeSpace group started meeting in 2018, nearly a hundred more groups have been started and supported. From the fertile ground of WeSpace, WeCreators emerged and helped initiate and lead new offerings – including  Sunday Gathering; Thursday WeGrow; Friday WeEvolve; daily meditations; and more.

Other WeCreators helped start “Circles” addressing organizational needs— including Seed-Spreaders (outreach/marketing/communications); Finance Circle; Community Care Circle; the Board of Directors; and more.

A third staff member will make it possible to provide more support to current WeCreators and nurture those who will emerge or join ICN in the future.

Not only will this address the growing needs of our community internally, but it will also greatly impact our ability to foster and support further growth and support as more people take up this sacred calling in the years ahead.

How will we achieve our goal for LEAP200

The LEAP200 campaign has multiple phases—

• In September and October, 2025, we will send fundraising letters to the entire ICN community asking everyone to consider increasing or initiating a monthly donation. Our current monthly donations provide 70% of our income and increasing that percentage will allow us to secure sustainable funding for 2026 and beyond.
  

• In late October, November, and December we focus on Giving Tuesday. Our previous Giving Tuesdays have included a Match Challenge and we hope to increase our goal from last year ($25,000) to $40,000 in 2025.
  

• Since many nonprofits raise as much as 30% of their revenue in the week after Christmas, we will make a year-end appeal.
  

• In 2026 we intend to make it possible and/or easier for our community to donate non-cash assets. We are in the early stages of exploring these options so if anyone has expertise in these areas, we would love to hear from you. We anticipate our new employee will be the contact for these donations.
  

• We hope to apply for grants in the future. It is a time-consuming process but can be worth the effort. We hope our new staff will be involved with this project as well.
  

• Revenue-generating events open to the general public are also a possibility if we have the staff to coordinate them.

The Story: How ICN Staff and WeCreators arrived at this moment:

In 2023, the ICN Board and Luke initiated the “Finance Circle,” made up of Anne Sheehan, Gary Vollbracht, and Jamie Kim (the Treasurer at the time). Even at this stage, the need for more staff was apparent. The first area to address was administrative.

The ICN community’s generosity made our first Growing Tuesday campaign in 2023 a success by raising $15,000. Meeting our goal together made hiring another employee possible. The funds were used to hire Gee and pay her salary for 12 months. Gee has been a valuable addition to ICN and we hope she will continue with our community. Her salary costs are now part of our general operation budget.

Paul’s illness later that year and transition in early 2024 was a significant loss for the community. We missed his presence and his many gifts, experience, and leadership.  He also devoted many hours of his time to ICN and never sought a salary.

Paul wanted ICN to thrive beyond his life and he communicated his desire to establish the Paul Smith Legacy Fund.

Through our community’s process of grief and glory in 2024, the ICN Board focused on ICN’s necessary transition in a conscious and healthy way. They recognized the need for another staff member had become more apparent and pressing after the loss of Paul.

The Board and Finance Circle both underwent significant change and reconstitution during this time. Health and family needs caused Gary and Jamie to step back from the Finance Circle and Board. New Board members were needed and Gregor Dellemann joined both the Board and the Finance Circle in his position as Treasurer. Robert Martin is the new Board Presider (and Finance Circle member). Christy Thrasher and Carol Barton have joined the Board and Kent Hoffman joined the Finance Circle.

The goal for our 2024 Growing Tuesday campaign was to raise $25,000 for organizational development; planning for a third employee was paramount.

In 2025, our new treasurer Gregor performed a careful analysis of our donation history. He determined ICN was closer to receiving sufficient income from community donations to hire a 3rd employee than previously thought.

Next, a significant contribution from an inspired donor provided the catalytic spark needed for us to make this “leap of faith.” This donation will be used for Match Challenges for the monthly giving and Giving Tuesday phases of LEAP200.

LEAP200 was created to make the possibility of hiring another employee a reality by beginning the campaign in September, 2025 and continuing it into 2026.

Our goal is to raise $200,000 for 2026 and hire a new employee. A new employee will help ICN grow in all the ways the Spirit is leading us to evolve and WeCreate the loving evolution of Christianity and the world.