Making the RI Possible for Others …

Help us raise $55k in new scholarship funding by March 31, 2025

SCHOLARSHIP CAMPAIGN UPDATE

February 27, 2025

Thanks to all of you who have already given to this year’s RI Scholarship Campaign. At this writing, 43 alumni and students have contributed over $45,000 toward scholarships for the coming ministry year. 

As our team walks with the current Seattle cohort and interviews the 76 applicants for the upcoming Charlotte cohort, it brings us great joy to think that we will be able to extend scholarships to under-represented students who would otherwise be unable to participate in this life-changing experience. You’re helping make that happen!

If you haven’t participated yet, I want to encourage you to consider doing so - even if your contribution seems small. It would mean a lot to our team and your future classmates to know that a large portion of our alumni and student community got behind this effort. 

We would love it if we could close the last $10,000 gap through a groundswell of contributions. If 50% of the 500 RI alumni and students in our community participated (even with gifts of $10 or $25), I’m sure we would easily surpass the financial goal. More importantly, a large portion of this community would be signalling that we are with our sisters and brothers in the upcoming Seattle and Charlotte cohorts.

As a tangible reminder of the impact our contributions make, here’s the story of another of our current students who would not have been able to participate without scholarship support.

Hannah is a member of the Seattle (2024-26) cohort, who works in finance and development for a faith-based non-profit. She is 32 years old, and lives in the Pacific Northwest. She writes:

I am so grateful for the generosity shown to me through the RI scholarship that has made it possible to be a part of the Seattle cohort. Working for a small nonprofit, things can be tight. It's a privilege to serve in a place where we have the daily opportunity to be a faithful presence in our community, but it sometimes puts other opportunities out of reach. The RI scholarship has made this opportunity possible, and I am so thankful. 

This first term in the institute has been deeply impactful, challenging my thinking about what it really means to experience life with Jesus in the Kingdom, and encouraging me through the fellowship of my fellow students and our residency faculty. I have a renewed sense of what it means to be a precious image-bearer, and how this overflows to every other thing we do and every person we encounter. Even as I navigate what might be ahead in my life and vocation, RI is deepening my foundation of what it means to abide in Christ which I am confident will be a firm foundation for wherever God leads. Thank you so much!

You can click here to join the group supporting this effort. Thank you for considering this opportunity!

Warmly,
Ted and Carolyn

LETTER FROM TED

February 1, 2025

First, the punchline: Carolyn and I would like to invite you to consider participating in a grassroots way you can pay it forward to future RI students. 

Now the back story: Over breakfast this week, my friend, Greg, asked me what led me to the Renovaré Institute. I told him my story of being desperately hungry for something beyond what I was experiencing in my life and local church context. 

Then I shared about that moment when we began “laying the altar.” Person after person came up and shared their stories. It struck me how many things we had in common, mostly that same hunger for more of the with-God life. 

But I also noticed how different my classmates were. They came from as far away as China, India, and Indonesia. They ranged in age from mid-20s to 70s. Vocationally, we had pastors, missionaries, business people, and stay-at-home parents. 

Those differences mattered. They created a rich learning environment that made the seeds of teaching, reading, and practices sprout into something beautiful and unforeseen. 

My experience isn’t unique. The RI team is convinced that having a variety of backgrounds in the composition of a cohort is critical to the learning experience for every student. That conviction—paired with our desire to make the riches of the RI available to less-resourced people—led us to create the Renovaré Institute Scholarship Fund last year. 

As a result of the generosity of RI alumni (and second-year students), nine students are receiving scholarships in our current Omaha and Seattle cohorts. Here’s just one of their stories:

So far, we have had several meetings including the one-week residency in Seattle. They have meant so much for me. They have given me, not just a very good theological reason but what I would consider a “hearty” reason for spiritual formation. I am currently just appointed chairman of the department of surgery, and given what I have seen in leadership, I really do want to be a Christian from the depth of my being, being true to what I confess and living it out in every sphere that I will. 

The first residency has helped me with tools like solitude, active listening to people, the value of the community, and introduction to lectio divina and lectio-365, which have been very helpful in just making me listen to God in my life. God bless those who donated to help me get to the program! 

Our goal is to keep growing a Scholarship program that is robust and visible, so that a potential applicant from an underrepresented community—one who has prohibitive financial needs—will still feel encouraged to go ahead and apply.

The Facts: Tuition for the upcoming Charlotte cohort will increase to $5000/year. This change is entirely driven by the inflation we have all experienced post-COVID, mostly in retreat center costs. (Did you know that, even with this increase, tuition still only covers 80% of the cost of delivering the RI? The balance comes from your generous contributions to Renovaré’s General Fund.)

The Need: Our goal is to raise $55,000 in Scholarship gifts and pledges by the end of March 2024. Doing so will allow us to provide the equivalent of partial scholarships for up to ten qualified students in each of the two 2025-26 cohorts. In particular, we are praying that a large percentage of our alumni and student community will participate in this campaign.

The Plan: Current applicants (and students preparing to enter year 2) facing financial barriers will be encouraged to fill out a “Financial Aid Query Form” now. Then, at the beginning of April, our team will administer whatever scholarship funds have been contributed, with priority given to applicants from underrepresented age and ethnic demographics, as well as those in full-time ministry. 

Would you consider joining us in shaping the next beautiful and multi-faceted cohorts of the RI? You can click here to make your tax-deductible contribution. Your gift of any amount will be a huge encouragement.

Warmly,

Ted Harro
President, Renovaré
RI Chicago Cohort

P.S. As an encouragement, we just received gifts from two RI alums totalling $15,000 toward this goal! Wonderful news!