NLESS I’M MISTAKEN, we’ve only had one fundraising campaign since our founding in October of 2006. I have to admit, I hate asking people for money; and some Catholic organizations drive me crazy by constantly begging for money in an alarmist way.
However, as President of Watershed, it’s my duty to inform you of the following:
(1) We’re a volunteer organization. None of our contributors, including myself, is paid a salary. 1
(2) You’d be amazed at the cost of keeping CCW running. 2
(3) We never want to see CCW disappear. We don’t want to remove the more than 9,000 musical scores, videos, and audio files we’ve uploaded. Please take a moment to remind yourself about a few contributions we’ve made over the years:
* * PDF Download • Five Examples of Watershed Projects
WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT, we cannot continue. Serving you has been a pleasure and honor. Please prayerfully consider whether you can donate $5.00 per month.
* * Click here to discover three secure ways to donate.
Thank you so much for your support, prayers, and thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely yours, in Christ,
Jeff Ostrowski, President
Corpus Christi Watershed
3 August 2014
NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
1 We do sometimes pay a webmaster in Mexico to fix our website when it breaks.
2 Monthly costs you might not even realize include the ability to accept credit card donations ($60.00 per month) and the ability to send messages to our mailing list ($59.70 per month). Much more substantial, however, are “hidden” costs, like paying our Accountant to file yearly 501(c)3 tax papers. (I handle the bookkeeping on a volunteer basis, but I’m totally unqualified for the accountancy.) Finally, please remember that our artists receive the royalties from their sales, not CCW. This includes any liturgical products we promote. Some items are created by our contributors. Others (like the CMAA products) are sold by organizations we advocate. In the past, we’ve never excessively stressed this fact for two reasons: (a) until 2013, CCW did sell some products directly; (b) our composers have asked us not to belabor this point in an unprofessional way, since the products should stand on their own merits.
3 All donations are tax-deductible and may, according to our priest-chaplain, be considered part of your monthly tithe in service to the Church.
