This month, you’ll see some fresh zest from Rehoboth: our brand new Friends of Rehoboth Campaign is replacing the annual membership campaign.
It’s a move we’re excited about!
Based on anecdotal interactions with Rehoboth supporters over many years, the value of a Rehoboth Membership is questioned or has been misunderstood over the years. “What do I get with a Rehoboth Membership?” is a question heard often. A misunderstanding shared by many long-term members is this: the more members Rehoboth has, the more funding it receives from the Alberta government. This is not the case.
At its Strategic Session last October, the Rehoboth Board of Directors decided to rebrand the membership campaign as the Friends of Rehoboth Campaign. At the session, this remark was strongly endorsed:
Friendship involves a “shared responsibility of the shared Christian community for those within their community that require their support. The word ‘membership’ devalues the importance of the Christian responsibility to help those that cannot help themselves.”
This October, we invite you to be a friend of Rehoboth: help us raise $250,000 to support Rehoboth programs and services in Coaldale/Lethbridge, Calgary/Airdrie, Three Hills, Edmonton/Spruce Grove/Stony Plain, and Grande Prairie.
Thanks, Friend!
FAQs
Does membership no longer exist or is it not important?
> Members are still required for Rehoboth; we are shifting our language around this campaign though. What we found that was, of late, the term "member" appeared to make donors feel obligated and committed to Rehoboth in an uncertain way. Our focus is, and always has been, your connection to Rehoboth, whether as a donor, volunteer or through prayer - you are a friend and we are blessed by your support. Every friend of Rehoboth over 18 will have voting rights at the Annual General Meeting, just as members had in the past.
I had previously added additional family members or friends as members, can I add them as friends?
> Of course! If you are donating online, there will be an option to add friends. As in the past with memberships, adding an additional friend will add an additional $10 to your donation. Please note you need to be logged into your account to have the option to add friends.
I thought that the more members Rehoboth had, the more funding they received from the Alberta Government - how does friendships affect this?
> This change occurred many years ago. The Alberta Government no longer funds organizations by reviewing their membership base, they instead look at the needs of the individual requiring services and assign funding to that individual to meet their needs. Membership numbers do not and have not affected funding in a number of years.
I had previously set my membership and donation to automatically charge my card annually, can I do that with the change to friendships?
> If you had previously set your membership(s) and donation to reoccur, this has been cancelled to allow the change to our management system over to friends. With your next donation, you can set it to reoccur monthly or annually (or not at all) and it will do so until you cancel or card information requires updating. You do not need to set your friendship to renew though - it does that automatically anytime you donate!
My payment information has changed, how can I update my reoccurring donation?
> A few simple steps! Log into your account and click on "My Account" and then "Billing Profiles". You will see any and all cards you have previously saved and can update their information there. If that isn’t working, you can contact us via email and we’ll have the appropriate person reach out to you for updating.
Other questions or concerns?
> Please email us at [email protected] and we will have the appropriate person connect with you as soon as possible.