Twelve months ago as the New Hope Initiative leadership planned for our very first calendar year, we made a good faith projection on where we thought we would be in total income and gifts for 2012. This projection was based on the current data we had, as well as a healthy projection for growth in our inaugural year. I am so happy to report to you that in 2012 New Hope Initiative not only flew past all our projections, but also reached a substantial financial milestone that none of us would have even dreamed of one year ago. We are so grateful for all of our passionate and generous supporters who have allowed us to enjoy such unqualified success in these early days of our organization. We firmly believe our success is directly linked to: (1) our unwavering organizational foundation which continues to believe that we can give 100% of designated funds directly to the need and (2) that as an organization we can be led and staffed by talented volunteer individuals who want to make a difference in their world. Our financial success in 2012 translates to ministry success as we have seen dramatic progress in every area of our work. In this quarterly newsletter and the ones that follow, you will hear the incredible stories of the lives that are being changed and the hope that is being shared because of New Hope Initiative and its mission.
Karen and I want to thank each one of you for your financial gifts, your prayers, and your personal efforts in helping us find a "path out of poverty," both materially and spiritually, for some of the most amazing yet needy people in the world. As we begin 2013, we are incredibly excited about where NHI is going in the next year. For Karen and I personally, the start of this year will be different than most. January has been traditionally for us a travel season when we check on the progress of the work. Due to some medical issues and treatment that we need this month, we had to reschedule our travel plans and will spend this month preparing and planning to make New Hope Initiative an even more successful organization in 2013. Thank you again for your generosity and support throughout the past year. We are so excited about moving forward together in 2013 to even greater victories.
By Sandy Baird - Director of New Hope Initiative