What is a Village Changer?
A Village Changer is a person(s) or institution (church, school, business) represented by a person(s) who has committed to give not only financial support, but also to spread the word to their friends, families and co-workers about the work LifeWind is doing in villages around the world.
We have two levels of Village Changers:
Village Sponsor
A village Sponsor has created a profile on the LifeWind web site, has donated some level of funds to LifeWind and has invited their friends or family to join their personal community page on the LifeWind site. Village Sponsors can choose which LifeWind region they’d like to help and will be assigned a village by LifeWind. In many cases, that village will be supported by many village sponsors.
Village Champion
A village Champion is an individual or institution that has chosen to support the full costs of a village program for one year. They likely will use the fundraising tools available in their personal community page to raise those expenses from their church community group, friends or family.
What will LifeWind provide me as a Village Sponsor?
Village Sponsors will receive the following benefits:
1) E-Mail Newsletter
2) Regions updates
3) Village assignment
What will LifeWind provide me as a Village Champion?
Village Champions will receive the following benefits:
1) E-Mail Newsletter
2) Regions updates
3) Regional Coordinator Updates
4) Village assignment
5) USPS fund raising appeal and other information delivered via hard copy
6) Automatically membership in president’s prayer circle
7) Quarterly call with the Director of Development
8) Semi-annual Web Conference with the CEO.
What specific benefits will the Village I champion or sponsor receive?
The village you sponsor or champion will receive a LifeWind training team who will meet with the villagers, establish a rapport and begin the LifeWind transformation process with them. During the process, the villagers will identify specific needs that the LifeWind training team will begin to address.
In many cases, those needs include agriculture, micro-enterprise training, health training and medicine, water purification, perinatal support and birth classes. Your support will help address those needs by not only providing the training team, but also providing the medicine, seed, water purification supplies and other elements needed to begin the transformation process.
How can I communicate with the Village I support?
LifeWind will provide you with frequent updates on your village(s). Since many of the areas we work in do not have modern communication technologies available, expectations of communication should not be set very high. If you have questions, please feel free to contact LifeWind and we will send your questions to our field team.
Is there anything I send to my Village?
LifeWind is currently developing a system that would allow for certain gifts to be sent directly to the village. We will soon be providing guidelines on what to send and how to get your gift to the appropriate location.
Must I hold and practice specific Christian beliefs to support a village through LifeWind?
No. While we truly hope that all will come to know the love of Jesus Christ, a belief in Christianity is not a prerequisite for supporting our development efforts; neither is it a prerquesite for the people we serve around the world. LifeWind serves all, regardless of religious or political beliefs or affiliations.
How long should my village support last?
Village Sponsors are encouraged to partner with LifeWind for a minimum of $30 per month for many, many years. Your support is needed and will help thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands over the course of your giving.
Village Champions are encouraged to consider a (3) year partnership with the village. Three years is the time in takes for LifeWind programs to bear real fruit. LifeWind recognizes, however, that the costs of Championing / partnering with a village may prohibit such a consideration.
How important is prayer in village partnership?
Prayer is very, very important to LifeWind. We truly believe that God pours out his grace to those who frequently request his guidance and support.
If I must discontinue my village support, what happens to the village I'm helping?
The Village you are supporting will not suffer. We realize that partnerships may not continue forever and have made the necessary financial provisions to insure that the work you began will continue.
How much does it cost to Champion a village?
2007 - 2008 village program Championship costs are $5,000 per year for three years. Your dollars will help between 1,000 and 4,000 people transform their lives and their communities. Your funds will support a minimum of one village and could help up to four villages, depending on indigenous geographic and ethnographic constraints.
Will I be the only person helping the village?
Village Changers is a program of partnership with other people. Since it takes roughly $5,000 to support a village program for one year, LifeWind will join many sponsors together to meet the annual needs of that village program.
What happens if I raise more than $5,000 for the village I’m helping?
If you raise more than the $5,000 needed for that year, your excess funds will be invested in a village within the region you chose.
How does my village learn about Jesus?
LifeWind believes strongly that Christ worked with people’s physical and spiritual needs. He heeled the sick, fed the hungry and use many other miracles to illustrate his love the entire human condition. It’s this strategy that LifeWind follows. By addressing village members' physical needs, we build bridges that allow us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ unconditionally, in countries where it is appropriate.
While not every person in every village chooses Christ, many do. Those who do usually choose to from a local church. In 2007, more than 45 communities built worship facilities in their villages.
About LifeWind
Is LifeWind affiliated with any church or denomination?
LifeWind is a non-denominational development organization and not associated with a church or denominational entity.
What makes LifeWind stand out among other child sponsorship and relief organizations?
LifeWind is a development, not a relief organization. We use transformational techniques to teach villages how to reduce disease, grow food, purify water, use extra-community resources, begin micro-economies, build safe housing, and move from a culture of despair to one of hope. Our goal is to build self-sustaining villages that can become free from and not reliant upon foreign handouts.
In which countries do you work and are all villages sponsorable?
We work in more than 70 nations. For more information, please visit our Regions section. Village Sponsors and Village Champions help support only those villages that are deemed “sponsorable” by LifeWind. A sponsorable village is one that is free from security risks and has a high-level of communication with LifeWind. This allows Sponsors and Champions to receive detailed reporting and information about the village the sponsor. In some cases, if a particular village needs less than is donated, LifeWind may choose to help support the non-sponsorable villages.
