When Jeff Byrd and I, Jim Denison, launched Denison Forum as a nonprofit ministry in 2009, our funding came from two essential supporters. At the time, we reached approximately 7,000 culture-changing Christians through the sole avenue of an email newsletter.

Since then—with all thanks to God’s blessing—our ministry has grown to reach over 1 million Christians per month across the globe through many avenues, from the mainstay of our email newsletter to multiple social media channels and books, podcasts, and videos.

Additionally, our staff has grown from two to more than forty, with at least ten members on the Denison Forum team. (Denison Ministries is comprised of Denison Forum, First15, Christian Parenting, and Foundations with Janet Denison.)

However, the increase in staff and the number of resources we create, as well as the frequency with which we release them, tell only part of the story as to why we ask our audience to donate to our ministry.

A valid question

Asking about our request for donations is a valid question. 

When my wife and I give to an organization, we always want to know about the integrity of the organization to which we give. 

Unfortunately, there have been some ministries and nonprofits that have lost the public’s trust due to poor financial stewardship. For instance, those considering giving to a ministry may wonder if the money lines the pockets of the ministry’s front-facing people.

But such stories generate headlines and, I believe, do not represent a majority of ministries and nonprofits. (For example, Denison Ministries employs a third-party research company to keep our salaries in line with similar industry work.)

However, we must all use our God-led discernment when considering where to give our money, especially when there are so many worthy opportunities to give these days.

Why we ask for donations

The calling of Denison Forum is not just to email The Daily Article every weekday, or to write books every month, or to release videos and podcasts on a routine basis. 

Our calling is to build a movement of culture-changing Christians. We work to build that movement by creating and releasing resources.

But with that calling comes the need to expand our capacity to create and release resources as well as our ability to reach more Christians.

In fact, on average:

• Denison Forum content is being interacted with 2.6 million times every month
• 541,000  resources are being read online every month 
• Over 1.8 million emails opened every month
• 205,000  podcast episodes downloaded a month
• 38,125 engagements per month on social media

But, research shows that you must reach a small percentage of a population in order to build a movement. In other words, if you can influence a certain amount of people to be influencers for the kingdom, they can help shift the entire culture toward Christ.

Considering that, in the US alone, the self-reported Christian population is in the millions, influencing even a small percentage means reaching more than a few million.

That is our calling, and it’s my hope and prayer that you might pray about it being your calling too.

My team and I are deeply grateful for every dollar given,

Dr. Jim Denison
Founder of Denison Forum

P.S. If you have further questions regarding donations, or if you’d like to stop receiving opportunities to give, email [email protected].