For Foundations

Author: Gidon Ariel

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| Published: December 24, 2021

September 22, 2020

Carson-Myre Charitable Foundation
P.O. Box 194
Paducah, KY 42002-0194

Dear Carson-Myre Charitable Foundation Trustees,

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce to you Root Source, a 501(c)3 that exists to enable, encourage, and enrich relationships between pro-Israel Christians and Jews on a basis of mutual respect and love. The great divide between Jews and Christians has been a tragedy for both faith communities. But today, we are witness to the phenomenon of Christians hungry to learn about their Jewish and Hebrew roots from authentic Jewish sources. 

That’s why Root Source brings knowledgeable, authentic Israeli teachers and inquisitive Christians together to study the Jewish texts foundational to Christian faith. We offer an online hub of educational resources where Christians can learn deeper biblical truth from Orthodox Jewish teachings—all at no cost. Courses include Biblical Archeology, Women in the Bible, Biblical Hebrew, and more. We nurture relationship building between Jews and Christians and encourage inquisitiveness while respecting the Christian faith.

Since 2015, we’ve seen over 10 million Root Source website visits and over 50,000 newsletter subscribers. We currently have over 1000 lessons recorded by an educational faculty of twelve English-speaking Israeli Jews. COVID-19 permitting, we host small study groups in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere. By 2022, our goal is to provide hundreds of thousands of Christians globally with an understanding of the Torah and recruit 200 Jewish rabbis to engage Christians interested in going deeper into the roots of their faith.

We humbly request $10,000 for the purpose of our “Christian Outreach” initiative which will expand our capacity to engage hundreds of thousands Christians online. Millions of Christians around the world have lacked authentic Jewish-related content from reliable sources. To strengthen the bridge to understanding, we will hire a marketing manager to expand our digital outreach efforts to Christians thirsty to learn. Together with upgrading our website, multiplying our Torah teaching offerings, recruiting many more Jewish teachers, expanding our funding partners circle, and holding Root Source Live sessions over Zoom, we have not forgotten the most important component of an educational organization—reaching Christian students.

We have already initiated relationships with leaders in Africa, China, India, and of course the United States. Our free email list currently includes over twenty thousand recipients, and our website videos and YouTube channel have each had approximately half a million visits. 

A marketing professional with expertise in the Christian market will work towards measurable goals. These goals include: 100,000 newsletter subscribers, 30,000 opens per email, one million YouTube views, and country-specific programs. The total project budget is $120,000. Additional funds are being raised from other committed individual donors and foundation partners.

The grant will be monitored with detailed accounting to ensure compliance with the law and the guidelines for use of the funds. Our management staff and board are: Gidon Ariel (co-founder and Executive Director), Bob O’Dell (co-founder), Revis Ward Daggett, Ann Stacy, Albert J. McCarn, Ann Stacy, Galen Walters, Shelly Jones, Sydney Hewitt, and Wendy Halloun. 

A grant from the Carson-Myre Charitable Foundation would help bridge the divide between Christians and Jews and bring the world closer to the fulfillment of Isaiahs’ prophecy: “the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the seas” (Isaiah 11:9). In a time when cultural division is at a high, we can be part of the solution, healing thousands of years of animosity between these two faith communities. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Gratefully,  

Gidon Ariel, Co-Founder and Executive Director
gidon@root-source.com
(516) 321-1846
www.root-source.com

1114 Haskell Drive
Melissa, TX 75454-2171
EIN: 85-0583428

Attached: Fulfillment summary of http://carsonmyre.org/guide.html; IRS Letter of Determination

Fulfillment Summary of http://carsonmyre.org/guide.html

General Requirements:

  1. Tax identification number: 85-0583428
  2. Federal non-profit, tax-exempt agency status: IRS Letter of Determination attached
  3. Relevant Foundation funding categories: 
    1. Christian education
    2. Preservation of America’s Judeo-Christian cultural, societal, and family values

Expectations:

  1. History of success: Since our founding in 2015, we have impacted 50,000 newsletter subscribers and have seen 10 million website and Youtube channel visits.
  2. Expectation of success: We will hire a top industry marketing consultant with a proven track record.
  3. A solid operational plan or strategy for successful use of grant funds: Our Executive Director will work closely with the marketing consultant.
  4. Management and Governing board: Our Executive Director and Board members’ names listed above.
  5. Foundation evaluation with measurable effectiveness and achievement: We will provide access to dynamic metrics (email subscribers and website and Youtube channel views) and provide reporting by email at the frequency the Foundation requests.

Letter of Inquiry Summary:

  1. Point-of-Contact (POC):
    1. E-mail address: gidon@root-source.com 
    2. Phone: (516) 321-1846
    3. Postal address: 1114 Haskell Drive,  Melissa, TX 75454-2171
  2. Organization description: Root Source is a primarily online platform dedicated to providing authentic quality educational resources to Christians by Jewish teachers, and building bridges of relationship between these two faith communities.
  3. Proof of tax-exempt status: IRS Letter of Determination attached.
  4. Foundation categories and description of how our activity accomplishes its goals:
    1. Christian education: We engage Christians with authentic quality educational resources provided by Jewish teachers.
    2. Preservation of America’s Judeo-Christian cultural, societal, and family values: We build bridges of relationship between the Christian and Jewish faith communities.
  5. Anticipated benefits and beneficiaries: 100,000 Christians worldwide will be exposed to authentic Jewish roots of their Christian faith.
  6. Brief description of the specific project: A marketing project aimed at achieving measurable results of impact on Christians all over the world. 
  7. Amount requested: $10,000.
  8. Overall budget for the project: $120,000.
  9. Other sources of funding for the project: Other committed individual donors and foundation partners.
  10. Management staff and Governing Board: Our Executive Director and Board members’ names listed above.
  11. Grant monitoring method: Email subscribers and website and Youtube channel views metrics.