Partners

The North American Thebaid Photographic Pilgrimage Project has grown organically from concept to detailed proposal in 2015, and then to a practical business plan, prior to its official formation as a Non-Profit Association in May 2016, the crowdfunding launch in July, and actual travel and photography beginning in September 2016.

We wish to thank the many team members, volunteers, partners, and the literally dozens of supporters, who believe in and have joined the project as ‘Thebaid Pilgrims’ and continue to be of immeasurable help as this photographic pilgrimage continues.

To thank our supporters, we offer a range of rewards, from photographic eBooks to signed/matted fine art prints, to First Edition copies of the finished book, due to be published in late 2018. There is even a Deluxe, Limited Edition in Bonded Leather, signed and numbered, planned as well. You can learn about our Thebaid Supporter Rewards here.

We invite you to join our Thebaid Team, by supporting this unique photographic missionary endeavor with your contributions and prayers. Please use the PayPal link in the right-side panel for quick and secure contributions, or visit our GoFundMe page where you can support our Phase II fundraising progress.

Thank you, and we hope to add you to our growing list of partners and supporters very soon!

Ecclesiastical Blessings & Endorsements:

His Grace, +Paul – Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest, Orthodox Church in America
Archpriest Steven C. Kostoff – Rector, Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit Orthodox Church, Cincinnati OH

Corporate Partners:

Murphy’s Camera, Louisville KY – Patrick V. Murphy (President), Alan Wallace (Sales Manager); The Midwest’s finest supplier of photographic equipment, rentals, services, and photographic printing. I worked at Murphy’s for 25 years, and can honestly offer my highest commendation and appreciation for their level of services and customer care. I purchased a Canon full-frame DSLR system for the Thebaid Project from Murphy’s, and look forward to their assistance as the project continues…

Four Colour Print Group, Louisville KY – George Dick (President & CEO); manufacturer of exquisite, museum quality illustrated books. Our first choice for printer of the finished North American Thebaid book, Four Colour and George Dick came personally recommended by journalist Genevieve Lacer, who has done two fine art coffee table books with them, which I have personally inspected and found to be of the highest quality. They were also the lowest of three quotes!
FCI Digital, West Carrolton OH – Steve Orf; Pre-Press services for Four Colour Print Group; after a morning spent with Steve Orf discussing prepress settings, Photoshop and Lightroom workflow, and a host of other technical issues, I was 100% sold on their services. Plus it’s great to have our printer, pre-press and camera supplier all just a short drive away!
Chase Bank, Mt Lookout Branch, Cincinnati OH – David Ostmann; outstanding professional service in handling the setup of our non-profit business account for the Thebaid Project.
GoFundMe – Our Phase 2 and ongoing crowdfunding platform; we launched on GoFundMe in January 2017, and have been very successful, funding travel and photography throughout 2017 and 2018. This is a key component of our fundraising business plan, and will help see us through to publication of the finished book.

Indiegogo – Our Phase 1 crowdfunding platform; their flexible-funding option enabled us to develop our overall fundraising plan as a diversified approach, ensuring we were not placing all our fundraising eggs in a single basket. We had a very successful campaign on Indiegogo, raising 92% of our Phase 1 goal in Summer 2016 and enabling a strong start to the actual travel and photography.

Orthodox Speakers Bureau, Valparaiso IN -Cynthia Damaskos (President); I am honored to have OSB represent me for both standard parish presentations on the Thebaid Project, and presentations with photography services added. Learn more and schedule for me to come to your parish or school at OrthodoxSpeakers.com.