Tag: crowdfunding

January 2019 Thebaid Update

On By zosimasIn crowdfunding, Project, Publishing, Thebaid Book6 Comments

On to publication of the Thebaid Book in Spring 2019!

This update serves as a special ‘Thank you’ to our dozens of dear supporters, for propelling the North American Thebaid Project to the threshold of its goal, the publication of the large-format, photographic coffee table book, due in Spring 2019 from St Tikhon’s Monastery Press, South Canaan PA.

In the coming weeks and months I’ll be deeply engaged in photo editing and book design, sending files back and forth with the design team at St. Tikhon’s Press, and working closely with our pre-press partners at Four Colour Print Group in Louisville and FCI Digital in Dayton, as we work to fulfill our goal of creating an inspiring, museum-quality photo book. We can’t wait to get it into your hands!

St Tikhon’s Press announces the Thebaid Book to over 20,000 readers

St Tikhon’s 2019 Liturgical Calendar, featuring photographs from the North American Thebaid.

St Tikhon’s Monastery Press chose to announce their role as publisher of the Thebaid book through a statement in their 2019 Liturgical Calendar, which features fourteen full-color images from the Thebaid Project.

Covering over a dozen Orthodox monasteries across America, from several of the canonical Orthodox jurisdictions and archdioceses here, this beautiful calendar has now been distributed to hundreds of parish churches, reaching an audience of over 20,000, who began using this unique liturgical calendar on January 1 of the New Year.

We are deeply grateful for St. Tikhon’s Press and their public endorsement of the Thebaid Project. You can order the St Tikhon’s 2019 Liturgical Calendar direct from STM Press…

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Thebaid Project Update – September 2017

On By zosimasIn crowdfunding, Photographs, ProjectLeave a comment

A summary of Thebaid Project activity over the past six weeks, with exciting news about upcoming monastery and parish visits, and some additional surprises.

Dear Fellow Thebaid Pilgrims,

I’m a couple of weeks late on my monthly Thebaid Update Schedule, but I hope you’ll appreciate the reasons for the delay, as the last six weeks have been filled with travel and photography, and have generated growing interest in and momentum for the Project.

For this September 2017 Edition, there are several categories of note:

LOGISTICS —

As mentioned in the August 2017 Update, through the support of a generous sponsor, I have been able to eliminate the overhead of housing and utilities costs, which has really propelled scheduling both of monastery visits and parish presentations. The immediate benefits of this logistical change can be seen in the updates below…

MONASTERY TRAVELS —

August 25-27 — Monastery of the Glorious Ascension (ROCOR) in Resaca GA, a women’s monastery with a long history, which is an important part of Orthodox mission efforts in northern Georgia. View the Photo Gallery here.

September 5-7 — Panagia Vlahernon Greek Orthodox Monastery in Williston FL. This is my first visit to one of the monasteries founded by Elder Ephraim (former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos). Due to Hurricane Irma, I cut short my stay by one day, and had to cancel my pilgrimage to the women’s Annunciation Monastery just 10 minutes away. Perhaps a return visit may occur in the winter. Photo Gallery here.

UPCOMING: Looking ahead, I just this morning confirmed the dates for my first pilgrimage to Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete in Weatherby MO, on September 24-28. A women’s monastic community is adjacent to the men’s skete, St Xenia Sisterhood. I am hoping to add more monasteries in the region to make a circuit, before returning to Birmingham.

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Looking Ahead to the Finished Book

On By zosimasIn Project, PublishingLeave a comment

A word about the quality of the North American Thebaid book, which we plan to publish in 2018:

One of the earliest and most important decisions I made when forming the North American Thebaid Project was to learn about the printing of fine photographic books, so that I could ensure an excellent finished product.

FCIlogo2012-horiz

That search led me to a world-class printer with over thirty years in the trade, Four Colour Print Group, and its pre-press subsidiary, FCI Digital.

I should mention that Four Colour Print Group 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 book printing quotes I received!)

When I met with George Dick, President & CEO of Four Colour in February 2016, I took with me examples of award-winning coffee table books by photographers I admire and follow, as well as my own 2014 retrospective photography book, Pursuing the Light, and George and I analyzed and critiqued them.

One edition, a little over twenty years old now, by one of America’s finest landscape photographers, showed definite signs of the pages yellowing around the edges, and to George Dick’s trained eye, it was clear the paper choice was the cause, perhaps because this was still at the dawn of printing from recycled materials, and the paper had acid and/or lignin content, which causes it to lose its pure white lustre as it ages.

With that warning example, and many stand-out features of some premium volumes used as benchmarks, we outlined the specifications required to create a finished book of the highest quality and image reproduction, with archival longevity, and identified the following:*

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Week 1: Crowdfunding Recap & Thank You

On By zosimasIn crowdfunding, ProjectLeave a comment

St Gregory Palamas - 75Thank you to all supporters of the North American Thebaid Project so far, especially to you who contributed during the first week of the Crowdfunding campaign.

The Week 1 numbers are very encouraging. As of mid-day July 18:

  • Our Facebook Launch Announcement reached over 1,400 views, with 64 Facebook shares by supporters and over 100 likes… and counting!
  • 924 views on the official website since our July 12 crowdfunding launch; over 3200 total!
  • $1,200 (8% of our goal) raised through our Indiegogo Crowdfunding portal alone;
  • $2,900 total raised (so far) from twelve gifts across all methods (Crowdfunding, PayPal, In-Person/Cash/Check), for an average of almost $250 per contribution;
  • Great response to the Thebaid feature article by Pravoslavie/Orthodox Christianity last week, with over 300 (so far) clicking through to the Thebaid.org site;
  • Strong response to the Thebaid Project Announcement over at Byzantine TX blog, with nearly 200 clicking through to Thebaid.org.

Also, I’m very thankful for the opportunity to give talks and introduce the Thebaid Project both at my home parish, Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit in Cincinnati, and at my “home-away-from-home”, St Symeon’s Orthodox Church in Birmingham AL. Had some good conversations about the Thebaid Project and Orthodox monasticism in North America, and look forward to more parish talks and visits as the Project continues.

How You Can Help:
  • Make a contribution through our Indiegogo Crowdfunding Page; there are rewards for different levels of support starting at only $10 and $25. At $50 and up you will receive the First Edition of the book upon its publication in 2018. At $275 and up you will receive the Deluxe Limited Edition (leather-bound).
  • Donate via PayPal (from the Thebaid website); you can make a one-time donation, or a recurring, monthly commitment. (You’ll also receive the same “perks” just as via the crowdfunding campaign, but your donations will not count towards the posted crowdfunding totals.)
  • Tell your friends, family and church: share by email, Facebook, and other social media using the links provided.
  • Schedule for me to speak at your church and give a brief presentation on the North American Thebaid.

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THEBAID CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES!

On By zosimasIn crowdfundingLeave a comment

THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN HAS LAUNCHED! 

Monks ringing bells, call to worship.
Ring the bells!

Please head over to our Indiegogo Crowdfunding Page and explore the many rewards for supporting the North American Thebaid Project and helping us reach our initial fundraising goal.

Sign up for email updates (at right) and watch for Project news. This initial crowdfunding effort will enable travel and photography to begin in September-October 2016 (God willing!), and is essential to the successful launch of the Thebaid Project.

We offer rewards (“perks”) starting at $10 and $25 on up for all levels of backers. Starting at the $50 level, Thebaid supporters will receive copies of the First Edition of the finished book, scheduled to be published in 2018, after the travel and photography has concluded. Detailed info on all the perks is below the “Continue Reading” jump…

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Pre-Launch Announcement kicks off Thebaid Project

On By zosimasIn ProjectLeave a comment
all saints 5
Icon of the Synaxis of All Saints, celebrated the first Sunday after Pentecost

We are officially in the “Pre-Launch” phase of the North American Thebaid Photographic Pilgrimage Project.

The initial crowdfunding campaign will be launching very soon now, as the last components are put in place this coming week.

I think it is especially fitting that my first public presentation on the Thebaid Project — to my home parish Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit Orthodox Church in Cincinnati — was on the Sunday of All Saints. The icon of All Saints is one of the most vivid visual expressions of the Church, and conveys a sense of what the Thebaid Project is all about.

I’ve chosen Indiegogo to be our crowdfunding platform, due to its established reputation for creative projects, and its flexible funding options, and am currently putting the finishing touches on the Thebaid Campaign Page.

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a paradigm shift for anyone launching a project, introducing a new product, etc., from creatives to charities, from inventors to startups to realtors or artists. As the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo puts it,

Crowdfunding is “the process of raising money online through contributions made by many different people, sometimes hundreds or thousands, who share the same passion for your project.”

Supporters of crowdfunded projects typically receive rewards, or “perks”, in compensation for their contributions. Since the Thebaid Project is about photography, even the entry level donors (at $10 and $25) will receive valuable photographic rewards. Beginning at the $50 level, supporters will receive first edition copies of the finished book. (More details when we launch – we think you’ll be excited about the different perks at all donation levels.)

It seems to me that the Church has always been about crowdfunding, ever since St Paul collected donations during his missionary journeys to help the church in Jerusalem (cf. 1 COR 16:1-3). Now, through the internet and social media, it is easier than ever before to reach large groups of supporters to help fund endeavors such as the North American Thebaid Photographic Pilgrimage Project.

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