​Dear Rabbit Room Community,
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The Rabbit Room has a $300,000 financial need. I’m writing to tell you what it is, why it exists, what changes we’re making to avoid a situation like this in the future, and to ask for your help.
Many years ago, a spiritual mentor encouraged me to start my prayers by giving thanks to God for his provision. This isn’t a rule I always follow. There are times when I skip the thanks and get right to the groans. More often than not, however, I begin my prayers by marveling at God’s goodness and generosity––so I’m starting this letter the same way.
Last night I spoke to a musician who told me how The Rabbit Room transformed his vocation and helped give voice to his songwriting. Three nights before that I spoke to a visual artist who shared a similar story. She showed my wife and me some of her portfolio as she shared a story of hardship and grace that overlapped with The Rabbit Room and brought tears to our eyes. A week earlier, it was a conversation with an author. Before that, a meeting with a partner organization.
You understand what I’m saying. You have experienced it. For nearly twenty years of ministry, The Rabbit Room has blessed the lives of artists and communities on an order of magnitude that can only be calculated using Kingdom mathematics. God has looked favorably upon this ministry and strengthened a lot of his people through it. So, I begin by thanking God.
In the past five years, The Rabbit Room has grown exponentially by almost any measure. Five years ago, there was not a North Wind Manor, so no one visited. Now, 10,000 people a year visit North Wind Manor. Five years ago, Rabbit Room Press moved tens of thousands of books a year. Now the press moves over 150,000 books each year. Five years ago, we had five employees. Now we have 14 capable employees who delight in furthering our mission. And (he adds sheepishly) there’s the growth of the Hutchmoot waitlist. The point is we’ve grown in many ways. But not in some important ways.
One way we have not grown is in the clear and consistent communication of our financial needs as a nonprofit ministry. I apologize for that. To thrive, The Rabbit Room requires a level of support that we’ve not always been good at expressing.
Much of what The Rabbit Room accomplishes requires substantial upfront expenses. Publishing, theatrical performances, content creation, open hours at North Wind Manor, and conferences all come with heavily frontloaded expenses. As The Rabbit Room has grown, those costs have increased. Just one example will help illustrate this reality. In 2024, we regularly had to float $400,000 across each quarter in order to keep up with growing demand for our books.
That kind of financial pressure means that over the last number of years we have been running to stay behind. We have been huffing and puffing and trying our best to keep up, but we just can’t do it like this anymore. It is time to change. All growing organizations do. But while we recognize the need to change in order to be financially durable for a long time, we don’t want to lose sight of our mission or what makes The Rabbit Room special. With your help we can make those changes without large program and operational cuts.
As I look ahead to the next couple of months, we have a significant and urgent financial need. Will you prayerfully consider financially helping us?
I’m also humbled to share that an anonymous donor will match contributions up to $200,000. This means your gift, no matter the size, will now have a greater impact.
As a nonprofit, we will always need the support of those who partner with us. Thank you for the support (financial and otherwise) you have given over the years. The bridge we need to cross right now will get us to a sustainable place for the foreseeable future.
Here are some of the ways that your help will make The Rabbit Room more financially durable.
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It will help Rabbit Room Press get ahead of the costs related to demand for titles like Every Moment Holy so that these books do not go out of print for extended periods.
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It will help us faithfully and hospitably grow our annual conference Hutchmoot in order to provide more access for artists and attendees.
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It will help us expand The Local Show in ways that introduce more musicians to larger audiences.
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It will help us launch an annual Member Gathering event where we celebrate the ministry of The Rabbit Room and cast a vision for the opportunities ahead of us.
Through a lot of hard work from amazing staff, we now have great data that show trending positive outcomes––if we can get over this current financial bridge. Doing so puts the press, our conferences, our events, and other programs in financially resilient territory. It allows us to operate at the pace of God’s provision.
I am asking us, our community, to join together and help The Rabbit Room get through this moment in the lifecycle of this beautiful ministry. Thank you for prayerfully considering a gift of any size.
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In Christ,
Dave Bruno
Executive Director