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With YOUR Help, It Could Happen!

We have been blessed with an opportunity like never before.

For twenty-five years, IFI has stood side-by-side with you on the front lines of the culture war. Together, we have boldly proclaimed God’s design for Family, Faith and Freedom. We have worked to strengthen God’s principles in churches, civic groups, communities throughout the state, at the Capitol, and in the culture in general.

Regardless of the condition of our state and nation, judicial activism in the courts, bias in the media, apostate preachers in the pulpit, Left-wing ideology in government schools, or frustrating election cycles, we will never give up.

Understanding and upholding the sanctity of human life, the Biblical definition of marriage and family, robust religious liberty, and freedom of conscience is vital to our form of government.  If we hope to see America as a beacon of hope and a blessing to the world, Christians must intentionally engage our culture to defend these precious values.  They are not just worth defending, but it is imperative that we champion them!

You and I know now is not the time to give up or give in. The journey before us will require tenacity, resilience, vision, and perseverance to rebuild the culture and restore our Republic.

Can you imagine where we would be in Illinois if we weren’t leading the pro-family resistance in Springfield?  Can you imagine silence in the face of Leftist ideology and intolerance?  Can you imagine a state without the work of IFI to alert, equip, and encourage Christians?

2018 will be pivotal, so we need you more than ever.
And this month we have been blessed with a special opportunity!

This month, your gift of will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $80,000. Your $25 becomes $50, $100 is $200, and $250 becomes $500. Thanks to some generous friends who believe in our mission, this is our largest matching gift ever!

Cultural revival won’t happen overnight, but we are committed to occupying until He returns. By God’s grace and through your consistent prayers and financial support, we can and will continue to be salt and light in our state.  We can lead the way in all that God has commanded us in His Word.

Please give today!

As we partner together, God is moving in Illinois. That which is TRUE and GOOD is worth fighting for — all across the Prairie State.

I sincerely hope you agree.

Thank you so very much,

David E. Smith
Executive Director

P.S. We have a HUGE task and a wonderful OPPORTUNITY in front of us. IFI cannot succeed in our mission to “boldly bring biblical perspectives to public policy” in Illinois without your help.  Together, we are salt and light! 

Please click HERE to send your most generous year-end donation by December 31st. Remember, your gift will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $80,000! Thank you for your support of Faith, Family and Freedom.




2017 End-of-Year Matching Challenge!

I am pleased to announce that in an effort to help us raise $160,000 by the end of this month, a number of generous donors have offered to match donations to IFI all the way up to $80,000! So between now and the end of the year, you can double the impact of your giving!

Yes, you read that right! Every donation to IFI through the end of the year is DOUBLED upon receipt.

So if you give $50 it becomes $100.

If you give $100 it becomes $200.

If you give $500 it becomes $1,000!

If you donate $1,000, it is the same as giving $2,000, etc.

Despite the Left’s relentless attacks on the natural family, the sanctity of life and religious liberty, the Illinois Family Institute refuses to back down. There is too much at stake. We want  our children and grandchildren to enjoy the freedoms most of us enjoyed as we grew up. We want our children and grandchildren to have the freedom of religion to live their lives each day in accordance with the convictions that guide their thoughts and conduct.

Will you join the cultural battle in the public square by supporting the one organization in Illinois that is willing to expose the deception of the Left and offer a Christian lens through which to view, understand and respond to the culture?

Even Christians have become confused by Leftist lies about the nature of the relationship between the church and the state. The Left has convinced many Christians that the U.S. Constitution forbids them from allowing their religious beliefs to inform their political decisions. One of IFI’s goals is to expose that lie. Conservative Christians have as much right to have their religious beliefs inform their political decisions as abolitionists and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did. And conservatives have as much right to have their religious beliefs shape their political decisions as liberal Christians do.

For twenty-five years now, IFI has worked to counter the Left’s aggressive efforts to advance oppressive and pernicious legislation at the Capitol and to exploit public schools for the purpose of transforming the hearts and minds of other people’s children. The fact that we are always vastly out-spent and out-manned doesn’t dissuade us from fighting for what is true and good. We are accustomed  to battling against great odds and have been able to stop or forestall many of their plans.

While it may appear that good work bears little fruit in Illinois, appearances can be deceiving.

What cannot be measured is where Illinois would be without resistance.

What would Illinois look like without the Illinois Family Institute pushing back hard against the ideology and efforts of Leftists?

What would the state look like if IFI were not here to alert, equip, and encourage Illinoisans?

IFI battles tirelessly for children, families and religious liberty because we know that our responsibility is to our Creator and the good works He has for us. We know our duty is to stand boldly and unequivocally for the dignity and rights of every person from birth to natural death no matter how challenging that task may be. We seek to please God over fallen man and in so doing uphold human flourishing.

Every year we face an onslaught from the Left: relentless attempts to maintain and fund the so-called “right” to destroy unborn lives; to erode conscience rights and religious liberty; to enlist  government schools in the effort to normalize the “trans” ideology and homosexuality; to expand marijuana use and increase gambling locations; and to eliminate all public recognition of sex differences–including by drafting our daughters into military service and sexually integrating all sex-specific private spaces and activities.

The stakes in 2018 will remain high. The Left doesn’t give up on their godless worldview or walk away from the battle. They are already planning marches, forming coalitions and devising strategies. They are preparing to redouble their efforts in the 2018 election cycle to push their agenda in the media, through pop culture, in our government schools, and in our legislatures and courts.

If we can learn anything from the Left, it’s to be tenacious, persevering, fearless, and bold.

We must be prepared to counter their message with our message of hope and truth! Will you stand with us in 2018 and double the impact of your donation today? Donate online today!

Please join us to make sure we can start next year strong by making a special tax-deductible gift before December 31st. Every dollar up to $160,000 will be matched!

Next year, there will be tremendous opportunities for effecting positive cultural change. It is only through your support that we are able to work tirelessly to promote pro-family views.

With your prayers and support, IFI will continue to speak unashamedly and unequivocally about the fundamental truths concerning life, marriage, faith, freedom, decency and the natural family.

Illinois Family Institute is needed now more than ever.

We are your voice in the public square!

Please DONATE ONLINE or call the IFI office
at (708) 781-9328 to support our work.

Thank you for your support! We look forward to partnering with you in 2018 to stand courageously and winsomely for the values we share.

May God bless you during this Advent and Christmas season.

Sincerely,

David E. Smith
Executive Director

P.S. Help us reach our goal of raising a total of $160,000 by the end of the month — Donate today! To make a credit card donation over the phone, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328. You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477

P.P.S. It is important to mention that next year we’ll be turning our attention to ensuring that pro-family incumbent state legislators remain in office and that more are elected. That will happen with your help in getting the 2018 IFI Voter Guide in the hands of more Illinois values voters, particularly those in districts where there are key races. But we need the funding to complete this important project. Click HERE to make a online donation today.




End-of-Year Matching Challenge!

I am pleased to announce that in an effort to help us raise $110,000 by the end of this month, a number of generous donors have offered to match donations to IFI all the way up to $55,000! So between now and the end of the year, you can double the impact of your giving!  

As we approach the end of 2016 and reflect on a year of challenges and rewards, I thank God for all his mercies and blessings. We have much to be grateful for.

Despite relentless attacks on the natural family, we know that God is at work in our lives, in our communities, and in his church. This year more than ever, I am grateful to have all of you as our partners in this fight.

Every year we face an onslaught from the Left: relentless attempts to maintain and fund the so-called “right” to destroy unborn lives; to erode conscience rights and religious liberty; to expand marijuana use and increase gambling locations; and to eliminate of gender distinctions–including drafting our daughters into military service, and sexually integrating restrooms and locker rooms.

The stakes in 2017 will remain high. The Left doesn’t give up on their godless worldview or walk away from the battle. They are already planning marches, forming coalitions, and devising strategies.  They are preparing to redouble their efforts to push their agenda in the media, through pop culture, in our government schools, and in our legislatures and courts.

If we can learn anything from the Left, it’s to be persistent, tenacious, and bold.

We should not give up! Will you stand with us in 2017 and double the impact of your donation today? Donate online today!

Please join us to make sure we can start next year strong by making a special tax-deductible gift before December 31st—every dollar up to $55,000 will be matched!

Next year, there will be tremendous opportunities for effecting positive cultural change. It is only through your support that we are able to work tirelessly to promote pro-family views. 

We must continue to stand up to the attacks on our inalienable, God-given parental rights and constitutionally protected rights of speech, religion, and freedom of assembly and association. 

The challenges facing Illinois are serious. Untangling the cultural mess created by politically correct humanists will be difficult. However, the Illinois Family Institute is committed to the mission to “boldly bring a biblical perspective to the public square.

In 1516, lawyer, judge, and Christian martyr Thomas More wrote this in Utopia:

If you cannot pluck up bad ideas by the root…you must not therefore abandon the commonwealth. Don’t give up the ship in a storm because you cannot hold back the winds.

Four and a half centuries later in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. echoed More’s reproach of political inaction:

More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God.

With your prayers and support, IFI will continue to speak unashamedly and unequivocally about the fundamental truths concerning life, marriage, faith, decency, and the natural family.

Illinois Family Institute is needed now more than ever.  We are your voice in the public square!  

Please DONATE ONLINE or call the IFI office
at (708) 781-9328 to support our work.

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We appreciate all that you do, and ask for your continued prayers and participation. Thank you for your support! We look forward to partnering with you in 2017 to stand courageously and winsomely for the values we share.

May God bless you during this Advent and Christmas season.

Sincerely,

David E. Smith
Executive Director

P.S. Help us reach our goal of raising a total of $110,000 by the end of the month — Donate today! To make a credit card donation over the phone, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328. You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477




Not Giving To Your Alma Mater

On our website last week, Dennis Prager concluded a column regarding the collapse of America’s University system by writing:

And there may be worse to come. There is little that produces violence as surely as does a victim mentality.

At this time, if you donate money to an American university, you are doing much worse than wasting your money. You are subsidizing the most anti-liberal, anti-American institution in America.

Many good Christian people are rightfully loyal to their alma mater.  They express their loyalty through year end giving.  Maybe you have done so in the past.

Given what is happening to America’s academic culture, how about NOT doing it this year.  Instead, make a generous donation to IFI.  Help me collect every penny of the year-end challenge I announced the other day.  That’s right.  A group of dedicated IFI supporters have issued a $55 thousand matching challenge to help equip us for battles we face in 2016!  The trick is that we need to raise this by the end of the year. And you donations are doubled!  What a blessing!

 

I plan on reporting in with you by email a couple times a week this month to let you know about my progress.

Would you pray for me and my team as we undertake this end-of-year fund raising task?  Pray that God moves in the hearts of his people to make this successful.

In the meantime click through to that Prager column.  Let your alma mater know that you donated to IFI instead of them this year because IFI is doing what they should be doing — upholding the high ideals of God’s gospel, marriage, family, truth and virtue!

Click HERE to donate online, or if you prefer, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328.  Help us reach our goal of raising $110,000 by the end of this year!

You can also mail a check to us at:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 88848
Carol Stream, Illinois  60188

P.S. Please take a moment to “like” the IFI Facebook page and follow us on Twitter: @ProFamilyIFI