Heartward Sanctuary Fundraiser
In May of 2020, we landed here on 36 acres in Chatham County, NC.
In that time, we’ve listened, watched, honored the cycles, planted fruit trees and medicine plants, learned about the land and animals here, buried our dead, grieved our losses, healed and danced. Against the odds, we’ve continued building community throughout a pandemic and are now ready to make bigger dreams a reality:
- A dedicated dance temple in our 100 year old barn.
- An animist church of embodiment, expression and sacred play.
- A burial ground-orchard where death nourishes life.
- A thriving center for healing, retreat, reconnection and remembrance.
- A place to sow seeds of a sane world where life and death are held sacred.
And we need your help!
Heartward Sanctuary is fundraising for $136,000 in a combination of donations and Membership Pledges to transform this barn into a temple, to fill it with meaningful programming and finalize the legal work to insure the protection of this land and natural burial ground beyond our lifetimes.
To help us reach our goal, you can make a one-time donation, become a Sustainer (recurring contributor) or become a Founding Member of Heartward Sanctuary, which includes natural burial rights. For those seeking a place to both honor the seasons and cycles of life and eventually return to the land naturally, we strongly encourage you to consider our Invitation to Become a Founding Member.
However you support, your contributions will go towards the following:
Barn Renovation
$70-80,000
Help transform this centennial barn into a community asset!
Your donations and Membership Pledges will help to realize Phase 1 of this barn renovation which includes a new stairwell, finished entry-way, windows, finished dance floor, fans, lighting and a sound system!
Your support can transform this Quaker-built, chapel-like structure into an inspiring, well-ventilated, multi-purpose space for dance, communion, retreats, youth programming, memorials, and meaningful ritual.
Current estimates via partnering with contractors and carpenters based on mostly volunteer labor.
Natural Cemetary
$15-20,000
Amidst cedars, persimmons and milkweed, the Metamorphosis Meadow and Ancestral Grove create sacred and serene spaces for our beloveds to be laid to rest, grieved, celebrated and remembered. These meadows, surrounded by forest, will be slowly transformed into orchards and medicine gardens allowing our bodies to bring nourishment to future generations.
Your support will cover legal expenses, survey, appraisal, structures that supports eventual organizational ownership and preserving this land in perpetuity.
Program Development & Implementation
Your contributions will also support the development and implementation of mission-aligned, online and in-person programming.
One of our long-held programming goals has been to host multi-day rituals here. Now that the world is back to (ab)normal, it’s time to bring forward more retreats for grieving, courageous dying, ritual dance and soul work.
Medium-term goals include the next iteration of decades of youth programming to support rites of passage and the increasing challenges facing our beloved young ones.
Contributions support web and marketing infrastructures, retreat spaces and supplies, organizational overhead.