St. Bonaventure Indian Mission

i WANT MY DONATION TO GO TO THE CHILDREN i DON'T WANT GIFTS SENT TO ME

I totally support the school and programs. But, like many of the others would like to have all of the money sent go to the needs at hand. Please stop sending items to me. This is not why you receive my donations. Continue the good work and eliminate the cost of producing and sending these "gifts"

Lou T

I plan to make a donation but only give twice a year. I last gave in August 2022. However, fortunately I have not received the trinkets many spoke of receiving. I used to receive them from St Joseph’s Indian School. I contacted them and they took me off of those mailing list and I requested I only receive two(2) solicitations annually and that is what I receive. I would hope St. Bonadventure will do the same or my contributions will cease.

However, there is one thing that St Bonaventure did last month that I see as a waste of funds and must stop for me to continue contributing. Last month in the solicitation they included an envelope with postage stamps on the return envelope. I believe they wasted a great deal of money if they did that on all solicitations sent out. It’s one thing to send a business reply envelope where the organization agrees to pay the postage on envelopes returned. I don’t think that is necessary fora charity but it is more understandable and certainly less costly. I always make my donations online so the return envelope is a waste for me.

I feel The American Indian has been severely mistreated by our country and in some cases by The Catholic Church. For this reason I am proud to help support causes that assist them where the need is greatest. However, I expect my contributions to be well managed by the charities I contribute.

Florida Contributor

My husband and I support this nonprofit because of it's mission. We agree with other reviewers/donors that the mailings with trinkets are not necessary and wasted resources. Just a letter outlining the need and the organizations programs is sufficient.
We would also like to see financials for St. Bonaventure.

Our first visit to Navajoland / 4 corners was in 1967.

We have been Navajo/DinÉh supporters ever since.

St. Christopher's Mission in Bluff NM began our journey.

I JUST ASK THAT THE REVIEWS BE BROUGHT UP TO THIS CURRENT DAY. I AGREEE WITH THE REVIEW THAT SAID "HOW MANY DREAMCATCHERS CAN ONE USE." I PUT ALL OF THEM & ALSO THE MANY CARDS, CALENDARS, ETC. I PUT THEM IN BAG FOR THE POOR TO BE DONATED. RETURN LABLES GET CUT UP & THROWN OUT. I DON'T NEED & DON'T APPRECIATE GIFTS. I'D RATHER THAT COST BE STOPPED & GIVEN TO THE GROUP REQUESTING DONATIONS. THAT'S AN EXPENSE THEY CAN EASILY STOP RIGHT NOW & PUT THAT MONEY TO GOOD USE.

I do not feel qualified to give a rating to this nonprofit other than its form of solicitation (if I have to, to post this comment, I'll give a 3 star) I have no doubt, especially from the two other reviews given, although they are both now many years old, that the school and mission do many good things with its donations and I most certainly know that the Navajo/Dine are deserving and in need. Still, I want to give to the most efficient charities, and the packages of cheap, made-in-china junk (dreamcatchers, little do-dads, pens, etc.-- exact same stuff I also get in solicitations from St. Joseph Indian School in S. Dakota) cost something. I can see sending those once a year as a thank you to donors, but I have not donated, and have gotten the same stuff countless times from them and/orSt. Josephs. As a result, I am not convinced this nonprofit is as efficient in serving the needy directly as it could be. I regularly give, and plan to continue to give, to One Spirit, for the Pine Ridge Lakota families, and was informed by an important person living on the Pine Ridge Rez how good this non-profit is. All I get back is an emailed thank you, which is fine to me. So despite all the heartstrings being pulled by these packages, I will continue giving what I can to One Spirit instead. Sorry, St. Bonaventure, but can't give to all the deserving, and do suggest you reconsider this form of solicitation. An informative brochure with photos would be so much more meaningful and, once produced, would presumably be cheaper than sending out this junk ( how many little mass-produced dream catchers can one use after all?)

I have contributed to St. Bonaventure for several years. I like their simple approach to serving the Indian population in western N. Mexico. In particular, I am EXTREMELY impressed with Mr. Halter's low salary. He's there to serve, not to earn the big bucks, and he personally responds to donors. Very refreshing. It must be frustrating for him knowing about all the revenue various Indian groups acquire from gambling, seemingly very little of which is used to help their own people in need. I feel my dollars are well spent. One downside, their numerous solicitations have become annoying.

My wife and I spent two days this fall at St. Bonaventure Mission and School--a charity we have contributed to for many years. We spent most of our time in the school. We are both professional educators and can attest to the high quality of education provided in the school. All of the children are provided with free breakfast and lunch as well as school supplies and transportation door-to-door from their homes. Door-to-door transportation is very important to assuring that these children are able to attend school regularly. We rode the school bus to take students home and we can personally attest to the level of need in the region. However, we also observed that this is a close-knit community. A number of the staff at the school are members of this community, so the school also provides much-needed employment opportunities (e.g. teachers, aides, fund raising staff, drivers, cooks) in an area of high unemployment. Thanks to donors, the school is generally well equipped, however many things considered as givens in schools in more prosperous areas are considered to be luxuries at St. Bonaventure. For example, we found that the middle school science classroom was well equipped with microscopes, but many were in need of repair and no funds were available. Science texts had to be shared and could not be taken home for study because of a shortage of books which are only funded by the state every few years. Supplies and equipment for special needs children are also in short supply. The school is very efficient getting the most benefit from every dollar contributed. We believe our donations are put to very good use at St. Benaventure.