Dear friends,
The mission of the Wild + Free Farm Village didn’t just start five years ago. It began 24 years ago at the beginning of our marriage when we incorporated the 501(c)3 non-profit organization that eventually acquired the Farm Village.
We were two newly-married kids with a vision to host gatherings that would impact people’s lives. Over the next 20 years, we created conferences, retreats, and family camps, as well as Wild + Free, hoping that one day we could purchase an actual place to host these kinds of events…
By now, you know the story of the Farm Village and how we acquired it after a year and a half of conversations with the previous owner. Over the past four years, we’ve hosted dozens of retreats, festivals, and camping weekends.
During that time, we survived a global pandemic, multiple storms that took out our zip-lines, massive flooding in the Forest Cabin, and too many break-downs to count. We thought we had made it through the worst of it.
But this past year was our toughest one yet. For whatever reason, our attendance dropped by half, multiple unexpected breakdowns sapped our reserves, and we had to let our caretakers go.
In November, we announced our “Winter of Hope” fundraising campaign to help us survive the winter months when the Farm Village is without income, make much-needed repairs, and invest in the resources that would bring this place back to life with a renewed purpose. We held our breath and waited…
Seventy-eight families donated $35,114.86, which helped us get through the past several months. (Thank you to everyone who contributed!) But it wasn’t enough for us to continue operating the Farm Village beyond the winter.
After making numerous appeals to our community and emptying our personal bank accounts to keep it alive, we simply came to the end of our resources.
After sending last-minute appeals to our donors, trying to sell the Forest Cabin to no avail, seeking counsel from our advisory board, brainstorming solutions with our team, and praying for a breakthrough, we came to the difficult conclusion that we had to sell the entire Farm Village property.
This was the hardest decision we have ever had to make, but even then, we did not give up hope. We believe in miracles and know that they come in their own timing, often in mysterious ways. We prayed for another solution, but the answer became clear as the next month unfolded.
The donations stopped coming in.
We ran out of resources and options.
And had no other choice but to sell it.
On March 23, we closed on the sale of the Farm Village.
With broken hearts and open hands, we walked away with tears of immense grief and gratitude. Grief for the loss of a place we loved dearly and means so much to so many - and gratitude for the gift that the Farm Village was to all of us these past five years. We will forever be changed by that place.
As we remember all the incredible moments and life-giving friendships we experienced here, we can’t help but thank God despite our present sadness and trust that there is a purpose in the pain. We still choose hope.
We know this news may come as a shock to some of you. We know you many of you will be grieved, as we are. We are still processing this decision and the events that have transpired over the past few days and weeks.
In the midst of all this, we wanted to address a few questions that might come up for you as you also process the news:
Because the Farm Village was owned by a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the sale of the property cannot benefit us or any other individual. The proceeds will be held in the non-profit organization's account until we can reinvest the funds back into this vision. As far as what the future holds, we don’t know… yet.
The bad news is that the Farm Village is no more.
The good news is that this dream is not over.
In fact, we believe it’s just beginning…
We have not given up on creating a gathering place for the Wild + Free community, but we need to do things a bit differently to make it sustainable.
We believe the future of this vision is great, and we can’t wait to see what’s ahead. We’re going to spend the next season catching our breath, grieving a bit, and getting ready for some upcoming Wild + Free conferences...
We wanted to thank you for coming along on this amazing journey with us. We apologize if we can’t respond to texts and emails right away, but we look forward to embarking on the next chapter of this unfolding story together.
Your friends,
Ben & Ainsley Arment
