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Transparency isn’t just good nonprofit practice. It’s part of who we are. Here’s an honest look at what sustains Wonderfully Made — and what we need to keep building.

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One of my commitments going into this work was that Wonderfully Made would be a different kind of organization — one that talks straight about what it costs to do this, and why your support makes a real, traceable difference. I have been in nonprofit leadership long enough to know that vague impact language is often a sign that someone doesn’t want you to look too closely. I want you to look closely.

Here is the honest picture.

Wonderfully Made launched in September 2024 on the Peachtree Church campus in Buckhead. Kitty Correll — longtime elder at Peachtree and the driving force behind this vision — had spent nearly two years building toward this moment. She visited programs in other cities. She gathered families in her kitchen. She made the case to her church, and the church said yes. That yes was not small. Peachtree donated space and helped fund the renovation that transformed the former Lodge coffee shop into a commercial kitchen and gathering room. The church’s willingness to invest was a direct reflection of their trust in Kitty, and in a vision rooted in Scripture and in genuine pastoral care for families their congregation had been praying over for years.

I came in alongside Kitty as her friend and as the person who could build the organizational infrastructure to make her calling sustainable. Systems. Structure. Financial architecture. The unsexy work that determines whether a beautiful idea becomes a lasting institution or a good season that ends too soon.

Here is what that infrastructure looks like in practice. We launched with six Wonder Makers in September 2024 and grew to 22 families in our first year — two cohorts, multiple program days each week. Enrollment operates on a sliding scale beginning at $400 per month, designed to make the program accessible across a range of financial circumstances. But program fees alone do not cover what it costs to run this with excellence: trained staff, program aides, baking supplies, activity materials, volunteer coordination, and the full operational infrastructure of a safe, consistent program.

“Peachtree Church has been abundantly gracious. And we raised funds to renovate the old coffee shop on the main floor of their building for our new bakery.”

Donations, bakery revenue, and the generosity of our broader community fill the gap between what families pay and what excellence actually costs. That is the honest equation.

Our three-year goal is to raise $1.5 million. That investment will grow the Wonderfully Made brand, develop ready-to-use resources for churches that want to launch their own chapters, and provide hands-on coaching for new chapter leaders. It will extend this work from one campus in Buckhead to communities across Atlanta and beyond.

Wonderfully Made is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Every gift is tax-deductible. Every dollar is accountable. If you want to see where it goes, come on a Tuesday. Sit in the bakery. Watch Teon bag 300 cookies. Watch Ian celebrate a birthday. Watch Johnny talk everyone’s ear off and realize you are watching the whole point of this work happen in real time.

The work is real. The need is real. The impact is real. And the door is open.

Make your gift count

Wonderfully Made is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building community for adults with intellectual disabilities in Atlanta and beyond. Donate at wonderfullymadecommunity.org — and know exactly what your gift is building.