The Timothy Group

Guerilla Fund-Raising

What guerilla forces lack in resources, they make up for in tactics. The same concept can be applied to your fund-raising efforts. Your local secular university is probably a fund-raising juggernaut led by a vice president for advancement and a full team of professionals, including an annual fund director, prospect research staff, phone-a-thon coordinator, marketing and communications manager, alumni relations director, grant writer, major gifts officers, and planned giving experts. But it's not just personnel; large fund-raising machines can hire consultants, purchase expensive software, conduct pre-campaign studies, develop an online giving capacity, launch a media campaign, create Hollywood quality DVDs, and print extravagant four-color brochures. How can your one- or two-person shop compete with an army of fundraisers?

The answer is guerilla fund-raising—nimble, quick strategies focused on the right targets. In one sense, you are not directly competing with your local university or hospital. They work in a philanthropy world; your donor profile is stewardship-minded. Your donors might have some civic inclinations, but for the most part, they are focused on making an eternal difference with their resources. You really are not raising money from 'the community.' Instead, your focus should be on a circle of committed donors who know you and love your cause.

Renewable Energy™

A Practical Four-Part Plan to Help You Recession-Proof Your Organization

Energy. It's what drives our lives and gives power to our ambitions. When it's cheap and abundant, we take it for granted. Lately, however, our attention is increasingly focused on the real prospect that supplies of energy are becoming scarce. Imagine a day when lightsdon't come on with the flick of a switch.

Today, the non-profit sector is facing its own form of energy crisis. The energy that powers these organizations is not derived from coal, oil, or gas. Rather, it is people power—people serving people—that makes ministry happen, and money provides the wattage to keep those lights burning bright. Asmany non-profit leadersare acutely aware, however, it's a new day. The recent volatility in the stock market and the economy have together created an environment in which charitable giving—the energy of production—is becoming intensely competitive.

Please and Thank You:

How (and How Not) To Write a Year-End Appeal Letter

It's late. You're beat. But everyone has left the office so its quiet. You were supposed to have the copy written for the year-end appeal letter long ago. It should have been in the mail already. So here goes even though you don't feel like writing. An idea comes to you: "Where is the file with last year's letter? I’ll just change the date and I'm out of here, right?" You know the answer is NO!

But how do you go about writing a year-end letter that is going to produce results? Here are a few ideas to help.

The first decision to make is who is going to get the letter. Everyone on the mailing list, right? Wrong again. As you think about your total mailing list, names will fall into categories. Some have given a gift recently. Others are major donors who need to be seen personally and should not be "nickled and dimed" with a year-end letter. Some haven't given for years. Some have never given, but you are ever hopeful. Some are staff, or board, or volunteers, or pastors of constituent churches.