The Timothy Group

"Dining For Dollars" Making a Fund-Raising Banquet Work for You

James, escaping a hectic work day, turns off the interstate highway and onto a gently winding road that follows the banks of a river. As he parks and walks up to the banquet hall, the glow from inside lends light to his path. Over a delicious meal, he enjoys conversation with new acquaintances and old friends. The dinner concludes with a ministry update and a challenge to offer financial support.

This image is more than a fairy-tale dream for ministry budgets. People do, in fact, find time in their schedules and money in their pocketbooks to come to fund-raising dinners to support Christian ministries. And these banquets, when carefully planned and implemented, can be an important factor in your overall fund-raising strategy.

To Dine or Not to Dine...

Fund raising dinners are only one of five strategies-in addition to personal solicitation, telephone solicitation, direct mail, and electronic and print media- that ministries should use in their financial development strategies. Because each strategy has benefits and disadvantages, ministries should not depend on only one strategy for all of their contributions.

Are We Having Fun Yet

The Challenge of Teaching Stewardship

In my experience the greatest education of constituents about stewardship, as opposed to focusing on the amount of the gift or request, has been in church campaigns as opposed to para-church contexts. I believe this is because churches have greater opportunities to teach their members/attenders about the spiritual aspect of giving than para-churches do. Churches can communicate weekly with their (attending) constituents using both the senses of sight and hearing for anywhere from a few moments to the entire sermon. Most para-churches use a quarterly newsletter as their best vehicle for communication, where the attention span for one article might be seconds, or a few minutes at best.

When we lead a church through a capital campaign, a process which we call Stewardship Life, we work with church leaders to unfold an educational program that teaches what the Bible has to say about stewardship to members/attenders. Teaching formats can include: multiple worship services, adult education classes, Sunday School lessons, small group presentations, an audio or audio/visual communication from the pastor, and use of a personal Stewardship Growth Inventory. The Inventory asks people to reflect on what they keep for themselves and what they give away with regard to time, talent and treasure.

Big Rock Fundraising

In his book, First Things First, Steven Covey shares a story about a seminar instructor who used some simple props (an empty jar and a few rocks) to illustrate his point about setting priorities. "How many rocks do you think will fit into this jar?" the instructor asked. After a few guesses from the audience, he began to carefully place one by one as many rocks as he could into the jar. When he got to the top, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

"Yes!" someone in the audience responded.

The instructor then brought out a bucket of gravel and began to pour it into the jar, stopping occasionally to shake the gravel into every available space between the bigger rocks. "Is the jar full?"

Now the audience was catching on and someone replied, "Probably not."

"Good," he responded as he reached for a bucket of sand and began to dump it into the jar shifting it back and forth until every crevice was filled. "Is the jar full now?"

Building Major Relationships

Major donors give to people they know and trust. The more confidence they have in you and your ministry, the more likely it is that your organization will rise to the top of their giving list. Cultivation comes in two phases. Before a donor makes an initial gift, your strategy is to introduce new friends to your ministry. After a donor gives, your goal is to turn these new friends into good friends, and ultimately good friends into best friends as they increase their level of commitment. Here are some before-gift and after-gift cultivation suggestions:

Before a Gift

• Communicate

  • Personally visit them in their home or office.
  • Write brief handwritten notes.
  • Make personal phone calls and send personal emails.

• Educate

  • Mail your newsletter in a special envelope with first class postage.
  • Show your promotional DVD in their home or office.
  • Hand deliver your organization's Annual Report.

Giving - An Act of Worship ...A Time of Worship?

Within the past few decades a subtle change has taken place in the manner in which we worship. The influence of a contemporary style is very obvious and appears to fit the preferred lifestyle of many believers and seekers. However, within that influence another, less desirable change appears to have also happened. That change is the atmosphere regarding the offering of gifts.

In every body of believers there are rites that are sacred. Baptism and communion are examples. There was a time when receiving the offering was included as a sacrament of worship. A period within the worship service when individuals brought their gifts and offerings to present to God "as an act of worship."

Today there is still the desire on the part of church leaders that the giving of gifts, the offering, be an act of worship. However, for a variety of reasons we have, for the most part, ceased to make this a "time of worship." Too often, "offering time" is a function, a convenient time to "catch up" on the activities in the worship hour, especially announcements. As a result, the focus is on the announcements or special music.

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.

How to Give? Let's Count the Ways!

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh ... two mites ... five loaves and two fishes ... an alabaster jar of expensive perfume ... and a new, unused tomb. All these sacrificial gifts were given in spiritual acts of worship for the glory of God.

God loves cheerful givers and wants His children to excel in the grace of giving. There are many special ways to give. Good financial planning honors God and may allow donors to make larger gifts by avoiding unnecessary taxes.

As a part of your fund raising strategy, you should promote these giving options in your newsletter to encourage your donors with ideas on how they can partner with you.

Is Your Annual Fund Up To The Challenges It Faces?

It is no secret, that since the fall of 2008, the US economy has been on a downward slide. Now it has become a global financial problem. If the stock market is down and investments are worth less, what impact does that have on contributions? You would expect them to go down. But is that true for all organizations?

Giving USA figures are not yet available for 2008, but they will no doubt show contributions totaling approximately $300 Billion, roughly similar to 2007. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) recently released a survey showing that 72% of its responding members raised the same amount of gifts or an amount in the 4^th quarter of 2008 within 10% of the prior year, 28% saw giving drop off by more that 10% in the same time period. What made the difference?

Did your annual fund raising program raise less last year than the year before? Are you not sure it is up to the challenge for the future? Why?

Let's Build Something Together

You've probably heard Gene Hackman pitch your local Lowe's Home Improvement center with his inviting phrase, "Let's Build Something Together." That's an encouraging thought for those do-it-yourselfers who might be a little uncertain about tackling a home improvement project by themselves. It's also a great approach to major donors.

Jerusalem was in ruins. Its walls had been destroyed making the Israelites vulnerable to their enemies. Enter Nehemiah (1:1-2:9). He wanted to make a difference, but he was 900 miles away and lacked resources. So he did the only thing he could—pray. His prayer wasn't a bland 'bless the missionaries.' He shed tears, fasted, and pleaded with God for four months. His answer came in the form of a major donor. Nehemiah's example teaches us seven important principles about major donor development.

1. Personal Relationship

   Nehemiah and King Artaxerxes weren't equals, but they were friends. They were close enough that the king noticed that something was troubling Nehemiah. How well do you know your top 25 major donors? Have you spent enough time with them to move from a casual acquaintance to an intimate friend? Do you know their struggles with work, health, or children? Can they sense when you are carrying a heavy burden? The conventional wisdom when in the presence of kings and donors is, 'put on a happy face.' Yet, you should be close enough to some of your key donors that they can see your heart.

Major Lessons for Reaching Major Donors

All of us in the business of discipling stewards (Fund Raising) need to have a strategy for reaching major donors in our comprehensive stewardship program. Bigger dollars add up faster, hence major donor work is very fruitful and exciting. Let me briefly share a few basic principles that should be in place for you to achieve maximum results.

No plan...no results:

Yogi Berra said it best, "If you don't know where you are going you will probably end up someplace else." A good major donor program is well designed, relationally driven strategy that can add immediate and future dollars to your ministry.

Exodus 25...a major donor program that worked

Moses identified those who could help him raise funds for the tabernacle. Quickly review the first elements requested in the project: gold, silver, bronze. I believe that came from major donors from within the camp. Moses and Aaron worked from the top down to complete the first capital project mentioned in the scriptures.

Makin' a List, Checkin' It Twice

I recently went through an interesting process with my mother. She was doing some estate planning and wondered what would be the best way to choose which organizations she should include in her charitable giving. My mother is a faithful believer who is very interested in being a good steward of the resources the Lord has given her.

We began by making a list of all the ministries that she wanted to help. First on her list was her local church, and then several mission agencies followed by some Christian colleges, radio ministries, and social service organizations.

Eighteen different ministries made the list. At first, we thought about just giving them all an equal percentage, but that didn't seem quite right. Because she had more interest in some ministries than others, we decided on a plan to weigh the distribution.

Money Business

Whether you do not need to raise contributions currently, seemingly are always involved in seeking contributions, or are somewhere in between; it is appropriate to ask: "Are we doing what we should be doing in the area of financial development?" For some the answer may be: "We are doing everything we can, and we are doing it right." For most the answer is more likely: "We could be doing more, and we could be doing it better." But what should you be doing, and what can you do better?

Consider the Purpose

One way to answer this question is to consider whether you're seeking contributions for all the possible purposes. Contributions can be sought for three major areas: operations, capital and endowment. The most common purpose for which contributed dollars are sought is to keep the cost of the camp or conference services affordable. Assistance may be given out in the form of camperships, or perhaps prices are kept below costs. But there are other operating uses that can be featured in fund raising. Perhaps you need to replace equipment or program supplies such as craft materials, canoes, and bow and arrow sets. Some camps may simply buy supplies out of operating revenue, but you could feature these items for donors support. The list of operation items you need to buy can be as varied as your program.

My Board Won't Raise Money!

Maybe you don't verbalize your feelings in a board meeting, but your frustrations are real. Your board members expect you to raise all the money, but they don't lift a finger to help. Even worse - some of them don't give at all. If you feel this way, you are not alone. Countless nonprofit executive directors struggle to motivate their board members to get involved in fundraising. Before you pull that resignation letter out of your desk one more time, consider these words from the Apostle Paul as paraphrased in The Message,

"Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out" 1 Thessalonians 5:13-15.

Paul wasn't specifically writing to executive directors and board members, but if you apply his principles of working together, you might actually look forward to monthly board meetings! You probably know this already, but each board member is unique. That means they have different gifts, different strengths and weakness, and different interests. They see fundraising from different perspectives, which means that you must motivate them with their individual needs in mind. Paul suggests four approaches for working with people:

Navigating Uncharted Waters in Turbulent Times

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."

Every day the forecasts seem unrelentingly grim. You can't turn on the television, glance at a newspaper headline, or open your homepage without hearing yet another story of doom and gloom. There is no doubt we have entered tough times. The stock market has been down almost 40% since a year ago. Home prices are also down-almost 20% nationally and by as much as 35% in some areas. Unemployment is trending up and real incomes are trending down. As a nation we are waging two wars and mounting unprecedented debt.

Can it get worse? Perhaps. Unfortunately, worse than the actual data itself is the uncertainty of what may be in store for us tomorrow. Is this the bottom? Or just the beginning of a long downward slide? You may have a capital campaign to run, budgets to approve, and decisions to make, but how can you know what to do? Things are changing so fast that by the time you read this some of the statistics I cite are already out of date. Can we decide anything with any sense of certainty these days?

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.