“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...
I recently reviewed a report on 2020 giving trends produced by the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA), a respected leader in Christian philanthropy. Warren Bird, Ph.D., and his team at ECFA did the research and prepared the report. It was both interesting and encouraging,...
A development officer recently referred to special events as a love-hate relationship. You love them for the goodwill and needed funds they raise and almost hate them, concurrently, because they can be so all-consuming of your time and energy and overtax your valued volunteers. The...
“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Carpenter and piano maker H.O. Studley created an amazing tool chest that has become legendary among woodworkers. Take a closer look! He crafted mahogany rosewood, ebony, and mother-of-pearl into an intricate design...
“The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.“There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’(Proverbs 30:15-16). Do your donors feel this way about your ministry? Do they...
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). Every nativity scene includes shepherds and wise men, but...
The most effective fundraising strategy is listening. Learn to ask these seven probing questions then slow down and listen for your donor's heart. You can listen your way to a major/mega gift! Pat and Ron discuss the importance of asking your major donors questions about their stewardship...
“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way...
“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go...
Faith vs. Doubt in FundraisingChristian ministry fundraising incites our Christian faith. The same God who creates our needs is the same God we must trust. We have a choice to either embrace faith or doubt. As a development director at a Christian K-12 school, I...
