June 4, 2008
10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times
Fundraising Success Magazine recently published 10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times. Out of the top 10, two really jumped out at me with respect to churches.
Tip #6 says "Ask for money, regularly."
As people become less and less confident about the economy, they will become more and more careful about how they use their money. One might think that not talking about money in the church in times like these would ease some of the pressure facing families today. Not true. It simply means that it's more important now than ever for churches to make their appeal and remind people that fully funding and sustaining the work of the church is every Christian's responsibility.
Tip #10 says "Encourage monthly giving."
The author writes, "The lifetime value of monthly donors is much higher than single-gift donors..." If you don't already have a strategy in place that provides a systematic giving opportunities for your members, regular attenders and visitors, it's time to consider it.
Even within my corner of the world, we've seen a rise in the inquiries from churches who are interested not just in boxed sets but mailing offering envelopes to their members on a regular basis. (Shamless plug, I know. But it's relevant to my point. Forgive me.)
Giving is and will always be a spiritual issue because giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment to the ministry of the local church. That means it's important not only to address the spiritual realities behind consistent giving but that church leaders provide a way for members to exercise this discipline on a regular basis.
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May 8, 2008
Guaranteed church giving results
We live in a world that is full of money-back guarantees. This is a very effective way to remove the risk of trying something new and to build confidence in the purchasing decision of the consumer.
Companies don't offer money back guarantees if they think that a majority (or even a large block) of consumers would return the product. They wouldn't make any money if that is the case. Extending a money back guarantee means that the manufactuer believes in and stands behind his/her product.
When people give to your church, there is a certain level of risk involved. And the higher the level of risk and means a lower level of certainty in receiving a postivie return on investment.
New church givers may wonder "How will I know that my money is being used appropriately?" or "What if I don't agree with the use of my donations?"
I wonder what impact a money back guarantee would have on church giving. I wonder how church leaders would respond to the increased level of responsibility and accountability.
Of course, if we can't stand behind a guarantee that the money given by the people in our pew will be used to advance the Kingdom, how can we expect church members to feel good their giving?
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May 5, 2008
Research connects church giving and attendance
Secular reserach suggests a connection between church giving and attendance. It's not a surprise that those who feel the most connected emotionally to an organization are also those who are most likely to financially contribute to that organziation.
This research paper compared two groups of people: Pre-WWII and Post-WWII individuals in different life stages. The conclusion was that people from the Post-WWII group gave less to religious institutions than the Pre-WWII group. And it was no surprise that the Post-WWII group who gave less at similar life stages also attended religious services less than the Pre-WWII group.
So what does this mean for those of us in church leadership? We must recognize that church involvement is directly related to church giving. Those members who are most active are also those who are the most consistent--if not the greatest--givers in our churches today.
Thus, if we are successful at increasing church involvement and participation, we should see a natural increase in church giving.
We can't ignore the correlation between church giving and participation. This highlights the importance of measuring the effectiveness of every assimilation program or intitiative we have in place today. It is of no long term benefit to have a great acquisition strategy if you are not prepared to anchor your members by finding a place for them to serve and live within your faith community.
In light of the confirmation this research brings as to the connection between church giving and church attendance, how are you ensuring new and existing members are encountering opportunities to get involved?
Your ability to fully fund and sustain the ministry of your church depends upon how you answer that question.
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April 8, 2008
15 reasons why people donate
People give for various reasons. Understanding what motivates people to give is the key to learning how to communicate in such a way that it results in better giving. The Secret to Getting People to Give: 15 Reasons Why People Donate is an excellent resource to use as you evaluate ways to increase giving in your church.
This is one of those lists that you print out and keep close by for reference.
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April 3, 2008
Fundraising is an essential church leadership skill
I found The Biggest Pressure for Future Nonprofit Leaders: Fundraising interesting in that 41% of those who responded to the survey stated that they did not want to move into executive nonprofit leadership positions for fear of the responsibility of fundraising.
It's comforting to know that Churches aren't the only segment of the nonprofit world that places the burden of fundraising on the leader of the organization. I would venture to say that the number would be even higher if you translated the survey into the context of the Church.
I appreciate Jeff's post about the same subject on his Donor Power Blog:
But it's troubling, too. Why is it so common in the nonprofit culture to be so wrong about fundraising?How is it that fundraising is a bothersome distraction from the "real" work of so many nonprofits?
If these leaders paid attention, they'd see fundraising in a different way. They'd realize that what it does for donors, for causes and for society are astounding. They might come to understand that fundraising is so great, so important, that it matters as much as their primary mission.
Fundraising is an essential skill for every nonprofit leader. And for those who don't want to bother with it...maybe it should disqualify you from top leadership.
Pastors who understand the importance of fundraising know this skill as the means by which one sustains and grows and ultimately does more ministry.
And expanding the Kingdom is what it's all about.
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March 17, 2008
Will the economy impact church giving?
I have good news. The NYT reported today that giving to charities in 2007 increased in spite of all the rumors of a recession and economic downturn.
It's easy to blame the economy for downward trends in church giving. But this evaluation reminds us that people are continuing to give to charitable causes in the midst of a housing and mortgage debacle, increase in unemployment, etc. Further, we know that most charitable giving in any given year goes to churches and religious organizations.
What are you doing to make sure you're inspiring others to give so that you can have the money you need to accomplish the ministry God has placed on your heart?
Are you making your case? If not, someone already is.
We've got a lot of work to do.
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March 11, 2008
Get in the minds of your members (aka donors)
As church leaders, it's important that we are in touch with our members (aka Donor base) so that we ensure we continually connect with them in mental, emotional and spiritual ways. This invites participation, reinforces a feeling of belonging and ensures continued support via time, talents and money.
But what if our perception of our members doesn't accurately reflect their perception of themselves? What if we've got it all wrong and our intuition--however well trained and experienced--is missing it altogether?
A great example is cited by The Mission Paradox Blog in it's comparison of Opera performers and Opera attenders.
It's worth taking pause to ensure everyone is on the same page.
We can't afford NOT to be...Literally.
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March 10, 2008
One dream, three students and True Love Waits
Last week we disccussed that successful fundraisers are those who are able to connect with donors on an emotional level and offer the donor a way to put their faith and values into action. We also explored how fundraising and ministry are two concepts that are dependent upon one another.
I found a great example today that proves my theory.
Three college students are planning to take the message of True Love Waits to South Africa. They'll need to raise $7,500 in order to make it happen. Armed with a great story, a meaninful purpose and a measurable end result, they have all the essential ingredients necessary to "make the ask."
The important lesson is this: raising money to support ministry goals is easy when you have a story worth telling and one that will inspire others to participate. And what better story is there than the one that has been entrusted to the church to protect and profess until Christ's return--the Good News that there is hope and a chance at new beginnings?
What if we started to look at church giving through the lens of ministry projects? What if we started calling church budgets "ministry proposals" and judged the worthiness of each line item not on the realitive cost but on the greatest Kingdom impact for the dollar?
Start dreaming and telling great stories. Then watch as your church giving explodes.
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March 5, 2008
4 Obstacles to Merging Fundraising and Ministry
Somewhere along the way the concepts of fundraising and church administration were separated. It was decided that both fundraising and ministry were important but not intricately connected.
I think the key is to see fundraising as a valid ministry--particularly within the context of the local church. If we are honest, there is a lot of opportunity out there for ministry. But often we are not able to act upon our dreams and visions simply because the money is not available. For many that's where they stop.
But why? If God has placed within us a dream for a specific ministry goal, then he has also given us the responsibility to bring that dream into reality. Unfortunately, we don't believe there is enough money out there to make it reality. And we are selling ourselves and the Kingdom short.
Fundraising is a core responsibility of the visionary leader God has called to lead the local church.
Repeat after me: More money. More Ministry. No Money. No Ministry.
If you're looking for a way to bring your leadership on board with this concept, then the discussion of these four obstacles to merging fundraising and ministry will help you prepare to offer a new perspective.
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March 3, 2008
Successful church fundraisers
What makes someone a successful church fundraiser? Is it skill? Maybe. Is it access to a wealthy donor base? Perhaps. Is it a great program or method? Could be.
But I think it's more than that. Successful fundraisers are those who recognize that the donation itself is an outward expression of an inward commitment. In other words, people donate to those causes or organizations that they connect with on an emotional level. Fundraising is at its core about relationships and connecting emotionally rather than rational appeals for support. (Re-read Donors are people too.)
The pastor or church leader who finds great success at raising the funds necessary to support the ministry of the local church is one who is able to communicate the role each believer plays in the process. That fosters the sense of ownership, participation and emotional connection necessary to creates great donors.
What if everything you know about fundraising is wrong?
"The inspired fundraiser provides donors an opportunity to put their values into action, to become the hero of their own life story, and to make their dreams for a better world come true."
We are quick to blame the people in the pew for not tithing or consistently giving to the church. What if we're pointing the finger in the wrong direction?
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February 26, 2008
Are all church capital campaign programs the same?
You may laugh at this: LifeWay is such a big place that I just recently met the John Burke who leads the Capital Stewardship area at LifeWay.
So, like any "normal" individual would do, I googled him to see what I could find out. John recently wrote an article about 5 Common Pitfalls in Church Campaigns that was published in the September/October 2007 issue of Preaching.
I really enjoyed reading pitfall #3: "All capital campaign programs are Biblically-based." This is not true. Jesus taught us that it was just as important how we got where we are as it is arriving to present moment. In other words, it's not OK to steal--even if you give all the money to the church.
Building buildings, debt retirement or even rennovation decisions that lead a church to invest in a capital stewardship program, is as much of a spiritual decision as it is a business decision.
Unfortunately, Richard Foster is often right in his assessment that, "Money has usurped the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer."
It's important that we remember that anything a church does should first be a spiritual decision and second a business decision. This is the balance we try to maintain at LifeWay. I like to call it balancing heaven and earth.
We should build buildings and conduct capital campaigns because God is leading us to expand our ministry, not to errect empires for ourselves. In the same spirit, we should choose tools that reflect the spiritual emphasis of a captial campaign program.
No, all church capital campaign programs are NOT the same. And yes, that does matter.
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February 21, 2008
It's not about you
One of the things I love the most about the blogosphere is that it's never ending. As soon as you discover one blog, it's a door into an endless world of other voices that are talking about your niche.
I came across a post today that implies that the consumer revolution and customer-centric practices that currently exist in the for-profit business world will soon spread to the non-profit world.
It doesn't matter what the brand is trying to say about a company; the customers have their own say about it. And customers will believe other customers more than they believe the marketing.
What does that mean exactly for those of us concerned with stewardship and giving in the church? It doesn't mean the church leaders should begin to view members as consumers. We've been down that road, and it's disastrous for everyone involved. I think what it means is this: what's relevant, helpful, insightful, etc. is determined by the person in the pew instead of the voice from the pulpit.
We've got to "bury" our top down mentality. This is what made Jesus so successful with people. (Of course, it's also what got him killed. But that's another post for another time.)
If we are going to be successul at re-seeding the conversation on stewardship and giving and capturing more money for more ministry, it's going to have to be a movement that begins with the church member instead of the pastor or other staff member.
When was the last time we made a case for biblical stewardship that compelled the person in the pew through story and life transformation rather than expository preaching and rational argumentation? If we don't, someone else will. And the chance that the one who does this successfully is outside the church is high.
Game on. Are you ready?
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January 31, 2008
5 Steps to becoming a better fundraiser
We reviewed 5 necessary steps to increase church giving in my conclusion of the The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing series. You may think that Fundraising is someone else's problem. But the best fundraisers are those who are most passionate about their cause.
If we aren't passionate enough about the message of the Gospel and the effectiveness of the Church to assist in fulfilling the Great Comission to inspire people to give their time, money and talents, then something is terribly wrong.
Fundraising becomes a natural step for humans to take once their hearts and minds have committed to a goal, cause, impact and/or message. As church leaders we have the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel passionately so to inspire others to find themselves changed forever--including their understanding of money, giving and stewardship.
If we don't do it, someone else will. And the Church will suffer for it.
Read the entire "The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing" series:
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, an Introduction
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (continued)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 3)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 4)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, in Conclusion
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January 30, 2008
Fundraising trends affecting churches
Trends are just that: trends. They help us made some assumptions and assist in our decision making. They are not absolutes. They are not infalliable. They are just a collection of data and observations that form the basis of some general conclusions.
With that being said, trends also allow us to process a lot of information at a 50,000 foot perspective. As church giving overall is declining, church leaders are beginning to be more intentional about fundraising and financial matters. They recognize that it will take money, time and talents to operate the organizational structure of the Church. It will take money to buy Bibles and go on mission trips. It will take money to meet the physical, mental and economic needs of the community. And without those funds, the Church becomes paralyzed.
One of the trends impacting Christian giving and fundraising that I find most interesting is the inverse relationship between the overall decline in church giving and the increase in people, organizations, training, etc. that have surfaced who are uniquely geared toward helping churches and church members to recover a Biblical understanding of money, giving and stewardship.
As church leaders, what places do you go to or have gone to in the past that have proven to be the most helpful in the area of fundraising?
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January 29, 2008
Is fundraising even Christian?
Perhaps you're one of the people who read yesterday's post What makes Christian fundraising different? on Tim Smith's book Donors are People Too and said to yourself, "Fundraising is somebody else's job. It's not a ministry requirement."
I think there are many pastors and church leaders who believe that fundraising is a four-letter word that is forbidden from the Christian's vocabulary. It feels dirty. And it's more dreaded than the getting all your teeth pulled at the same time.
In my conversations with some pastors, they tell me that fundraising isn't something a minister should be concerned with. The money needed will be provided for "by the work of the Spirit." That sounds like a very holy, theological response. Unfortunately, it's the equivalent of a CEO of a company saying the customers who buy his company's product/service need the CEO and his/her company more than the company and CEO need their customers. That's simply not true.
I'm not diminishing the role of the Holy Spirit in the work of the church. It's central to our effectiveness in bringing about the Kingdom of God on earth. But when we take that reality and use that as an "out" or excuse as to why we're not responsible, we mis-use theology to justify our own interests. (Not that that's ever happened before.)
Fundraising is a responsibility of the the Church as an organization. If there is no money for ministry, then there is no ministry. The Church has operational needs, and ministry costs money. So Fundraising is not just Christian, it's at least in the top 5 things that every church and church leader should be concerned with.
What makes fundraising Christian is not the act itself. Rather, it's the goal we are trying to achieve. If all we are trying to accomplish is more money for the sake of more money, bigger salaries, etc., then we miss the point. If we are attempting to fund the ministry that God has placed on our hearts so that we can reach the world for Christ and carry out the Great Commission, then we are precisely on target.
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January 28, 2008
Donors are people too
One of the things I like to do when I travel is catch up on books that I really want to read but don't seem to have the time to. (Can you relate?) Donors Are People Too was on the top of the pile of books sitting at the edge of my desk.
This small book highlights the necessary function of relationships in cultivating donations from your donor base. I think we all "know" this in the back of our minds. But fundraising becomes a very objective, stale process if all we focus on are spreadsheets and goal boards.
If we remember that donations are a measurable behavior of an internal, emotional commitment of a human being to a cause in which they personally believe in and/or indentify with, then we can reason the most important function of any donor campaign is relationships.
In my sales trainings I learned that people buy from who they know, like and trust. I think the same is true with fundraising; people give to people who represent causes they know, like and trust.
The author also points out that when you connect with people emotionally within the context of a long-term relationship, the donor tends to give more money that just a "one off" type donation. For the fundraiser (i.e. anyone involved in any non-profit--including churches) the primary goal is to help people find a place to connect and a person to identify with. When that happens, donoations come naturally.
We know this is true particularly in church life because those who feel most connected to the community of faith are the ones who most likely give the most and the most consistently over time.
One book down.......an unlimited number to go!
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October 17, 2007
Pastor's Guide to Fundraising Success
I found a great article on Church Solutions Magazine today. It was written by two people who have spent their lives helping churches and other non-profit organizations raise the money needed to not only meet their annual budget but also accomplish the ministry God has placed on their heart.
If there is one thing I come across over and over again, it's that implementing a formal fundraising plan is absolutely essential to any fundraising endeavor. And like it or not, fundraising is part of the pastors repsonsibility. In a lot of ways, the role of the pastor is similar to the role of a college president who number one job is to raise money for the institution. In the case of the church, the pastor is the theological leader as well. But that doesn't remove the responsibility of fundraising.
The paradox is that very little time--if any--is spent preparing pastors for this endeavor during their seminar training. So many pastors feel absolutely helpless. And a natural human response to fear is to ignore it.
Bottom line, no plan will yeild less than desirable results. Sure, you might be able to sustain an organization with no strategy in place. But you'll never realize any measurable differences without a plan.
Here is what the writers of the article say:
Not all churches implement a full plan of asking every member to give every year. Some church leaders take shortcuts, thinking: "Our annual fund campaign this year was very successful and it was a lot of hard work. Now that our members know what is expected of them, they will continue to give every year without being asked. After all, we are engaged in the Lord's work and our members know that it takes money to get the job done." The result is that annual giving begins to decline. After three or four or five years, church leaders decide they had better do another annual campaign.Such interruptions not only weaken ministries and individual response opportunities, they add to the challenges of helping persons understand the importance of ongoing and increased giving to the church, in good times and in bad times.
Read the rest of the article here. Purchase the book here.
Do what you have to do to write out a church donor plan that matches your ministry goals. Then work the plan. You'll be amazed at the results.
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August 19, 2007
Capital Fundraising for Small Churches
Small Churches are in the same position that many small business find themselves in. The "pains" often center around time, money, and resources. There never seems to be enough time. There never seems to be enough money. And there never never seems to be "the right" or enough resource materials to assist the ministry of the small church.
This is especially true with respect to capital campaigns and building projects. Most churches can't afford to pay an independent consultant a ton of money to help them raise the funds they need to accomplish the ministry needs of the church. It's just not practical.
So, is there something out there for the small church willing to do the work with some pre-defined guidance?
I had a conversation this week with a friend who asked if LifeWay still produced the product Bridge for Tomorrow. I had no idea, so I started asking around.
The good news is that, yes, this product is still available. Bridge for Tomorrow is an out-of-the-box capital campaign program for small churches that costs about $500. It's only sold to churches that are averaging 125 people or less in attendance. And you can order the product by calling 1.800.251.4220.
For a list of other resources available on this subject (some FREE!), just click here.
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