Fundraising over the phone is common among educational institutions who want to keep alumni involved. When I was at Regent University as a student, I would volunteer in the annual alumni phone-a-thon. It is one of the programs the school use to touch base with its graduates and to invite Read more …
Category: Fundraising
Fundraising Planning Worksheet
Good planning is a pre-requisite for the success of any fundraising campaign. While we know that it is God who provides the resources for His Kingdom work, we have a responsibility to do our part in planning and implementation. Before you launch your fundraising campaign, make sure that you have Read more …
How to build relationships with your donors
How do you build relationships with your donors? Many of you will say that you have to treat them as friends. The next question is like this: What qualities do you look for in friends? Of course, you want them to be accepting, loyal, understanding, supportive, reliable, and to be Read more …
The Spiritual Side of Fundraising
Henri Nouwen, a Catholic theologian, has a small booklet entitled the “Spirituality of Fundraising,” which I require my fundraising class to read. It never ceases to impact the readers in the way they view fundraising as a spiritual activity. Viewed as a ministry, Nouwen says that “fundraising is as spiritual Read more …
God’s Funding Method
We know that God is the owner and therefore, the provider of everything that is needed to fund His Kingdom work on earth. However, He uses people to mobilize His resources and accomplish His purposes. The book of Nehemiah makes a great case study for God’s funding method. God was Read more …
The concept of Firstfruits
Along with the principle of tithing is that of “firstfruits.” They go hand in hand. In Proverbs 3:9, the Israelites were commanded to “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of your crops.” But what exactly are firstfruits? Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the firstfruits offering. The people were to Read more …
Measuring Fundraising Success
Traditional fundraising measures success in terms of meeting targets: amount of money raised, return on investment (ROI), increase in giving and donor data base. All these are not bad, but if these are the only measure of success, then we are merely transactional and not transformational fundraisers. A transformational fundraiser Read more …
The common fears about fundraising
Fears about fundraising come from a mindset that says it is an embarrassing act. People fear that donors will say no and they will be rejected. Questions such as, “What if I fail to raise the fundraising target?” plague many fundraisers. You also hear comments such as, “Fundraising is a Read more …
Growing a heart that gives
Biblical fundraising is transformational. It converts both the fundraiser and the donor. It blesses the one asking for the money and the one giving the money as they experience God’s provision and the joy of giving. In traditional fundraising, building donor relations is developed in order to keep the money Read more …
When should you fundraise?
The question “When should you fundraise?” can be answered by another question, “When do you need money?” The answer to that is this: you need money every day. You need money to pay administrative costs, utilities, program support and other operational expenses. Therefore, fundraising must be a whole-year activity. The Read more …