From Greg: Our calling to be fundraisers

Dear pastors and ministry leaders:

I have significant experience as a church pastor and the director of a non-profit ministry. In those roles, I’ve talked with many people about money and I’ve raised a lot of funds. Yet, perhaps like you, I’ve not thought of myself as a fundraiser.

As a principal leader in your church or ministry, you know your organization well, and that knowledge positions you to be a chief spokesperson in raising funds to help supply the financial needs of your organization. The goal of most of the articles in this issue of Equipper is to acquaint you with fundraising and to offer tips and tools to assist your fundraising efforts going forward.

When it comes to fundraising, there is a problem: most of us don’t like to talk about money! But are we aware that money is Jesus’ second most talked-about topic in the Gospels? (The first is the Kingdom of God.) I’m sure you’re aware that the Bible calls the love of money “a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10), but do you know it also calls money “the answer for everything” (Ecclesiastes 10:19)?

Like most of you reading this, I learned quickly that it takes money to do ministry. Knowing I was called to do ministry, I gradually learned to become comfortable talking about money. I encourage you to do the same. Here are two important things I’ve learned that I think will help you:

Understand the importance of “WHY”

Every congregation and ministry needs a clear understanding of the “why” of their calling. Every leader then needs to cast and recast a clear and compelling vision that addresses that “why.” The greater the clarity of that vision, the easier it will be to know where and how to expend ministry resources (treasure, time and talent). Clarity also enables leaders to effectively share the vision with others, as noted by Simon Sinek in this helpful TED talk:

As director of Metro Atlanta Youth for Christ, I inherited a three-headed program. We were attempting to engage teens on school campuses via after-school clubs. We worked with teen moms to help keep them in school and to strengthen their self-worth. And we sponsored a program for deaf students. Though all three programs had merit, trying to articulate with clarity what we were about was difficult. Our message was convoluted; watered-down. The director who replaced me five years ago recently shared that they have narrowed the organization’s focus and now are working exclusively with the after-school clubs (focused on middle-shoolers). Getting that focus has been liberating for the ministry and has brought clarity to their vision-casting. And that has led to more effective fundraising.

Knowing why we do what we do in ministry makes it much easier for us to ask others to participate through giving in the form of finances, donations of goods and services, and the giving of their own blood, sweat and tears.

Understand the power of networking

Who in your congregation knows the owner of a pizza restaurant who would gladly supply free pizzas for the occasional youth meeting? (When I ministered in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Tony was our guy.) Who knows the owner of a company who would gladly finance the purchase of sound equipment to be used in your congregation’s outreach? (Read the article in this issue from Tim Sitterley.) Who is connected with the local fire department? (Our congregation in Grove City, Ohio will be working with the fire department giving away smoke detectors and batteries—Pastor Jeff Broadnax knows the Fire Chief.) Also read the article in this issue from Sam Butler concerning how his congregation raised money for a food pantry. These are just a few of the ways GCI churches are involved in building relational networks within their focus communities in ways that lead to outreach and fundraising opportunities.

A marvelous example of focused vision and networking skill is Brandon Antwine, a GenMin camp director, and featured speaker at this year’s Converge West conference. In the video below, Brandon explains his ministry as a teacher who runs multiple after-school clubs for kids in the economically-challenged community where he grew up.

I have a question for you: If Jesus looked to you as one of his disciples, and said, “Go get a colt,” or “Go secure an upper room where we can share the Passover meal,” would you be able to make it happen? As a pastor or ministry leader in the 21st century, fundraising is a skill that is very much necessary in order to be active in the ministry that Jesus is doing. Fundraising involves securing the resources that are necessary to do what God has called you to do in your community. Surveying the congregation to know who your members know (their existing networks) is a good place to start. Couple that with crafting a clear vision, and you are well on your way to reaching out and giving others opportunity to participate with you in what God is doing in and through your church or ministry.

Would you like to learn more about fundraising? A good place to begin is to read The Spirituality of Fundraising in which author Henri Nouwen points out that fundraising is more about asking someone to participate than asking them to contribute. If you’d like to receive training in fundraising practices (that are effective and biblically sound), GCI Regional Pastor Randy Bloom leads cohorts (small groups) of leaders that meet online to learn together how to raise funds. If you’d like to be part of one of these cohorts, please email Randy at Randy.Bloom@gci.org.

May God bless your ministry through your fundraising efforts,

Greg Williams

Lessons learned about fundraising

by Pastor Sam Butler

Fundraising—it was the last thing I wanted to do! Asking people for money was, for me, like pulling teeth—painful and unpleasant.

That was how I felt until 12 years ago when the congregation I pastored in Michigan started a food pantry. We moved our meeting location with the intent of engaging a particular community. About six months after the move, we started the pantry in partnership with a large food bank in the area. They provided perishable items, and once a month we provided non-perishable personal care items.

We started slowly, serving only 25 families. We wanted to be able to
sustain what we had started. But demand was high, and it became apparent that we needed to grow. So we began looking outside the congregation for financial support—we had to involve ourselves in fundraising if we wanted to be successful. But by that time, something had changed drastically in our thinking. Fundraising no longer felt like pulling teeth. We had something we were passionate about—something that fit well our congregational giftedness; something that was making a real difference in the lives of needy families. We had a story to tell and
we felt empowered to invite others into that story, sharing the journey with us. So what had once felt painful and unpleasant, was now a joy-filled expression of our passion and purpose.

As we made contacts and told our story to many people outside our congregation, funds came in. As a result, we were able to increase the number of families served from 25 to 125. As the result of our networking, we received grants from institutions and gifts of cash from families, friends and former members. From area businesses we received both cash and products with which we re-stocked our pantry. Through our fundraising efforts, we were enabled to operate the ministry with about 90% of its cost funded by outside sources.

Lessons learned

Here are some of the lessons we learned along the way as we engaged our community in practical, caring ways:

Once we saw the value in what we were doing, participation and giving among our members increased. There was a heightened sense of purpose that changed how we viewed every aspect of the ministry. As a result, fundraising became something we did as a natural part of our ministry.
We found out quickly that people will give generously when they can clearly see value in what is being done, especially when people are helped.
When we struggled with manpower needs as we grew, we asked for help from our pantry recipients and they stepped up to help. When we engage in serving and caring for God’s children we have a greater sense of purpose and when we invite others in the community to join in, they experience the joy of that purpose as well.
Fundraising is all about an opportunity and privilege to participate in what Jesus is doing though our church, in the community. It should never be viewed as a mere chore.

These are some of the valuable lessons learned by some skeptics (of which I was chief). We are skeptics no more.

Fundraising through networking

by Pastor Tim Sitterley

You’ve probably had occasions when you answered a knock on your front door to find standing there a couple of well-dressed people holding religious literature in their hands. Through experiences like those you’ve probably learned that cold-call evangelism doesn’t work too well. Perhaps you’ve had similar bad experiences with cold-call fundraisers. But don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater”—there are biblically sound, effective ways to raise funds to support your church or ministry. Let me share what I have learned about a key aspect of fundraising: networking.

Over the years I’ve had several business owners offer financial support for a variety of ministry endeavors. With rare exceptions, I’ve not directly asked for contributions. What I’ve done is establish personal relationships that then include sharing various aspects of ministry and out-reach that I’m involved in. Yes, it does take time to establish a connection with your printer, or an attorney in the community, or even the owner of the auto repair shop you frequent. Perhaps it means joining the Chamber of Commerce (and actually attending!), or becoming a member of the local Kiwanis or Rotary club. Doing these things will pay off in ways that go far beyond raising funds.

An occasional cup of coffee here; sitting together at a chamber of commerce Business After Hours event there—before long you’ve developed a network of acquaintances who become your friends. Just as you become interested in what is happening in their lives, they become interested in what is important to you. A network based on true friendship is formed.

On one occasion, I shared with the owner of a printing company some of the financial challenges my worship team was facing due to antiquated equipment. That led him to ask this question: “What would it take to upgrade?” I responded that we were trying to scrape together seven grand. His response was, “I need a tax deduction or two. Why don’t you let me cover that for you?” On another occasion, showing excitement and sharing stories from our local GCI youth camp led to a thousand-dollar check showing up in the mail, unsolicited.

My favorite examples are the times when, rather than directly asking for support, I have asked people if they know of other business owners who might be willing to help with goods or services for some event we are hosting. More often than not, I come away with not only viable references, I also usually hear, “Let me help out as well.”

Establishing a network of relationships merely for the purpose of raising money is a bit like the predatory evangelism practiced by some churches. But when the friendships are real, the results often go far beyond the occasional check. As an example, the above mentioned owner of the printing company (who had not attended church in over 40 years) is now a member of my congregation. That’s far better than a check, any day!