Faith in Future Grace vs. Impatience - Ch. 13

Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.

"We count those blessed who endured" - James 5

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him." - Lamentations 3:25

In God's place, by God's pace, by God's grace...

Inadequate faith doubts the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of God's guidance.

Faith manifests a peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience.

Patience is the capacity to wait and to endure without murmuring and disillusionment - to wait in the unplanned place, and endure the unplanned pace.

If future grace extends into eternity, then we may understand patience in this life.

Patience is the evidence of an inner strength; Impatient people are weak, dependent on external circumstances.

Trust the power of God to turn all of your detours and obstacles into glorious outcomes.

"God sent me, God meant it for good" - Joseph reflecting on exile, imprisonment, slavery, and betrayal in Genesis 45:7 and 50:20.

Faith in future grace lays hold on the sovereign purpose of God to bring something magnificent to pass... this is the key to patience.

God's outcomes [goal], like those in the life of Job, are full of of compassion and mercy.  James 5:11

The servant of the Lord must not strive - Charles Simeon.  Faith and Patience.

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope"

Gary Coiro Sermons

John 14 Click Here

John 15 Click Here

John 17 Click Here

Matthew 23 Click Here

Matthew 28 Click Here

Luke 23 Click Here

Ephesians 5 [Light vs. Darkness] Click Here 

Ephesians 5 [Time & Priorities] Click Here

I Will Put My Law Within Them - ch. 12

The Commands of God are not negligible, but doable as the Spirit comes and works to strengthen our faith in future grace.

Obedience is tied to Love, which is tied to Faith.

When the law meets an unwilling heart of stone, it condemns. When that law is written on hearts softened by the Spirit, the result is LIFE.

OT Law contains both Moral laws which remain, and Ritual/National laws that no longer hold obligation.

Faith is the triumphant power by which the commandments of God are kept.

We do not make ourselves born again by deciding to believe.  God makes us willing to believe by causing us to be born again.  God initiates salvation, and thus gets all the credit and glory.

Faith in Christ is not just assenting to what God is for us, but also embracing Him in love.


Loving your enemy doesn't earn you heaven. Treasuring heaven empowers you to love your enemy.

Faith in Future Grace empowers us to Obey.... "joy set before Him, endured the cross".  Hebrews 12:2

James 2:14-26... True saving faith is effective in producing practical obedience to God.

James 1:5-8... Ask in faith [in future grace].

 

A Love Affair with God's Law - ch. 11

God's Law was always making the case for a faith that was evidenced by righteousness.

OT demands the obedience of faith in future grace.

Deut 10:13 - keep commandments for your good. - they are blessings, not burdens.

Commands - make wise the simple, restore the soul, enlighten the eyes... more desirable than gold [Psalm 19:7-10]

Exodus 19 - God carried them with grace before he commanded them for their good.

For most of them, the effectual power of transforming grace was not given.  Deficient because it was not accompanied with inner, transforming, enabling divine power.

The root of disobedience is unbelief in God's future grace. 

All righteousness is not filthy rags, it is precious to God and is required, not as the ground of our justification, but as an evidence of our being truly justified.

Psalm 32 - human righteousness

God has a very big heart and very high standards, he is easy to please and hard to satisfy.

Hebrews 11 - Faith in future hope produced obedience.

Four Pillars of a Precious Promise - ch. 9

"all things to work together... called according to His purpose [presdestined]... conformed"

God pledges future grace will make everything beneficial.

Romans 8:28 is a promise built on the foundation of 4 pillars.  If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mt. Everest.  Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28.

The chain of verses 29 and 30 cannot be broken...

The call is effective, it creates what it commands.  No like "Brownie, come here"; but, like "Lazarus, come forth".  The call is infallibly effective because of God's sovereign power.

The call is not a mere invitation to people with the power of self-determination.  The call is an act of creation in people who are spiritually dead.

Foundation:  Election, Predestination, Effectual calling, Justification.  Great halls of the Building:  Romans 8:28 - God will cause all things to work together for our good.

The Solid Logic of Heaven - ch. 8

Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, ..... will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"

Psalm 84:11 "No good thing does [God] withhold..."

2 parts of verse 32 of Romans 8 - The foundation [the hard thing of not sparing His son], and the promise [the easy thing of freely giving us all things].

"His father killed Him" for us all, on our behalf... 2 Cor 5:21

Puritan pastor John Flavel, "He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" [Rom 8:32].  How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spirituals or temporals, from his people?  How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally?  How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them?  Surely if he would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, once circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them."

Looking Back for the Sake of the Future - Ch. 7

Lord, you are wise... powerful...merciful... Amen is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.

Confidence in someone's future reliability is grounded in a history of past faithfulness.

the Holy Spirit is called a down payment; there is so much more future grace yet to come; an he is the guarantee of it.  [Eph 1:14]

You Can't Take It With You...

Counting Forever

In the inaugural issue of the newsletter A Higher Purpose, published by the Great Commission Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ president Steve Douglass says, “Frankly one thing that doesn’t count forever is wealth that is left over at the end of our lives, wealth unused in any worthy cause whatsoever. From a biblical point of view, you see that some day, eventually the end will come. As we read 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the earth will be burned up, there will be nothing left — just an ash heap. On that day, in the midst of all these ash heaps, the only thing a wealthy person will be able to say to a poor person is, ‘Oh look! My ash heap is bigger than your ash heap!’ Not significant!”

As we strive for significance, it is wholly appropriate that we should call others to significance as well, to join us in the quest, to make something of eternal value during our earthly lifetime.



* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.

Faith in Future Grace vs. Pride - ch. 6

C.S. Lewis - "The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching.  If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch.  As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither but have everything else instead."

Jeremiah 9:23 - 24  "...boast of this... understands and knows Me, ...lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness... delight in these things"

Humility can only survive in the presence of God.  We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded.

Belief is not merely an agreement, is is also an appetite...  More than what we think, but what we drink...

God's competitors are our wisdom, might and riches [Jer. 9:23]... Our intelligence, our strength, our material resources.

Pride is an issue of whee your satisfaction is... what you are trusting in for your future.

Look away from your own resources and rest in God.

God's reality is overwhelmingly intrusive.  "If the Lord wills..." [James 4:13-17]

Weak pride = self pity... The wounded ego wishes to be viewed as  a hero, not as helpless.  Self pity comes from a sense of unrecognized worthiness, and not a sense of unworthiness.

Freedom from anxiety in trusting someone else who is wiser and stronger - cast cares on Him, He cares!

The Freest of God's Acts - ch. 5

Grace is free because God would not be the infinite, self-sufficient God he is if he were constrained by anything outside himself.

Future grace is that grace that carries me from this moment on.

Grace and mercy are fused together, every act of one is also an act of the other.

Grace is goodness toward the one who sins, and mercy is goodness toward the one who suffers / misery.

Pain seems to constrain mercy, but guilt does not seem to constrain grace... looks more free.

If God's grace is his natural response to sin, it is owing entirely to something amazing in God, not in the constraining power of sin.

Suffering constrains pity; but sin kindles anger - not grace - therefore, grace toward sinners is the freest of all God's acts.

Grace is occasionally conditional - though you have not earned the gift, but you met a condition [also a work of God's grace].  Add Ephesians 2:8,9 - the faith is a gift, meeting the condition for grace to save.

Exodus 33:19 - "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious" - to be God is to be free.

God does not look outside his own will for an impulse to move his grace.

Free grace produces life.  We were dead and unresponsive before God acted unconditionally.  Dead people cannot meet conditions, there must be a totally unconditional and utterly free act of God to save them.

What act could be more one-sidedly free and non-negotiated than one person raising another from the dead?

See Ephesians 1:4-6 - Unconditionally chosen before the foundation of the world - predestined.

Eph 2:6-7 "...in the ages to come....His grace....toward us"  Most of the grace toward us lies in the future.

God's freedom nullifies the power of pride [next chapter].

The Life That's Left is Future Grace - Ch. 4

The life I now live, I live by faith - Gal. 2:20

If He leaves me with memories only, and not the promise of more, I will be undone.

Paul begins and ends all 13 NT letters with "Grace to you" and "grace be with you"... To you through this letter, with you as you go forward to obey it.  So, Paul seeks to bless them with grace that is to come to them, and remain with them.

Every glance backward sparks gratitude for bygone grace; every look forward casts the soul onto faith in future grace.

No one became a Christian without past grace, and no one can be a Christian moment by moment without future grace.

Faith in future grace gives us:  Strength of Heart, Endurance in Suffering [grace supplied in the circle of another grace denied], Love.

We live moment by moment from the strength of future grace; if it were not there, we would perish.

Faith in Future Grace vs. Anxiety - ch. 3

When I am afraid, I put my trust in Thee.  Psalm 56:3.  Note: "When".  The Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties.  Mark 9:24, "I do believe!  Help my unbelief!"

Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.  1 Peter 5:7

My choice: Be desperately dependent [on Word and Spirit], or be independently desperate.

Anxiety is a condition of the heart - inadequate faith, and can provoke many sinful actions and attitudes.

We fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace.... by, meditating on God's assurances [Word] of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.

Matthew 6:25-34 - Seven Promises for Meditation in the face of anxiety.

Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you, with My victorious right hand"

2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness"

Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you"

Romans 8:31 "If God is for us, who is against us!"

Phil 1:6 "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ"

Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief.... using the Word and asking for the Spirit.

When Gratitude Malfunctions - Ch. 2

Let us not say that grace creates debts; let us say that grace pays debts.

Past grace is glorified by intense and joyful gratitude.  Future grace is glorified by intense and joyful confidence.

Faith empowers us for venturesome obedience, it is the source of radical, risk-taking, kingdom-seeking obedience.

It is natural to embrace a mindset of repayment - but the only debt that grace creates is the 'debt' of relying on more grace for all that God calls us to be and do.

Christian obedience is the work of faith, and not the work of gratitude.

If the impulses of gratitude slip over into the debtor's ethic, grace soon ceases to be grace.  If we see acts of obedience as installment payments, we make grace into a mortgage.

We glory in past grace through gratitude, and we bank our future, by faith, on the inexhaustible flow of future grace.

Cry Out in the "Surprise"

This week, I will be surprised.

Life is fluid. Change is thrust upon us. Part of who you are in Christ is how you react to surprises.

Just when I think I’ve got everything figured out, something changes.

And that happens just about every day!

We look at a river, and it seems to flow along exactly the same route day after day, year after year. But in reality, the route of the river is always changing. The hardness of the rock that forms the channel, or the wind direction and velocity, nudge the water-flow against the edges of the channel. Gradually the pressure carves out a new route.

Or — suddenly — a tree falls, or a boulder tumbles down a mountain, and the water is forced to re-route instantly.

In any event, the pressure is constant, the change is constant, and our inability to prevent it is constant!

As ministry leaders, we tend to want to control events. We want to minimize risk, maximize positive potential — chart the course, see it through, celebrate success. It’s not a “power trip”; it’s passion for the mission!

But even so, it’s hopeless. The river is shifting its course. The lay of the land is different every day. A worker moves away; a terrorist act makes donors quit giving; another ministry pops up and somehow overlaps your mission.

How will I react to the surprises?

Dr. Darryl DelHousaye of Phoenix Seminary says the way to tell what’s really inside a Christian is to bump him and see what spills out. When someone yells “Surprise!”, what do I yell back?

Change is often — maybe even usually — painful. But pain is the most effective growth device in the world. The apostle Paul observes in Romans 5:3,4 that we can “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” He’s mapping out the ideal spiritual growth curve of the Christ-follower’s life. To make me more like Christ, more like God’s ideal for me, he starts with a secret ingredient: pain!

The challenge of change has an equally potent side-effect: It more or less forces us to keep turning back to God for direction. When Jesus in Luke 18 tells the parable of the pushy widow and the unjust judge, he holds up the ideal of talking with God about our problems “day and night.” Jesus isn’t giving us carte blanche. The promise of this parable is for his followers who are willing to “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1), “who cry out to him day and night” (Luke 18:7).

Ministry leadership is a wonderful source of pain, because it’s more than just new: It’s ever-new. It’s a constant source of the character-building pain of change! (Somebody say “Hooray.”) This week, someone will yell “Surprise!” I need to be ready to “cry out” to God — not just with a yelp for help in that first moment of shock, but “day and night”!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... God, please fill me up with your Spirit, so fully that when I’m bumped this week, it will be your Spirit that people see spilling out! Amen.

1 Peter 4:12-13
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

The Debtor's Ethic - Chapter 1

If gratitude is twisted into a sense of debt, it gives birth to the debtor's ethic - and the effect is to nullify grace.

The debtor's ethic, argued against as biblical, is an effort to pay back the debt we owe to God.

Many OT examples were given as to lack of faith vs. ingratitude being a reason for sin.

The argument seems to be that motivating power between past grace and future obedience was not past oriented gratitude, but future oriented faith. 

"fear the Lord" means "fear the terrible insult it would be to God if you do not trust his gracious promises of power and wisdom on your behalf."  It is to tremble at the awareness of what a terrible insult it is to a holy God if we do not have faith in his future grace after all the signs and wonders he has performed to win our obedient trust.

Looked for reference in the chapter/book to this verse... Ponder Romans 12: 1  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.   Is not the obedient presentation of ourselves a consequence of reflective gratitude on the former mercies of God?



Gratitude sends its impulses of delight into faith in future grace.  "Embrace more of these benefits for the future, so that my happy work of looking back on God's deliverance may continue."

Faith turns from contemplating the pleasures of past grace and starts contemplating the promises of the future.

Valley of Vision

The Valley of Vision 


Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Future Grace reflections from Intro #2

The faith that justifies also sanctifies

Faith, which is alone the means through which pardoning grace justifies, is also the faith through which empowering grace sanctifies.

Faith alone justifies, but the faith that justifies is not alone... it is accompanied by deeds rooted in love, rising from our new affections.

Good works are an evidence of authentic faith - James 2:18, proving saving faith, not producing salvation.

Justifying faith is also sanctifying faith - Gal 5:6 "faith working through love"

Those who have experienced saving faith, will experience a new appetite for completing deeds done in love.

Justification is an act of God's reckoning [righteous as Christ]; sanctification is an act of God's transforming [becoming Christ-like in values and mind].

Justifying faith is not only a trusting in the past grace of God, but also in the future grace of God, secured by the past grace of Christ's death and resurrection.

Faith is not mere intellectual assent [demons believe - James 2:19], but is also a vital heartfelt satisfaction with God.  A sigh of relief and rest.... total trust.

Future Grace reflections from Intro #1

We shall bring our Lord most glory if we get from Him much Grace - Charles Spurgeon

Prizing is the authenticating essence of Praising - John Piper

Sin is what we do when our hearts are not satisfied with God - John Piper

Behind most wrong living is wrong thinking.

Could it be that gratitude for bygone grace has been pressed to serve as the power for holiness, which only faith in future grace was designed to perform?

The essence of faith is the deep satisfaction with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus, beginning now.

Thomas Chalmers' aim was to displace from the human heart its love for the world by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment.

John Piper's aim is to emancipate human hearts from servitude to the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Hang On!

There is a cliff of abundance, with lush fields.  I want to reside on that cliff, and I long for the day when I am placed there... but, for now, I am dangling just off the cliff - over the abyss of despair.  I am white knuckling the rope of love - held and provided by God, and preserving me in perfect peace.  How long Lord, until you complete this season, and find it in your abundant mercy and grace, to settle me on fields of abundance - far away from the threat of despair?  Let me rejoice in renewed purpose, calling, love, and praise.

Ministry is about Relationships

This week, I will renew relationships.

God values long-term relationship. This is the essence of biblical community.

There’s nothing quite like ministry to challenge relationships.

I know God has called me; I have a God-given vision — so I naturally feel strongly about the tasks that make up my mission.

Which means that when someone disagrees, my instincts won’t tend toward listening quietly, responding gently, loving warm-heartedly. No. My instincts will tend toward outrage! Disgust! Righteous indignation!

Spend a few years in ministry, and you’ll probably have numerous opportunities for grudge-holding ... and possibly even a few die-hard enemies. Or at least a short list of people you’re not speaking to.

But God seems to value my relationships even more than he values the tasks I’m accomplishing in the course of my ministry. There’s very little in the Bible promoting hit-and-run relationships. Hebrews 13:1 says, in the New International Version, “Keep on loving each other as brothers.” In the old days it was translated, “Let brotherly love continue.” In the original Greek, the word is meno — keep on — continue. It’s an ongoing concept.

In John 13:33,34, Jesus said very directly, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Interestingly, he didn’t say people would recognize our discipleship by the accomplishment of our God-given vision for ministry. Indeed, if I have to choose between succeeding in ministry and succeeding in relationships, Christ’s priority is success in relationships!

The high value that God places on community should inspire me to go beyond the repairing of broken relationships; I need to take the initiative in finding ways to encourage long-term relationships. What is my ministry’s relationship turnover ratio? The people I serve with in ministry — my fellow-workers, our volunteers, donors and supporters — how frequently are people quitting, getting tired, feeling burned-out, drifting away? Are there ways I could make workers feel more loved ... or make donors feel more appreciated ... or make volunteers feel more valuable?

It is literally true — more than just a cliché — that my ministry would not be the same without the specific individuals who are involved in it right now. 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, “in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Each worker, volunteer, and donor is making a very real difference. They are as certainly “called by God” to my ministry as I am!

How can I express love to them this week?

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... God, help me to love the people I work with, and the people who make my ministry possible. And guide me specifically — even if it seems uncomfortable to me — into a renewal with someone whose relationship with me has been broken. Bring healing, by the power of your love; and use me, however you see fit, to be an agent of that healing. Amen.

Grab Donor's Attention Quickly

From “Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog.”

Mark Rovner points out in a recent blog post, “Our brains evolved long ago to strain through the billions of sensory inputs for a few morsels of relevant info. If we can’t eat it, mate with it, or run away from it, we ignore it.”

In other words, if we know what’s coming, and it’s not critical to our survival, we don’t care.
That means you can’t start that appeal with the same old, same old, same old.  Your first lines really matter.  If they don’t grab you,they don’t matter.  I have always spent the most time on the first line of everything I’ve written – from the time I was a journalist to today.  That’s time well spent.

Are your first lines fresh?  If they aren’t, don’t despair.  My favorite writing trick is to delete the first paragraph of any piece of writing.  I’ve recommended this for so many organizations. Take look – is it better when you skip the part that was you, warming up?  Cut to the chase.  The pursuit of what comes next is what keeps us reading.

Always Working to Gain NEW Friends

The importance of “New Name Acquisition”

Many ministry leaders want to believe that their work is so exciting that people automatically want to get involved with it. Some feel constrained just to let God bring across their path whatever new donors He desires for them. But this wasn’t the pattern Jesus promoted: He was an activist recruiter. “Follow me,” He told His disciples-to-be. He found the paralytic in the temple. When He was looking to make an impact on people, He went where they were, He got in their faces. You, too, must work at acquiring new friends for your ministry. The art of “new name acquisition” or “prospecting” is as essential to the future of your ministry as brushing is to the future of your teeth. Ministries that don’t prospect dwindle. Don’t let this happen to you and your ministry.

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, The Seven Deadly Diseases of Ministry Marketing: Confessions of a Christian Fundraiser.

Supervision / Management Tips

From the NPT…

Many supervisors view their jobs as making sure they oversee as many cringing peons, grateful to hang on to their jobs no matter how wretched, as possible. It’s the American way in 2012, isn’t it?
Carlye Christianson, senior counsel and director of special projects for the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, doesn’t think so. She sees supervision as overseeing productivity and progress, in addition to coaching and mentoring. She sees low morale, poor performance and increased turnover as problems. Go figure.
During a recent Risk Management and Finance Summit for Nonprofits, Christianson reviewed the power of supervision (as she envisions it). For example, she offered her 10 keys to effective supervision:

• Provide support for development;
• Establish an open-door policy and one-on-one meetings;
• Praise and encourage;
• Set high expectations;
• Require accountability;
• Ensure understanding and buy-in to mission and vision;
• Instill independence;
• Share;
• Create ownership; and,
• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses.

She also reviewed common supervision mistakes:

• Supervising too closely;
• Failing to keep employees informed;
• Failing to connect employees with the organization’s mission (or “soul”);
• Failing to listen;
• Ignoring team dynamics; and,
• Failing to be available.

In addition, Christianson talked about performance management, not just supervising, but getting the most out of everyone.

• Allow employees to develop to full potential;
• Allow the organization to have informed and accurate information regarding career development, training needs, etc.; and,
• Develop information in a setting that allows employees to not be defensive and to respond favorably to feedback.

A Prayer about Jesus’ Desire for Us and Delight in Us

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2012/08/12/a-prayer-about-jesus-desire-for-us-and-delight-in-us/

A Wonderful Devotional Prayer about Jesus’ Desire for Us and Delight in Us

Thank Donors

Katya's top 10 for thanking donors...

1. KNOW YOUR DONOR: Capture information on how your donors gave and what appeal they are supporting.  Did they give in response to a special appeal or at an event?  Were they asked to donate by one of your donor champions who was running a race to raise money for your cause?  You need these details to properly thank and cultivate them.

2. ALWAYS THANK YOUR DONORS: Always.  No exceptions.

3. THANK THEM EARLY: You should thank your donors within a few days of their gift. 

4. THANK THEM OFTEN:  Thank your donors several times, over time, and keep reporting back on the difference they have made.

5. THANK THEM ACCURATELY: Make sure you have correctly spelled the donor’s name, stated the amount and date of the donation, included appropriate language for tax deductions and carefully note if the gift was made in honor of someone else.

6. EXPRESS GRATITUDE: Say how pleased and thankful you were to get the donation.

7. FOCUS ON EMOTION: Tell a short, wonderful story or use a specific example that shows what the donor is making possible.  This is important so all donors feel great – and donors new to your cause grasp what it really means.  You want to tug at the heartstrings and bring your mission to life.  Some fun ideas: Take photos of your work and slip one of those into a mailed card.  Have a beneficiary write the thank-you email.

8. GIVE THE DONOR CREDIT: Your communications to your donors should use the word “you” a lot more than the word “we.”  Give your donors credit for what you do in every piece of outreach.  Be constantly on the lookout for ways to recognize your donors – in your annual report, on your website and at your events.

9. BE SPECIFIC ABOUT IMPACT: Make very clear how you will use the money and tie that impact back to the solicitation that was sent.  If you sent an appeal to save puppies, talk about how many puppies you will save!

10. MAKE IT PERSONAL: In addition to addressing the donor by name, you want to sign the appeal from a real person.  No “dear friend” or “dear supporter” salutations and no nameless signatories!  We recommend you get creative with who “signs” your electronic and mailed letters – a board member, a volunteer, a beneficiary can add significance to your acknowledgement.

Affirm Donors

Acknowledgement...

“How exactly should you or your ministry representative actually go about presenting the organization’s case to a donor and asking for the donation? After years of working with major donors, we have come to believe strongly in a four-phase approach to major donors: acknowledgment, trust building, presenting the case for support, and the ask. The sequence is important. Most significantly, these phases keep the donor’s needs, interests, and values in view at all times.

Phase 1: acknowledgement. The foundation of your relationship with a donor, like the foundation of your relationship with any friend, is what we call ‘acknowledgement.’ In your interactions with this person, you acknowledge his value as a human being by giving attention to his life, his activities, his opinions, his values. You also acknowledge a donor’s generosity. Affirm the role he has already played in the ministry. Gratitude and appreciation are core to the relationship. You also need to acknowledge that the donor’s time is valuable. It’s a sacrifice for a donor with significant resources to take time out for interaction with you or a ministry rep. When you send a message of genuine thanks for the donor’s time, you begin to build credibility with him.”

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out my friend Tim Smith's book which develops this 4 phase approach:  Donors Are People Too: Managing Relationships With Your Ministry’s Major Contributors.

This week, I will consciously give my work to God.

Excellence is a godly virtue, not just an old saying. If you try to do ministry “on the cheap,” you’ll forfeit ministry opportunities.

How fancy? How plain? Should my ministry look like a Broadway production? Or a humble storefront outpost?

The slaves of Colosse — a declining Turkish city in the days of Paul the apostle — could have been excused for doing shoddy work for their masters, who were by and large corrupt pagans or carnal Christians. Paul nevertheless admonished them to strive for excellence. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,” he said in Colossians 3:23, “as working for the Lord, not for men.”

A carpenter-slave, then, should assemble a chair the way he would assemble it if Christ himself might walk through the door for a spot-check at any moment.

A chef-slave should cook a meal — even for the crankiest customer — as if Jesus were sitting at the table.
Likewise for those of us in ministry. (Sometimes we feel like slaves, don’t we!) If Jesus were at the planning table … if Jesus were in the congregation … if Jesus were going to check my work later … how would I do it right now?

So then, how should my ministry “look,” or “feel”? There’s no correct answer to the “plain or fancy” question. One person is led by the Spirit of God to present a modest, simple product, sensing keenly that this will please the Lord. The next person is led by the same Spirit to present a fabulous marvel — with the same confidence that this is exactly what Jesus will delight in.

The common denominator is hearing from God … and pursuing that God-given vision with fervor, insisting on excellence within the parameters of God’s dream for my ministry.

People have different tastes, and they tend to gravitate toward ministries with tastes similar to their own. But regardless of taste, people respond to excellence — to the sensation that someone cared enough to give an effort their best. The excellent program you produced for radio or television, the excellent church service you prepared for Sunday morning, the excellent spreadsheet you presented at the ministry marketing meeting … each one makes the unspoken statement: “I did this for my Lord.” And that level of quality — the passion for God that generated it — draws people. It’s uncommon in our world. People notice. And the one they notice isn’t me … it’s Jesus.

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days… God, I give you my work. I give you my ministry. Help me to see the face of Jesus in those I’m serving. Inspire me to give you my best; strengthen me for the sake of offering you something excellent, something worthy of you. I thank you, my Father. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.


Colossians 3:22-24
‘Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’

Giving produces JOY

Joy In Giving

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,” 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “for God loves a cheerful giver.”

People don’t give primarily out of guilt. They give out of emotion, out of passion. There’s joy in giving. This is no longer just fundraising theory. It’s scientifically-documented fact. The Economist 10/12/06 says, “When it comes to anonymous benevolence, directed to causes that, unlike people, can give nothing in return, what could motivate a donor? The answer, according to neuroscience, is that it feels good.” Subjects of a study were given $128 each and told to donate anonymously to any of a number of charities. Researchers “found that the part of the brain that was active when a person donated happened to be the brain’s reward centre — the mesolimbic pathway, to give it its proper name — responsible for doling out the dopamine-mediated euphoria associated with sex, money, food, and drugs. Thus the warm glow that accompanies charitable giving has a physiological basis.... Donating also engaged the part of the brain that plays a role in the bonding behaviour between mother and child, and in romantic love. This involves oxytocin, a hormone that increases trust and co-operation.”

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.

Morning Dedication

Almighty God, as I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to Thy care. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me. Incline my heart to thy ways. Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay. May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Thy praise. Let those around see me living by Thy Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armour of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings.  Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain. In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upwards in flames of fire, my gaze fixed on unseen things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities. May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth. Order this day all my communications according to Thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day. In Jesus name, Amen. 

[from Valley of Vision] http://www.oldlandmarks.com/puritan.htm#Morning%20Dedication

A Son Given to the Lord

1 Samuel 1:20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

I have 2 sons.  They are a gift to me, and they belong to the Lord.  What if God entrusted 3 sons to me? What if Samuel was given to me right between my 2 boys?  I can learn much from a Hannah-type.  Like my 2 sons, it would be a joy to pray for this child, give him to the Lord, and imagine him worshiping there.

Life Can Be Messy - Love Paves The Way to Victory

The enmeshed relationships we get ourselves into can be quite messy.  This story, from selected verses in Genesis, exposes deceptive hearts, competing relationships, and sacrificial love.  Let's learn to live with integrity, liberate those we love from competition by providing a love that secures, and deny ourselves in our love for others.  Who knows, perhaps a Joseph will emerge.

Gen 29:16  Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Gen 29:17  Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.
Gen 29:18  Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."
Gen 29:19  Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me."
Gen 29:20  So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
Gen 29:21  Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
Gen 29:22  So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.
Gen 29:23  But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her.
Gen 29:25  When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
Gen 29:26  Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.
Gen 29:27  Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."
Gen 29:28  And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
Gen 29:30  Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Gen 30:22  Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.
Gen 30:23  She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."
Gen 30:24  She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."
Gen 46:19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.



Observations:

• It is a messy thing to have 2 women in your life
• The first woman may conspire and deceive to take advantage of you, and your resources
• The second woman, the one who owns your heart, is worth working for - even for 7 years.
• The fruit of a loving relationship may be a great leader - Joseph
• When all is said and done, the man may walk with a limp [Jacob]- yet be blessed by God
• The man may be transformed in the process from a deceiver to a limping lover - broken, yet close to God

Considerations:

• Do you see yourself in the story?
• Are you a Jacob, needing to shed the comparison with your burly brother Esau?
• Are you content to wrestle with God for a long period, and accept that it may change you forever?
• Will you work for your Rachel?
• Will you hope in the fruit of such a love, investing together in a Joseph initiative?
• Will Rachel rest in the love of her Jacob, or compare herself with the attributes of others? 

 "We're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday.” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Management Questions

The Management Fix Tools for Busy Managers

Great post from The Management Center – check it out and subscribe… http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d14f6e75581b6d76530f3d084&id=f27edc3bf8&e=e9bf5bd673

Hello friends,

We recently received this question from a reader:

I do regular check-ins with my staff members, but I don’t always feel like they help me understand what’s really going on and what problems might be on the horizon. For instance, today I was talking with an employee who’s working to launch a new training program. She says that all the planning is going fine, but how do I know that it really is?

Check-ins often won’t be nearly as helpful as they should if you don’t ask the right questions. What you want to do in these meetings isn’t just run down a list of project updates, but ask questions that will get beneath the surface so that you really understand what’s going on.

Here are the best questions that we’ve found to help do that.

The 3 Best Questions to Get Beneath the Surface

1. What makes you say that?

This is a good follow-up to all kind of statements — from “things are going fine” to “The venue seems like they’re not going to budge on the price.” The idea is that you don’t just want the surface statement — you want what lies behind the surface statement, and this question gets at that.

2. What do you think?

If a staff member isn’t sure how to handle a problem or move forward on a project, before you suggest a path to try, ask this question first. You might learn that your staff member suggests that solution herself — or a better one.

3. What are you most worried about?

This question can open to door to all kinds of information and concerns that you might never hear about otherwise. You might think that staff members will tell you their worries without being asked — but many won’t.

… And 15 – Yes, 15! – More

In addition to the three questions above, here are 15 more than you can use to get beneath the surface:

• What one or two things would make this week a success for you?
• How do you know you’re on track?
• How are you checking to make sure that’s working?
• How are you handling X [a specific element]? 
• What seems to be working well?  Why do you think that’s working?
• What could go wrong?
• Have you thought about what you’ll do if Y happens?
• What’s most important out of all those things?
• What kind of data do we have to inform how that’s working?
• Roughly how much of your time are you spending on that?
• What’s your timeline for that?
• Can you give me a specific example of that? 
• Can we take one specific instance and talk through how you’re approaching it?
• Can we role-play what that might look like?
• What other options did you consider?

Try some of these questions at your next check-in, and see if you don’t find the conversation more substantive and the meeting more useful.

Big Fundraising Gala or Small Event?

Posted on July 16, 2012

from benevon.com, an excellent school fundraising strategy…
Time for a Smaller Ask Event?
Has your annual Ask Event become a burden? Does it seem like nearly as much work as putting on your former gala or auction? Here’s a radical thought: maybe it’s time to focus on quality, not quantity, and significantly reduce the size of your next Ask Event.
Consider the number one measure of a successful Benevon Free One-Hour Ask Event: At least 40% of the people in attendance must have attended a Point of Entry in the prior year. When was the last time your group met that benchmark?
Next, consider this measure from our Sustainable Funding Scorecard: 10% of Ask Event guests join your Multiple-Year Giving Society (pledging at least $1,000 for five years) newly each year. When was the last time that ten out of every 100 guests at your Ask Event joined your Giving Society at one of these levels?
If you are not meeting both of these benchmarks, it’s time to reduce the size of your Ask Event. The ideal Ask Event you are aiming for has 200-300 guests.
As an example of how this problem can happen gradually over time, we work with an organization that had gotten so carried away with having their Ask Event be the biggest one in town that they had lost sight of the real objective. Their event had grown to nearly 700 people. Although they met our official formula for Ask Event success (a 700-person event would generate at least $350,000 in gifts and pledges), it was largely due to the Leadership Gift from the same corporate donor every year for $200,000. That meant their 700 people actually gave only $150,000, far less than the formula calls for. Likewise, they added only eight new donors to their Multiple-Year Giving Society.
The purpose of the Ask Event is to grow your Multiple-Year Giving Society significantly, annually, so as to have a larger pool of donors to cultivate and grow and to draw from for larger major gift, capital, and endowment campaigns. The purpose of the Ask Event is NOT to put on a great feel-good event to thank and reconnect with your donors. The purpose of the Ask Event is to harvest the newly ripened fruit, namely the guests who attended your Point of Entry Events in the year leading up to each Ask Event.
Here’s what I recommend to get your organization’s implementation of the Benevon Model back on track:

• Bite the bullet and cut your Ask Event back from 700 people (in this example) to 250-300 people.
• Do an analysis of how much more money was given at your last Ask Event, on average, by people who had attended a Point of Entry in the year prior to the Ask Event versus those who hadn’t. You will probably be surprised at the difference.
• As you call last year’s Table Captains, share your results with them.
  • Tell them that the event is not raising the money it needs to raise, largely because you are focusing on quantity over quality. As wonderful as the event was, it has veered away from its original purpose—to ask well-cultivated donors to make five-year pledges to join your Giving Society. It has become more of a social gathering for long-time supporters of the organization.
  • Tell them the statistics about the average gift size from those who had attended recent Points of Entry versus those who hadn’t.
  • Tell them that you are changing the process for next year, so as to allow your team to focus on adding more long-term donors and free up time for cultivating the donors you now have in your Multiple-Year Giving Society.
  • Tell them you will be offering two special Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events in the next year for your loyal donors (including those who attend the Ask Event more as a social event now).
• Rather than recruiting Table Captains a few weeks before your Ask Event, expecting them to fill a table of ten, focus on recruiting passionate Ambassadors who will follow through and have at least ten people attend Points of Entry in the year prior to the Ask Event. About eight to ten weeks prior to the Ask Event, invite those Ambassadors to become Table Captains and encourage them to invite their Point of Entry guests to sit at their tables.
• To get started recruiting Ambassadors, go back to the Table Captains from your most recent Ask Event and ask each of them to host a Point of Entry. They could invite the people who sat at their table at your most recent Ask Event, yet who had never attended a Point of Entry Event.
• Aim for 80% ripened fruit at your next Ask Event, not 40%. There will be attrition. 40% is your absolute minimum.
• When it comes time for them to invite people to their Ask Event tables, supplement their guest lists with any additional Point of Entry guests who may not otherwise have someone to sit with.
• In the meantime, get back to basics with your own Points of Entry. Set a goal of finding one new Ambassador during your Follow-Up Calls from every Point of Entry Event. Keep using your Treasure Map to identify groups of people who would naturally want to learn more about your organization.
• Be sure to secure your Leadership or Challenge Gift just like you did last year. Going into your next Ask Event, knowing you have that large gift in hand will give you confidence—and inspire additional giving from the 40% or more of your well-cultivated audience.

Finally, imagine having a 200-person Ask Event with 80% Ripened Fruit. That would be a good use of everyone’s time! Focus on the ripened fruit percentage, not the total number of guests in attendance.
If your emphasis is on having the biggest event in town, you have deviated from the Benevon Model.

Donors and Prayer

Prayer power

Donors are tuned in to the power of prayer. Many think of their prayers for the ministry as a significant part of their support for the ministry. The oft-repeated concept of “your prayers and giving” is not an empty cliché with these donors. They take it seriously. If anything, our communications with donors need to reinforce the importance, the value, of their prayers in support of the ministry. After asking donors to pray with the ministry about a certain need, share the outcomes — the answers to prayer — in a newsletter or other communication device.

But prayer can go in the opposite direction, too — toward the donor. We have seen donor relationships dramatically strengthened when a ministry establishes a strategy of what we call “prayer bonding.” The organization begins with whatever portion is affordable of their donors who have given more than once in the past 12 months. Break this list into 12 monthly segments (or 52 weekly segments if that works better). Distribute the names among staff members, with instructions to pray for these donors on a monthly (or weekly) basis, perhaps in a staff meeting. In that month (or week), send a letter to those donors — a smallish, perhaps monarch-sized letter, with no request for a gift — thanking them for the difference they are making for and through the ministry, and letting them know that you prayed for them. Enclose no reply device or reply envelope.

Check out, The Disappearing Donor: Where Your Ministry's Lapsed Givers Went, and Why .

Assessment Time

 Lamenations 3:40
A Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.

This week, I will have the courage to re–assess.

Do you still hold today exactly the same beliefs that you held ten years ago?

“Always.” We like that word. “I’ve always believed...”

We’re fond of the idea of rock-solid values. We believe in sticking to our guns, holding fast to our beliefs.

But the practical fact is ... Life is fluid. Our values will actually shift over time. I can’t foresee the challenges that my standards will undergo in the days ahead. Many of our values are actually birthed out of unforeseen conflicts and challenges.

Solomon, wise as he was, discovered this himself. “When times are good, be happy,” he wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:14; “but when times are bad, consider: ... A man cannot discover anything about his future.”

Parents deal with this phenomenon. They map out a standard for their family, then find out that their child got into a situation that their family standard doesn’t really cover. So they morph the standard — only to find that some new surprise occurs!

Each of us establishes many of our values “on the run,” simply by responding to challenges as they occur. In each case, I make the right call, or the wrong call. Afterward, I feel good about it, or I feel crummy. I need time to think about it, talk to God about it, hear from God about it, assess my position on it. Out of the crucible of surprise, my values gradually emerge. But a solidified value still encounters new surprises and challenges ... so I find myself continually re-assessing.

Re-assessment isn’t a sign of weakness or sin. Indeed, it’s healthy. As we lead and serve in God’s Kingdom, we need to continually scrutinize our organizational values, taking a spiritual stethoscope to the heart of our ministry. God has wired us to handle issues and inspect them as one handles a beautiful, complicated piece of jewelry — holding it up to the light, considering the flaws, considering the potential, and counting the cost. Examination and re-examination of our standards, our values, are intrinsic to our human condition.

So when I find myself doubting my own values, I need to “go with” that instinct. Ask questions. Probe deeply. Question my motives, my perspectives. Get to the bottom of it. Did I think something was important some time ago, when I established that value — but it’s really not that important anymore?

As I talk to God and listen to God ... as we “kick the tires” of my ministry’s values ... as we journey together in intimate conversation ... I’ll learn God’s heart for my ministry. And that, I’ll discover, will be continually fresh and new!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... Father, let me hear your heart every day. Let me be solid, but not solidified — I want to be pliable in your hands. Give me whatever fresh, new thing you want me to have, and help me to be flexible as you teach me and grow me. Amen

Email Techniques for Donor Communication

People who work in nonprofit email communication programs understand that too many emails equals increased unsubscribes, lower open rates and reduced click-throughs. However, with average nonprofit open rates at 13 percent and click-through rates at 2.1 percent, there is a good reason why nonprofits should send several emails to subscribers -- crowded inboxes.
As in-boxes become more and more crowded, the likelihood of an email being left unread is high. Thus, sending constituents multiple emails gives them several chances to take action. With multiple emails being distributed, knowing how to approach or respond with follow-up emails is crucial.
Mike Snusz, a senior consultant with Blackbaud, has five follow-up email strategies from top nonprofits to help fight against the crowded inbox.

• Related News of the Day -- When sending a follow-up email, leverage what is making news that day to add urgency.
• Progress Update -- Before asking for a donation, update constituents about the current situation and which goals have been met. This approach is a great way to grab attention, draw readers in and make another ask.
• “In Case You Didn’t See This”-- Include in an email a brief note such as, “I wanted to be sure you saw our email from Monday.” This strategy can be used to briefly explain why another email is being sent. It is a great way to get attention, or simply to explain the reason for sending another email. However, be careful to not send the wrong tone. Try to relay a casual and non-confrontational tone within the message.
• Deadline Alert -- Sending multiple emails asking for help can sometimes seem redundant to constituents. However, including a brief note stating the imminent deadline or starting the subject line with “deadline” can effectively convey the urgency of the need.
• Same Theme, Different Options -- Send emails that have the same underlying purpose, but give constituents different options and ways to help the organization.

Talk to Donors about your other Donors

Your donors need to know

“Beyond who you are and what you are raising money for, major donors need to have several other questions answered and concerns addressed by you in your communications with them. For instance, donors want to know about other financial supporters of the ministry. What about your current donor constituency? How many donors do you currently have? What levels of support are they giving? Who serves on your board of directors? Do your board members give? If not, why not? What percentage of your budget is represented by board support? (A red flag goes up for a new major donor if a ministry has a great mission statement on paper but its own board members don’t take an active role as donors.) How do you know whether an individual donor is asking this question? Answer it in advance. Assume the information is desired, and offer it. You’ll sense the donor latching on to the concepts of greatest importance to him.”

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, Donors Are People Too: Managing Relationships With Your Ministry's Major Contributors.

Faith Based Giving Facts

Financial support of religious causes is a big part of American giving, but it should not be viewed as an unchanging structure.

Speaking during the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) 49th International Conference on Fundraising, Patrick Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, cited a variety of studies on religious giving in the United States.

The studies address the following:

• Is religious giving falling? No. During the past 40 years, religious giving has grown 1.3 percent per year but as a share of total giving has fallen from one-half to less than one-third.
• Do most Americans tithe? No. Just 7 percent of adults donate at least 10 percent of income.
• Do members of some faiths give more than others? Yes. However, religious attendance is more important in understanding these differences.
• Do wealthy persons give less to religion? No. Wealth has little or no effect on the probability of religious donating.
• Do well-educated persons give less to religion? No. Education seems to have a positive effect on religious giving.
• Do minorities give more to religious organizations? No. Differences observed at racial levels are attributable to differences in income/wealth or religious attendance.
• Do women give more than men? Yes. Female-headed households are more likely to donate to religions, and female-headed households donate more in most income groups.
• Do Southerners/people in rural areas give more? Yes and No. They give more to religion on average, but not in general donation levels.

Fundraising Basics

Yes, science, technology and skill sets are necessary to be successful as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations. However, there are also several very basic axioms which, if followed, will greatly increase your success.

You don’t get – if you don’t ask
Being good at providing services and programs does not automatically bring in contributions. It’s relatively easy to identify prospects who care about your mission, have great capacity and are knowledgeable about your organization. However, they are not going to become donors until they are asked. Asking can be in many forms. For major gifts, a personal “face to face” request to a prospect, to consider a suggested gift amount, provides the best return on investment. However, grants, group meetings with a general request for donations, events and direct mail, can also be utilized as a method to make an ask.

Connect to hearts and minds before you connect to wallets
People are not going to make significant contributions to an organization that is of no interest and about which they have no personal connection or feelings. The ability to secure a gift and the size of the gift will be enhanced if the donor is educated about the organization, “feels” the importance of what is being accomplished and has a relationship (directly or indirectly) with the organization, solicitor, project or program. Cultivation of those relationships provides added value to the donor and organization.

Fundraising is both art and science. Success requires both.
There are definite processes, sequential steps, ethics, legal guidelines, tax laws, accounting and other requirements that need to be followed to be successful within a nonprofit engaged in fundraising. This is the science of fundraising. Just, if not more important, is the art of fundraising which focuses on relationships, personality, leadership, engagement and follow through.

The 80/20 rule is now 90/10 and applies to fundraising.
80% to 90% of funds raised typically comes from 10%-20% of donors. Most nonprofits obtain the largest share of their philanthropic income from major gift donors. Time spent on major gift solicitation provides the greatest return on investment of nonprofit resources both human and financial.

The quality of a gift is directly related to the quality of the relationship between the solicitor and prospect
Major prospects deserve personal attention. People give to people. Your relationship to the prospect has a direct impact on their gift. The more they know and trust the solicitor, the more comfortable they will be making a major gift. They need to know that they are getting accurate, current and reliable information about the organization and the impact of their giving. They also will be more comfortable knowing that the solicitor, with whom they have a relationship, is likely to be more familiar with their background, interests and abilities than would a stranger.

Avoid the ready, fire, aim temptation
Too often the desire – need to raise funds creates a sense of urgency which translates into volunteers and staff wanting to get started and solicit as many people as they can, as broadly and quickly as possible. Fundraising without a plan, organization, and discipline is an invitation to failure. There needs to be proper organization, leadership, communications, marketing, budgeting, back office systems and a well defined case for support. A campaign fundraising plan is critical and should be integrated within the overall business plan of the nonprofit. Fundraising should be conducted sequentially (top down and inside out). Initially the campaign should focus on the largest potential gifts and existing leadership of the organization. Events, group meetings and mass appeals should not be utilized until major gift solicitations have been addressed.

Leadership sets the example.
Before making their commitments, many major donors, corporations and foundations want to know that the leadership of the organization has demonstrated its fiduciary responsibilities, not only through stewardship of funds and budgets but also as donors. Early in any fundraising effort, Boards and leadership within the organization should be asked to participate as donors, to the best of their abilities. Full participation is as important, if not more so, than the total dollars raised from leadership.

You can never thank a donor, volunteer or staff member too often. They are your keys to success.
Whether it be stewardship, public recognition, ongoing communication, personal thank yous, gifts, member benefits, etc………the more you are in touch with donors, volunteers and staff in a way that demonstrates your appreciation, the more likely they will be there for you when you need them in the future.

Donors expect and deserve a good return on their charitable gifts/investments
Treat your donors as if they were major stockholders. They deserve to know how their investments in your organization are working and if the funds they have donated have accomplished the purposes for which they were given. The more you can demonstrate a good return on their investment, the more likely they will contribute in the future, and be a positive advocate for your organization in the community you serve.

Don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want to read about on the front page of the newspaper.
Nonprofits must conduct themselves ethically and appropriately if they are to maintain the trust and confidence of their supporters and those they serve. When faced with difficult decisions, nonprofits should take the moral high ground and work diligently to ensure that a culture is established that promotes ethical behavior at every level within the organization. Challenges will occur. Whether related to gift acceptance issues, donor requests for special treatment, financial management, reporting, disclosures, personality conflicts or other issues, every nonprofit will have to confront delicate and potentially controversial problems. How problems and challenges are addressed is a true test an organization’s strength and effectiveness.