The Legacy of Giving

Giving is a giant lever positioned on the fulcrum of this world, allowing us to move mountains in the next world. Because we give, eternity will be different--for others and for us. 

Ray Boltz - Thank You
 
I dreamed I went to heaven
And you were there with me;
We walked upon the streets of gold
Beside the crystal sea.
We heard the angels singing
Then someone called your name.
We turned and saw a young man running
And he was smiling as he came.
And he said, "Friend you may not know me now."
And then he said, "But wait,
You used to teach my Sunday School
When I was only eight.
And every week you would say a prayer
Before the class would start.
And one day when you said that prayer,
I asked Jesus in my heart."
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.
Then another man stood before you
And said, "Remember the time
A missionary came to your church
And his pictures made you cry.
You didn't have much money,
But you gave it anyway.
Jesus took the gift you gave
And that's why I'm here today."
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.
One by one they came
Far as the eye could see.
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity.
Little things that you had done,
Sacrifices made,
Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven, now proclaimed.
And I know up in heaven
You're not supposed to cry
But I am almost sure
There were tears in your eyes.
As Jesus took your hand
And you stood before the Lord.
He said, "My child, look around you.
Great is your reward."
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

Church Giving Up

More than half of churches say donations increased last year, the first year a majority of congregations achieved gains since 2009.
This year’s “State of the Plate” annual survey, which assessed giving to 1,360 churches nationwide, found that 51 percent reported increased donations in 2011, 14 percent said contributions were flat, and 32 percent suffered declines.
The researchers interpreted the findings as evidence that congregations are finally recovering from the Great Recession. At 51 percent, they said, the number of churches reporting increases in this year’s survey was up from 43 percent in the 2010 survey and 36 percent in the 2009 survey.
Meanwhile, the percentage of churches reporting a decline in giving dropped to 32 percent, compared with 39 percent in 2010 and 38 percent in 2009.
“I was pleasantly surprised that we seemed to turn a corner,” said Brian Kluth, founder of Maximum Generosity, a company that produces educational materials about giving for churches and one of three sponsors of the survey.
However, he said, many churches, especially small ones, are still hurting. Only 39 percent of churches with fewer than 100 members reported an increase in giving last year.
Among other findings:
* The most common reasons churches had an increase last year were a rise in attendance (50 percent) and efforts to teach churchgoers about biblical principles related to financial health and giving (42 percent).
* Churches with increased donations used the extra money to give raises to pastors and other staff members (40.3 percent), pay for missionary work (36.5 percent), build or renovate their facilities (35.3 percent), and provide emergency financial aid to people in need (31.1 percent).
* Churches have been increasing online options for giving and other nontraditional ways to give over the past four years. For example, 42 percent of churches in the survey now offer automatic withdrawals from members’ bank accounts, and 41 percent accept online gifts. Nearly a third process donations from members’ brokerage accounts, while 6.8 percent can now accept gifts made on a mobile phone.
The annual survey of church giving is a joint effort by Maximum Generosity, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accreditation agency for religious organizations, and Christianity Today, a religious publisher.

Easter's Future

In his great chapter on the Savior's resurrection, Paul is reminded of Isaiah's feast and points us forward to the day when we will put on imperishable bodies. Some believers will not die, but most of us will have our bodies cast into the ground and covered with dirt, like a seed. But eventually all God's children will put on incorruptible bodies and feast together. This is the final act when Isaiah's scene of death swallowed forever comes true (1 Corinthians 15:51–54).
Our personal individual resurrection ushers us into a feast that we find written about in the final chapters of the Bible. There the children of God join a wedding celebration with the risen Lamb. Here, once again, the themes of our tears and Christ's resurrection get connected.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Which explains why God's party-plan to stop every sorrow and dry every tear touches the very heart of the empty tomb. There should be no tears shed at an empty tomb, the striking point that confronts Mary on Easter morning (John 20:11–13). "Woman, why are you weeping?" The question from the mouth of a perplexed angel makes a profound theological point: Nothing is more out of place than tears of sorrow dripping into the dirt where death has been defeated.

3 Kinds of Givers

There are three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness.

The Star Spangled Banner

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more! Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Sharing Your Faith on an Airplane

My friend, Darrell Farney prays as he gets on an airplane, "Lord, if you bring it up, I'll talk about it."  Dr. Farney trusts that if the Sovereign Spirit has in mind for him to share his faith with a Seeking Sinner, He knows how to bring the topic up - he positions himself as the Surrendered Servant.  Have you ever heard the good news of an airplane conversation that resulted in a profession of faith in Christ? The surprising thing is that most all of these conversations started casually enough. 

Here we have provided 14 ways to get through that first awkward moment to begin the conversation, opening the door to potential divine appointments to share the Gospel. 

As surprising as it might be, people love to talk about themselves! So, probe without fear, and even if they are not willing to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, a seed has been planted. 

14 Airplane Conversation Starters: 

1. "How are you doing today?"
This most overlooked and underused question is a winner. Be ready to listen.

2. "Hi, my name is _____. What's your name?"
This is Social Introductions 101. Basic, but everyone is happy to say their name and have it repeated back to them.

3. "What do you do for a living?"
This is a great way to get to know someone, but make sure to keep the focus on the person, not the company.

4. "So, where are you headed?"
Easy way to get them talking about their personal life (work, family, etc).

5. "I like your outfit, where did you get it?"
Ideal for female-to-female, compliments on outfits are instant winners for women. Avoid if male.

6. “Mmm, airplane food!”
Laugh when you say. This is great for those comfortable with light-hearted conversations.

7. "Oh, you're going to ______, I know a church there!"If you are familiar with the area you are going, this could be a good chance to be open and direct about your faith.

8. "Can I buy you a snack?"
Generosity stirs curiosity and causes them to ask why.

9. "Do you ever wonder how peanuts/pretzels became the snack of choice on airplanes?"
Whether they know or not, the ice is broken.

10. "Are you on a business or personal trip?"
Get the person talking about their next few days and if they are happy or not.

11. "What is it that you’re reading?"
You can tell a lot about someone by what they read, so listen sincerely not just to move on to the next part of the conversation.

12. "What do you think about Tim Tebow?" OR “Have you heard of this Jeremy Lin kid?”
There are few who don’t know who these guys are and of those who know they are bound to have an opinion. You can reference their testimonies in a complimentary way to assess where your new friend stands.

13. "Do you fly often?"
If they’re flying often, that's less time at home. Either way, you can inquire how that impacts them.

14. "Can I ask you something?"
Based on their response, go straight for the first EE question. Might be exactly what that person needs to hear.

Mega Millions

The Mega Millions draw tonight has a jackpot that is estimated at $363m - so have your tickets ready if you fancy winning this impressive top prize.  If you win, remember this...

There is a Freedom That Comes From Giving - from living a generous life.  The more we own, the more we are tied to what we own.  It can be said that our possessions own us!  The pull of possessions is a matter of basic physics. The greater the mass, the greater the hold that mass exerts. The more things we own--the greater their total mass the more they grip us, setting us in orbit around them. Finally, like a black hole, they suck us in.  Giving changes all that. It breaks us out of orbit around our possessions. We escape their gravity, entering a new orbit around our treasures in heaven. 

Meditation Verses:

(Mat 6:21 KJV)  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(Mat 19:21 NIV)  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

(1 Tim 6:18, 19 NIV)  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Good News without Words

The Junior Class of Cornerstone Christian Academy is currently ministering Nicaragua.  Overcoming language barriers, they are sharing the Gospel via a 5 colored bracelet.


Each color of the Wordless Bracelet represents an important Bible truth about Salvation

BLACK   -      Sin        Romans 3:23 | All have sinned
RED     -       Blood        I John 1:7 | Jesus’ blood covers all sin
WHITE   -  Pure         Psalm 51:7 | Jesus washes away confessed sin
YELLOW  -   Heaven    John 14:2 | Believe on Jesus and receive Eternal Life
GREEN   -   Grow        2 Peter 3:18 | Grow in the knowledge of the Lord

Planned Giving Overview

Planned Giving and Endowments

Posted on March 22, 2012

What is planned giving?

Many potential donors desire to give a charitable gift but are unable to do so immediately as they need their assets in order to provide income to themselves, their spouses, or other persons.  For these donors the solution may be a form of planned (or deferred) giving.  With deferred giving, the charity receives full use of the gift asset at some later date.

Many types of planned giving you may already be familiar with. Some of these are described briefly below.

Bequest:
By far, the most common form of deferred giving, an outright charitable bequest is made through terms of a will.  It may be either a specified amount, a percentage of a final estate, or the residual of an estate after all other specific bequests have been made.

Life Insurance Policy:
A charity may be named as beneficiary on a life insurance policy.

Retirement Plan or IRA:
A donor may designate a charity as a beneficiary of a retirement plan, IRA, or annuity, payable upon death.  As a not-for-profit, the charity would not be subject to income or estate taxes on retirement plan assets, which non-charity heirs would be subject to.

Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA):
In exchange for a gift to a charity, the charity provides up to two individuals, which may include the donor, with an income for life or lives.  The annuity amount is rated based on the age of the donor. At the death of the donor or donors, the remaining funds are available for use by the charity.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT):
Funds are irrevocably transferred to a trust, which pays an annuity to the donor or other beneficiaries for an agreed-upon term of years or for life.  At the conclusion of the term, the trust distributes the remainder to the Charity.  Trusts are more commonly used for larger gifts.

Charitable Lead Trust (CLT):
Funds are irrevocably transferred to a trust that provides annual income to the Charity for a life term or a term of years, with the remainder transferred back to the donor or to the donor’s designated beneficiaries.  It is useful to donors who do not need income from an asset for a period of years, but wish to transfer it to others with little or no gift or estate taxation.

Planned gifts provide many benefits including the satisfaction that donors will have knowing they are helping an institution to fulfill its mission for many years to come.  Another benefit is the peace of mind that the donor feels knowing that estate plans are in order and personal needs as well as those of loved ones will be met while charitable intentions will be fulfilled upon death.  Additionally, many deferred gifts receive favorable tax treatment.  Capital gains taxes can often be avoided or deferred, and some deferred gifts receive charitable gift deductions on your federal income tax.

What is a charitable bequest, and how does a donor execute one?
A bequest refers to the transfer of assets at death through operation of the donor’s will.  The donor’s will must meet the state requirements for a valid will, which usually indicates, among other things, that he must be mentally competent, the will must be in writing, and it must be witnessed.  Other instruments such as revocable trusts, transfer of jointly held property, and naming a charity as a beneficiary of a pension or other fund are other methods in which a donor may make a transfer of assets to charity at death.

A charitable bequest, to be effective, must include the correct legal name of the charity organization. To provide a charitable deduction, the charity organization must be included under the IRS rules for estate tax deductions.

There are several ways in which a bequest may be expressed:

• It may be a specific dollar amount, such as $10,000, $100,000 or $1 million.
• It may be a percentage, such as 1%, 10% or 50% of the gross estate or residual estate.
• It may direct that a specific asset, such as a stock fund, an IRA, a house, or an art collection go to the charity.
• Or it may be a contingent bequest, which is effective only after certain conditions are met.  For example, the donor may say “all of my estate goes to charity if my wife predeceases me.”
• The donor may create a logical formula involving shares of the estate, or proportions.
• The donor may use a combination of methods.

Why is the donation of a retirement plan, such as an IRA a preferred bequest?

For a donor who wishes to make a bequest, a charitable gift of a qualified retirement plan or IRA assets can give the donor and heirs savings on estate and income taxes while assisting the Charity.  With proper tax and legal advice such gifts are often a preferred form of bequest.

Retirement plan assets are one of the most commonly owned assets.  For many individuals, a retirement plan is their single largest asset.  Tax incentives make these a preferred way to save and their asset growth has been significant in the past decade.  However, after death, when these assets must be passed on to heirs, they are subject to heavy taxation.  By leaving such assets to a charity, significant tax savings for both the estate and the heirs can occur.  It is sensible to make a gift with an asset that generates the best tax benefits.
Case Study:  Gift of an IRA

A donor has qualified retirement plan assets worth $1.5 million and other assets worth $2.5 million.  She wants to give $1.5 million of her total $4 million estate to charity and the balance to heirs.  A comparison of the two options of contributing the retirement plan or other assets is shown below.  Note that these calculations do not take into consideration additional state taxes on inheritances in many states:
           

	Gift of Gift of Retirement Plan	Other Assets
Gross Estate	$4,000,000	$4,000,000
Gift to charity	1,500,000	1,500,000
Adjusted Gross Estate	2,500,000	2,500,000
Estate Tax Exclusion Amount (2004)	1,500,000	1,500,000
Taxable Portion of Estate	1,000,000	1,000,000
Estate Taxes Due (2004)	345,800	345,800
Balance to Heirs	654,200	654,200
Income Taxes Due on Retirement Plan
Distributions (lump sum at 35.0%)	0	228,970
Net After-Tax Balance to Heirs	654,200	425,230

The benefits of using a CRT as the beneficiary of a decedent’s retirement plan:

A donor may choose to establish a Charitable Remainder Trust at death that could be funded with retirement plan funds.  This testamentary trust allows the decedent to name beneficiaries who could receive all of the net income from the trust during their lifetimes or for a term of years.  At their death or at the end of the term, the designated charity receives the unused balance of the assets.  The income tax on the unused balance of the retirement account is not only deferred, it is eliminated.  The CRT also can be structured so that the income is generated over multiple generations; thus the amount paid to the heir beneficiaries may equal or exceed the amount that would have been received directly from the IRA.

As with other charitable gifts, the estate would receive the benefit of the charitable deduction from the donation.  If the non-charitable beneficiary is the account holder’s spouse, then the account holder’s estate will also be entitled to an estate tax marital deduction on the spouse’s CRT income interest.

Either a CRUT or a CRAT may be established with a testamentary trust.

An account holder may want to provide for children through an IRA or qualified retirement plan.  Use of a CRT may be more advantageous than an outright bequest of the fund income or other asset to a child for several reasons.  First, a bequest to a CRT creates an estate tax charitable deduction, which will act to reduce estate taxes.  Additionally, the transfer of the IRA to the CRT does not trigger immediate income taxation.  Income is taxed to the beneficiary of the CRT as it is received.
Although the IRA eventually passes to the Charity and the assets are lost to the family forever, the immediate reduction in income and estate taxes preserves more of the original principal.  This additional principal will generate additional income for the non-charitable beneficiary.  A part of this income may be used to replace the assets lost to the family by obtaining life insurance.  The structure is particularly beneficial to those with charitable bequest intentions.

What is a charitable lead trust, and how may it be useful to donors?

A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) is a current irrevocable transfer of cash, securities, or other property to a trust that meets the IRS rules to qualify as a CLT.  It operates in the reverse of a CRT, in that it provides income to the charitable beneficiary for a life term or a term of years, with the remainder transferred back to the donor or to the donor’s designated non-charitable beneficiaries.  It is useful to donors who do not need income from an asset for a period of years, but wish to transfer it to others with little or no gift or estate taxation.
The elements of a lead trust are the transfer of a guaranteed income interest to charity, with an annual distribution for a term of years or lives.  The remainder at the end of the term reverts to the grantor or to other individuals named by the grantor.  CLTs are generally governed by the private foundation rules on self-dealing, and have certain restrictions on investments.

There are two types of CLTs–grantor and non-grantor trusts–with differing tax implications.  In the grantor trust, in which the remainder reverts to the grantor, the grantor receives both income tax and transfer tax charitable deductions.  The maximum income tax deduction is thirty percent of the donor’s AGI for cash and twenty percent for appreciated securities, with unused portions of the deduction carried over for five future years.  For a grantor trust, the trust income received by the charity is includible each year in the donor’s income.
Non-grantor trusts, in which the remainder goes to other individuals designated by the grantor, do not provide an income tax charitable deduction, but they do provide a gift or estate tax deduction.  The annual trust income going to the charity is not included in the grantor’s income.  Careful planning is needed to determine whether a grantor or non-grantor trust is more appropriate for the donor’s particular situation.

CLTs may provide a guaranteed annuity amount (CLAT) or an annually revalued unitrust amount (CLUT) to the charity.  There are no minimums or maximums.  A CLUT may accept additional contributions to the trust, while a CLAT may not.  The term of the trust, if based on lives, must be based on the lives of individual beneficiaries alive at the time the trust is created.  If based on a term of years, there is no minimum term, and the maximum term is determined only by state laws regarding operation of trusts.



What is a Charitable Gift Annuity?

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a vehicle for making a gift that serves as a lasting contribution to a charitable organization.  It is a simple and established technique for securing a lifetime income and minimizing taxes.  In its simplest form, the donor transfers cash, securities, or in some cases real estate to an established charity in exchange for the charity’s promise to pay an annuity to the donor and/or other named beneficiaries.  The value of the charitable contribution is the difference between the annuity value and the value of the property transferred. In addition, a portion of each annuity payment is deemed a return of the original investment and is tax-free to the annuitant over his or her life expectancy as determined by actuarial tables.  At the end of the annuity term the charity may use all of the remaining funds for its charitable purposes.

Annuity payments can begin immediately or can be deferred for a specified time period.  If payments are to begin at a specified time in the future, for instance upon the donor’s retirement, and the planned start date is at least one year from the date of the gift, the arrangement is called a “deferred charitable gift annuity”.  A high-earning donor may not need or want immediate additional income but might benefit from current income tax relief.  A deferred gift annuity lets a donor postpone the starting date of annuity payments, increase the amount of payments once they begin, and increase the amount of their current income tax charitable deduction.  Thus the deferred gift donor benefits from tax relief during high-income years and a higher income stream later on when he or she may have a greater need for annuity income.

The dollar amount or annuity rate the annuitant receives depends upon the age of the annuitant or annuitants (up to two persons).  To avoid competition among charities for gift annuity donors, recommended rates have been established by the American Council on Gift Annuities, and most charities follow these rates for most gift annuities they establish.  Rates effective as of July 2007 range from 6% to 11.3%.  Older annuitants with shorter life expectancies receive higher income payments.  An annuity established to provide income for two beneficiaries, rather than one, will provide a smaller income payment.  This is because the life expectancy of two individuals is actuarially longer than that for one, even if they are the same age.

A Charitable Gift Annuity offers a number of benefits to the charity:

• it establishes an irrevocable gift;
• it can be used to make a significant one-time gift;
• it can be used to make a series of smaller, repeat gifts;
• it is easier to explain to donors and to implement than certain alternative gift vehicles; and
• the minimum gift amount usually is sufficiently low to make the gift annuity attractive to a large part of the Charity’s donor base.

What is an example of the use of a Charitable Gift Annuity?
Jack Donor has been contributing to his favorite charity for over twenty years. Jack, age seventy-two, has expressed an interest, in providing for the charity with a bequest equal to about 5% of his gross estate, which is about $1 million.

Jack currently seeks to increase his household income to help cover the expenses of his wife Jill’s illness. In his stock portfolio, he has one security with a current market value of $50,000 for which he paid $10,000 in earlier years. In recent years, these stocks have been paying him dividends of about 2% per year. He has considered selling the stocks, paying the $6,000 taxes (15%) of the $40,000 capital gains, and investing the $44,000 balance in an income producing fund, which he feels would give about 4% return rate, or $1,760 of taxable income per year.

Sarah, the planned giving officer, stops by to thank him for his continued interest in giving a bequest. While there, she shows him an illustration of how a gift annuity would work in his situation. At age seventy-two, he would receive a 6.7% annuity rate, according to the ACGA tables. In return for a $50,000 contribution, Jack would receive $3,350 per year in income for life, a nice increase over the $1,000 he currently receives from dividends or $1,780 from a taxable income fund.

But, because of the charitable deduction and the reduced capital gains taxes, the after-tax financial benefit of the gift annuity is much better. As of June of 2004, the IRS values Jack’s life income stream from the gift annuity at $29,995. The donor therefore receives a charitable tax deduction for the balance, or $20,005. The tax savings of about $6,201 (31.0% bracket) may be reinvested, which reduces the actual cost of the gift annuity to about $43,799. On this adjusted investment basis, the income of $3,350 is equivalent to a 7.6% return. Also, a $414 portion of each annual payment is received completely tax free, and $1,656 of each annual payment is taxed at the 15% capital gains rate. Thus, for comparative purposes, the after-tax equivalent rate of return is 9.0%, which is much better than the 4% he would receive from the stock fund reduced by its capital gains taxes then invested in an income portfolio.
Jack decides to establish the gift annuity. The bequest Jack has discussed will be virtually guaranteed. He may continue to include a provision on the will, reduced by the gift annuity or not reduced, which will add to this fund upon his death. Everybody benefits from the new gift annuity.

Freedom in Giving

There is a Freedom That Comes From Giving - from living a generous life.  The more we own, the more we are tied to what we own.  It can be said that our possessions own us!  The pull of possessions is a matter of basic physics. The greater the mass, the greater the hold that mass exerts. The more things we own--the greater their total mass the more they grip us, setting us in orbit around them. Finally, like a black hole, they suck us in.  Giving changes all that. It breaks us out of orbit around our possessions. We escape their gravity, entering a new orbit around our treasures in heaven. 

Meditation Verses:

(Mat 6:21 KJV)  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(Mat 19:21 NIV)  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

(1 Tim 6:18, 19 NIV)  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Your job as Development Director is to connect your donors’ and prospects’ passions to your school’s mission, students, and programs. First, of course, you need to know your donor or prospect, know what will excite them about your school. Then you need to communicate that connection. Sue LaLumia, writing in her Chronicle of Philanthropy blog Moving Pictures, profiles one nonprofit that is communicating its mission in a very easy way. Conservation International was rebranding itself and “because it did not have much money to spend to publicize its new look, it needed a simple tool to help tell its story in a different way,” LaLumia writes. That tool is a photo on a business card. The organization is using the very best images that represent its mission on one side of the card along with its tagline, “People need nature to thrive.” Employee contact information is on the other side of the card. This gives every member of the organization a chance to market its message. To see Conservation International’s cards, visit the Moving Pictures blog here. Your school could easily adapt this strategy to tell your story. You need to go through your images to select the best ones to convey your mission, or have a professional photographer spend time capturing the images you need. Include your tagline, either your school’s or your specific annual fund or capital campaign tagline. Thanks to the advent of online printing operations with digital presses, four-color business cards are available inexpensively, allowing you to print different photos on different cards. Prices vary per service, so do your research. Plus, these printers are constantly offering special deals, which you can get e-mailed to you when you sign up for their e-letters. Here are a few resources: Overnightprints.com Vistaprints.com PSPrint.com ZooPrinting.com

Purposes of God in Our Suffering

1. Suffering is used to increase our awareness of the sustaining power of God to whom we owe our sustenance (Ps 68:19).
2. God uses suffering to refine, perfect, strengthen, and keep us from falling (Ps 66:8-9; Heb 2:10).
3. Suffering allows the life of Christ to be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Cor 4:7-11).
4. Suffering bankrupts us, making us dependent upon God (2 Cor 12:9).
5. Suffering teaches us humility (2 Cor 12:7).
6. Suffering imparts the mind of Christ (Phil 2:1-11).
7. Suffering teaches us that God is more concerned about character than comfort (Rom 5:3-4; Heb 12:10-11).
8. Suffering teaches us that the greatest good of the Christian life is not absence of pain, but Christlikeness (2 Cor 4:8-10; Rom 8:28-29).
9. Suffering can be a chastisement from God for sin and rebellion (Ps 107:17).
10. Obedience and self-control are from suffering (Heb 5:8; Ps 119:67; Rom 5:1-5; James 1:2-8; Phil 3:10).
11. Voluntary suffering is one way to demonstrate the love of God (2 Cor 8:1-2, 9).
12. Suffering is part of the struggle against sin (Heb 12:4-13).
13. Suffering is part of the struggle against evil men (Ps 27:12; 37:14-15).
14. Suffering is part of the struggle for the kingdom of God (2 Thess 1:5).
15. Suffering is part of the struggle for the gospel (2 Tim 2:8-9).
16. Suffering is part of the struggle against injustice (1 Pet 2:19).
17. Suffering is part of the struggle for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet 4:14).
18. Suffering indicates how the righteous become sharers in Christ’s suffering (2 Cor 1:5; 1 Pet 4:12-13).
19. Endurance of suffering is given as a cause for reward (2 Cor 4:17; 2 Tim 2:12).
20. Suffering forces community and the administration of the gifts for the common good (Phil 4:12-15).
21. Suffering binds Christians together into a common or joint purpose (Rev 1:9).
22. Suffering produces discernment, knowledge, and teaches us God’s statutes (Ps 119:66-67, 71).
23. Through suffering God is able to obtain our broken and contrite spirit which He desires (Ps 51:16-17).
24. Suffering causes us to discipline our minds by making us focus our hope on the grace to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:6, 13).
25. God uses suffering to humble us so He can exalt us at the proper time (1 Pet 5:6-7).
26. Suffering teaches us to number our days so we can present to God a heart of wisdom (Ps 90:7-12).
27. Suffering is sometimes necessary to win the lost (2 Tim 2:8-10; 4:5-6).
28. Suffering strengthens and allows us to comfort others who are weak (2 Cor 1:3-11).
29. Suffering is small compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ (Phil 3:8).
30. God desires truth in our innermost being and one way He does it is through suffering (Ps 51:6; 119:17).
31. The equity for suffering will be found in the next life (Ps 58:10-11).
32. Suffering is always coupled with a greater source of grace (2 Tim 1:7-8; 4:16-18).
33. Suffering teaches us to give thanks in times of sorrow (1 Thess 5:17; 2 Cor 1:11).
34. Suffering increases faith (Jer 29:11).
35. Suffering allows God to manifest His care (Ps 56:8).
36. Suffering stretches our hope (Job 13:14-15).

What is missing in the list?

Whitney Houston Cause of Death

In a statement to ABC News Thursday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's chief, Craig Harvey, outlined the findings in the office's preliminary toxicology report.

"We had approximately a 60 percent occlusion in the arteries, in the narrowing of the arteries," Harvey said. "So, that condition, complicated by the chronic cocaine use, all combined to result in her drowning. The final cause of death has been established as drowning due to atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use."

Pastoral Priorities

1) Guard the Truth: 1 Tim 4:6-7, 16; 6:20-21; 2 Tim. 1:13-14; 2:1-2
2) Preach and Teach the Word: 1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2; Acts 6:2
3) Pray for the Flock: Eph. 6:18-20; 1 Thess. 5:17; Acts 6:2
4) Set an Example: 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pt. 5:3 cf. 1 Cor. 11:1
5) Visit the Sick: James 5:14; Matt. 25:31-40
6) Comfort the Grieving: 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 11
7) Care for Widows: 1 Tim. 5:3; Acts 6:1-7
8) Confront Sin: 1 Cor. 5; Matt. 18; 1 Thess. 3; Titus 3
9) Encourage the Faint-hearted: 1 Thess. 5:14; Rom. 14:1
10) Identify and Train Other Leaders: Acts 6:1-7; 13:1-3; 2 Tim. 2:2

Romney's Etch A Sketch Strategy

Mitt Romney didn’t make Etch A Sketch a playtime fixture. Generations of nimble-fingered budding artists did that.
His campaign did manage to make the toy that Ohio Art Co. (OART) released in 1960 a central political metaphor when a spokesman compared the Republican presidential candidate’s views to the erasable drawing pad.

  

  

The mention during a CNN interview -- and ensuing storm of rivals’ mockery and social-media reiteration -- prompted a flood of attention. In its 52 years, nothing spread the name Etch A Sketch so fast and wide, said Martin Killgallon, senior vice president for marketing and product development.

Donor Fatigue

What does it feel like to you?

It’s a needy world out there, and the donor bears the burden of it.

Donors are supporting a variety of ministries in addition to their local church, in some significant measure because they feel the weight of the need represented. “There are so many unfortunate kids out there” was a typical comment. Donors, in short, are overwhelmed. Previous research has shown that in a two-year period, the average evangelical donor gives to 10 ministries, as many as seven in a single year, in addition to the local church. Our communications with them, then, need to focus not only on the need, but on how our ministry is meeting that need.

What donors are saying...

"I think at times I feel overwhelmed by all the needs."

"It becomes overload at times — so many needs and desires for support."

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, The Disappearing Donor: Where Your Ministry's Lapsed Givers Went, and Why .

Kony2012 Viral YouTube Video from Invisible Children

When something goes viral, remember to do your homework before sending the gift.  Potential donors have all kinds of information at their fingertips [keyboards].  I watched the video at www.kony2012.com, then I researched the organization from San Diego.  I viewed their last 990 form via guidestar.org.  The $8.2m nonprofit’s 2010 990 shows Jason Russell earning $90k/yr. as Founder working 55 hrs/wk.  The compensation seems very modest for such a large nonprofit headquartered in San Diego.

Basic Organization Information

Invisible Children Inc

Physical Address:

1620 5th Avenue Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92101 

EIN:

54-2164338

Web URL:

www.invisiblechildre… 

Telephone:

(619) 562-2799 

Facsimile:

(619) 660-0576 

Contact:

Emily Wilkinson

ewilkinson@invisiblechildren.com

NTEE Category:

R Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy 

R99 Civil Rights, Social Action, and Advocacy N.E.C. 

Year Founded:

2004 

Ruling Year:

2006 

Mission Statement

Invisible Children is a youth for youth movement that uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities to peace and prosperity.

Mother's Day

  Deuteronomy 5:16 ESV “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Proverbs 23:22-25 ESV Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. (23) Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. (24) The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. (25) Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

 Proverbs 1:8-9 ESV Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, (9) for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.


Jesus Loved His Mom & Arranged For Her Care Before His Death...
John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” (27) Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

 Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things,but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. Julia Ward Howe first issued her Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870 as a call for women to join in support of disarmament. In the 1880s and 1890s there were several further attempts to establish an American Mother's Day, but these did not succeed beyond the local level.^[53] The current holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, in 1908 as a day to honour one's mother. Jarvis wanted to accomplish her mother's dream of making a celebration for all mothers, although the idea did not take off until she enlisted the services of wealthy Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker.^[54] She kept promoting the holiday until President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914.^[53] The holiday eventually became so highly commercialized that many, including its founder, Anna Jarvis, considered it a "Hallmark holiday", i.e. one with an overwhelming commercial purpose. Jarvis eventually ended up opposing the holiday she had helped to create. She died in 1948, regretting what had become of her holiday.^[54] In the United States, Mother's Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers, greeting cards, and the like; it is also the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls.^[55] Moreover, churchgoing is also popular, yielding the highest church attendance after Christmas Eve and Easter.^[56] Many worshipers celebrate the day with carnations, colored if the mother is living and white if she is deceased.^[56]

Love Others

This week, I will reach out to people rather than withdraw.

It’s easy for people to turn “loving God” into a weapon against people who don’t seem to measure up.

Am I a disciple? Or am I a Pharisee?

In Matthew 12:1-14, Jesus and his disciples munched a little grain along the road. But the Pharisees — the most religious people of their day — called the disciples on a technicality. (They were supposed to rest, because it was the Sabbath — and picking grain was “work”).

Jesus offered a shoulder-shrugging kind of reply: You may have your Old Testament memorized, boys, but you don’t seem to get the meanings. You don’t seem to be living in the spirit of it. God says he’s more interested in your being merciful than in your following all the ritual regulations.

Next, Jesus met a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue (Matthew 12:9-14). He healed the man — and the Pharisees objected again, on technical grounds. Jesus, however, urged compassion. The supposed spiritual leaders had made their church a rule-following place. Jesus wanted it to be a love-sharing community. So to demonstrate, he marched into their church — and broke one of their rules — and did something helpful and loving.

Was it always like this? Probably not. The religious people had started out wanting nothing but to love God. But along the way, without even realizing — because they saw God’s design as a bunch of rules to be broken ... because they saw sin as stuff God doesn’t want you to do or he gets angry, instead of stuff that shortchanges us, which breaks God’s heart — their spiritual situation shifted right under their feet. They lost the heart of their faith, they lost their love for people. They got more caught up in their religious rules and regulations than they did in the redemptive potential of people ... who are God’s favorite thing in the universe!

Christ calls us to love God and love each other, because this is how we’re designed to be the happiest and most effective. But if this is so, then what is Satan going to dedicate himself to? Convincing us not to love each other — for whatever reason! And what will be the cleverest reason he can use to deceive us into not loving each other? The seemingly good, seemingly sensible, seemingly righteous reason. The religious reason. He will trick us into embracing a negative view of a person or situation, and justify it to ourselves as the virtuous view.

Am I a disciple? Or a Pharisee? If I have adopted any belief or value that leads me to keep people at a distance, or break off relationships, or separate myself from others — even if it seems to have come from a good or sensible source — I need the Spirit to filter that belief or value!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... Lord, when I feel myself worrying about people following your rules instead of just entrusting them to you ... when I find myself resisting doing good, or resisting the opportunity to express love ... I will search for the source of that resistance, and I will turn that hard-boiled part of myself over to you. Amen.

Matthew 22:36-39
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Foundations Gave Raises in 2011

By Caroline Preston

Foundation salaries grew by a median of 14.2 percent over the past five years, not accounting for inflation, according to a new survey of more than 910 grant makers.

And the vast majority of philanthropies surveyed—87 percent—said they had either increased or planned to increase their staff salaries in 2011. That share is ticking up with the improving economy: Last year, 62 percent of funds gave or expected to give raises.

Chief executives at the foundations surveyed by the Council on Foundations received a median salary of $142,000, while program officers were paid a median of $80,000.

Salaries of CEO’s and program officers grew at roughly the same pace—14.9 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively.

About 77 percent of foundations provided medical benefits to full-time employees. At grant makers with at least $100-million in assets, that figure was 98 percent.

Of the survey respondents, 36 percent were community foundations, 27 percent were private foundations, 18 percent were family funds, and the rest corporate and operating foundations.

Gallagher joking again...

The comedian Gallagher is telling jokes after being taken out of a medically induced coma that doctors put him in following his heart attack last week in Texas.

Tell Partners about Ministry Accomplishments

Why are testimonies important? 

Here is a point to ponder: regardless of the marketer’s motives of the heart, the donor does not want or need to know the details of the ministry’s operation. How the ministry happens is not nearly as important to her as what the ministry accomplishes. You must paint the picture of results in her mind. Testimonies sometimes nicely bridge the gap between what the ministry needs the money for and what the donor will sit still to learn about. “We’ve got to book the hall now in order to prepare for the crusade.” I don’t care. Tell me about Lorraine, who was strung out on drugs but somehow came to Christ through the last crusade you staged. “We need new computers in order to process ministry correspondence and donations more efficiently.” I don’t care. Tell me about Patrick, to whom God gave a whole new life through our ministry, because someone like me gave generously.

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

Gary Coiro joins Arrow Leadership in Maryland

Gary Coiro serves Arrow Child & Family Ministries as Regional Development Director, responsible for fundraising throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania. Gary has served the nonprofit sector for 25 years as both a pastor and consultant. Having completed his undergraduate degree at Cedarville University, and advanced degrees at Liberty University, Gary was a pastor in three churches over a period of 15 years. After transitioning to organizational consulting in 2004, Gary had been assisting a variety of organizations as a consultant with BBS & Associates before joining the Arrow team. Gary brings a passion for raising friends and funds for the Arrow mission.

gary.coiro@arrow.org

Act of Valor Letter - Father to Son at Death

TECUMSEH

Live your life that the fear of death
can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about his religion.
Respect others in their views
and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life,
beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long
and of service to your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day
when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting
or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your strength.
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks,
the fault lies in yourself.
Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes
wise ones turn to fools and robs their spirit of its vision.
When your time comes to die, be not like those
whose hearts are filled with fear of death,
so that when their time comes they weep and pray
for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home

Donors are Inspired and gain Confidence if you have a PLAN.

Donors are Inspired and gain Confidence if you have a PLAN.

Do you have a plan, and is it sound?

A ministry with a plan, a project, some indication that activity is occurring, has an advantage in fundraising. Is there a new aspect of your ministry you want to get underway? Do you need to build a new building or assemble some new team in order to accomplish the work God has called you to do? These are ideal plans to share with prospective and active major donors. Even if you have no new “project” or strategy, it’s helpful to present some portion of your overall ongoing ministry as a major opportunity for the donor to get involved and make an impact. It was one of Dr. Bill Bright’s God-given gifts that he could essentially “take big bites out of the world” and offer it up to high-capacity donors. Campus Crusade for Christ at one point carved the world into 6,000 pieces of one million people each (referred to as MPTAs: Million People Target Areas) and began asking major donors to take responsibility for one of these pieces. They detailed various programs which they would initiate in each geographic area, and how much each one would cost — to give the donor a clear picture of how the contribution would be used. This approach to major donors inspired tremendous response — and accomplished much toward fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Prov. 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Psalms 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

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Want some guidance with your organization challenges? Email me, I’d be glad to help.

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

Free Church Campaign Feasibility Assessment

If you are interested in getting a quick read on the potential of your upcoming capital campaign, fill out the form below and email it to me at run4hym@yahoo.com. Within 72 hours, I will contact you to set up a brief phone appointment to share my assessment.

Church Campaign Feasibility Assessment Questionnaire

Comments will be kept confidential

• Please provide a brief narrative of the History of the church.

• What is the average Sunday attendance, and annual Church budget?

• On a scale of 1-10, how Healthy is the congregation?  Is there a spirit of unity?  Please offer comments.

• Does the church have any previous capital campaign experience?  Please share a brief review including financial results of total commitments and revenue.

• Do you anticipate the potential any significant Lead Gifts? Please offer comments.

Contact Information:

*Your Name and Title:

*Email:

Church Name:

Church Website Address:

Phone:

*required

Jim Collins at Lakeland Community College

Jim Collins is editor emeritus of The News-Herald and also serves as executive in residence at Lakeland Community College. His popular weekly column appears each Sunday in Comment in The News-Herald.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Educational institutions as oaks, acorns

There is an apothegm about giant oaks springing up from little acorns.

I’m not quite sure how I’m going to work it in here, but I’m going to try because what I have in mind involves an oak and an acorn.

I wanted to tell you about two events I attended back-to-back the other day, both involving educational institutions, one very large and the other very small, thus, an oak and an acorn, size-wise.

The "oak," if you will, is Lakeland Community College, a behemoth of an educational institution in Kirtland with an enrollment hovering around 10,000.

The "acorn," small but mighty, is a Catholic elementary school on East 260th Street in Euclid, just two blocks west of Lloyd Road in Wickliffe. If its enrollment is in the hundreds, it is barely so.

It used to be St. William. It is now merged with St. Robert, a move made so the latter school could survive. It is now called Sts. Robert & William Catholic School.

For many years, going back to the St. William days, a seventh and eighth grade teacher, Patrice Garukas, who lives in Kirtland, has asked me to serve on a three-judge panel at an annual speech contest sponsored by the Modern Woodmen of America.

Over the years I have sat with a multitude of other judges — some of them well-known, some not — as we listened to a dozen or so speakers address their assigned topics within a framework of five minutes.

It is an assignment I have never declined. It begins at 9 a.m. on the appointed day, and by the time we are finished we have heard some mighty fine orations delivered in the gymnasium by some wonderful young people from the host school as well as from St. Helen, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anselm and Our Lady of the Lake.

This year there were 12 speakers. My fellow judges were Harry Boomer, an anchor and reporter from WOIO TV-19 (his first stint as a judge) and Scott Gongos, director of institutional advancement at St. Peter-Chanel High School in Bedford, an old hand at the judging.

Mrs. Garukas, the mother of two college students (one at St. Bonaventure and one at State University of New York at Oswego), has a way of making her request to be a judge appealing.

"The students are diligently working on their speeches and practicing their delivery styles," she wrote a little over a month ago. "Please come early to have some coffee and donuts."

I did. It was my first doughnut since the last speech contest. I’m doing my best to fight off the empty calories. But I digress.

Every year the kids are given a new topic. Last year I think it was "heroes." This year it was "An American Invention."

And boy, were those kids inventive. There were 12 participants, and were they ever good! As I recall there were 10 girls and two boys. They were all competitive.

The judging is exacting. The point system is precise. There are 40 points for material organization, including theme and subject adherence, structure, content, logic and color; 40 points for delivery and presentation, including voice, pronunciation, enunciation, gestures and poise; and 20 points for overall effectiveness, including impression and effect.

(I awarded all 12 contestants a perfect 20 in the final category.)

After a couple of hours, the three judges had reached a decision, which was announced in front of a packed audience of parents and friends.

The three judges were not far apart in point totals. Although all the speeches were good, four rose to the top. Since they were close, there was a moment or two of haggling and persuading by the judges.

Finally, the results were in.

The winners, in order, were Abby Picciano of Sts. Robert & William, who spoke on American Sign Language; Cole Prots of St. Helen, who spoke on the Jarvis Artificial Heart; and Nicholas Fink of Sts. Robert & William, whose favorite invention was, simply, America.

Nice job, kids — all 12 of you.

The "giant oak" in this analogy, Lakeland Community College, hosts an annual event called the Donor Scholar Breakfast in the cafeteria area known as The Breakers.

This year’s was April 8, the day after the speech contest at Sts. Robert & William. It was the 15th annual such breakfast and the best ever, attended by about 200 people, including scholarship winners, scholarship donors, college trustees, Foundation members and administrators.

First things first: The food is terrific! The college president, Morris Beverage Jr., insists the bacon is the best anywhere. I would agree.

The remarks by representative scholarship winners were touching and heartfelt, as always. Pam Joiner, Dawn Argie and Brooke Coiro all had heartwarming stories to tell about how they have overcome life situations and how they will use their educations at Lakeland to help achieve their goals in life.

The lengthy listing of scholarship donors — both citizens and companies — in the breakfast program is most impressive, as is the listing of recipients.

It is always a joy to listen to the young people explain what Lakeland means in their lives. Their stories get better every year.

This year, however, the program had a "punch" like never before. Beverage introduced Arlene Holden, widow of the college’s first trustee president, Arthur S. Holden. They announced the naming of the Arlene and Arthur Holden University Center, being constructed across Route 306 from the college. Lakeland graduates will be able to continue their two-year educations at the new center and receive degrees from as many as nine (or more) of Ohio’s finest universities.

Lakeland is now 44 years old. Opening the University Center across the street from its Kirtland campus is a visionary move, one that should bring approval from the residents and taxpayers of Lake County. It is also in direct response to the desires of the citizens who have responded to surveys with directives to (1) hold the line on tuition and (2) place a four-year degree within easy reach of Lakeland grads.

So those are my "giant oaks" and "little acorns" lessons for today. Both have powerful implications for the future.

Truths and Myths Of Fundraising

You want the truth about fundraising? You can’t handle the truth! OK, maybe you can.

There are many truths and myths about fundraising. In his book “Making a Difference,” Howard Berman wrote that while the myths speak only of conventional wisdom of what can and cannot be done, the truths show you the path to success.

We live in a very complicated world, but the truths about fundraising are actually pretty basic. Berman describes them as the “Nine Basic Truths of Fundraising,” and they are all time-tested approaches that define successful fundraising. They are:

• Organizations are not entitled to support. They must earn it.
• Successful fundraising is not magic. It is simply hard work on the part of people who are thoroughly prepared.
• Fundraising is not raising money. It is raising friends.
• You do not raise money by begging for it. You raise it by selling people on your organization.
• People do not just reach for their checkbooks and give money to an organization. They have to be asked to give.
• You don’t wait for the “right” moment to ask; you ask now.
• Successful fundraising officers do not ask for the money; they ask others to ask for it.
• You don’t decide today to raise money and then ask for it tomorrow. It takes time patience, and planning.
• Prospects and donors are not cash crops waiting to be harvested; treat them as you would customers in a business.

If these are the things you must do to be a successful fundraiser, you should avoid the following three myths like the plague:

• Fundraising is impossible and the process is a mystery.
• You must have a proven track record if you are to raise money.
• It’s common knowledge that corporations and foundations give most of the money.

Development Categories

Development Categories – Systems and Streams to Consider When Fundraising for a Non Profit

By Gary J Coiro 
 

When you think of raising funds for your non profit organization, do you think in categories. I suggest you think in terms of systems and revenue streams – and use these categories to develop goals and evaluation criteria. May I suggest 5 key categories:

In addition to having great donor systems [data base, name acquisition procedures, giving statements, etc.], an organization must have an excellent and balanced approach to bringing in donations through 4 key streams:

Mail – Many faith based ministries send out 5-6 direct mail appeals to a donor list per year. The ministry is mindful of building the donor base with qualified names. The process of getting out a mail appeal includes: Theme identification, writing, graphic layout, printing, addressing, mailing, and tracking. The approach of mailing multiple appeals per year is often replaced by conducting an annual campaign, which seeks to ask just once per year. Because the organization has only one opportunity to secure a gift, the annual campaign approach involves more robust communication and follow-up. Skill set needed includes the following profiles: Creative writing skills, time management, detail oriented, can recruit a team, creativity and assertiveness in name acquisition.

Nurture – Donor Nurture involves relationship building between ministry leaders and strategic donors. Donor nurture seeks to bring value to the donor through involvement, acknowledgment, appreciation, trust building, and exposure to the ministry. Often, donor nurture is the most important development initiative for faith based non-profit ministries. Some key assumptions:

• Ministry leaders see donors as partners in the ministry.
• Ministry leaders are committed to building relationships with strategic donors.
• Donor nurture should be a regular scheduled task for key leaders within the ministry.

Anyone who represents the ministry must embody the mission of the ministry and have the ability to speak to high capacity donors. People give to mission and relationships; therefore, we must strengthen our communication of the mission and the depth of our relationships with potential generous donors. Ministries initially work through the board networks of friends, relatives, professional associates, neighbors, and churches.

Events – Gathering a crowd in order to share the mission and cultivate synergy is an important part of ministry development. Events often produce revenue, but mainly provide networking, exposure, and the foundation for partnership. Event keys:

1. Not just about revenue
2. Good for exposure
3. Should be repeatable / annual – develop a reputation, ease the task
4. Do 1-2 high quality events

Let me offer a sub-category under events.  It is the sustainable ongoing event that provides a service or product.  Launching a “business enterprise” can both accomplish mission outcomes, but also sustainable revenue.  I worked with an inner city drug recovery organization that has a desire to create revenue and accomplish jobs training.  They began a vehicle donation initiative, where they detailed, repaired, and sold the vehicles.  Not only did this initiative provide a large revenue stream, it created a jobs training program as well.

Grants – Foundations seek “letters of inquiry” and proposals from ministries that are a match with the mission and core values of the foundation. The percentage of approved grants is 4% or 1 out of 25; therefore, ministries need to have a long term approach that involves completing good research, investigating relational connections, nurturing networks, and excellent proposals.

What categories would you add?