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Development, Donor Relations, Fundraising, Stewardship

Multi-Level Relationship Marketing

by The Timothy Group
February 9, 2018

I have been consulting with Christian ministries since 1981. Some of the hardest working servants in the kingdom today are non-profit directors. They write, speak, recruit, manage, lead, raise money, counsel, and they even clean the restrooms and sweep the parking lot. They are mission-driven people with a real passion to help others. They work long hours for compensation that is sometimes a bit short or low or both.

So why, if they are working this hard, doing all these commendable deeds, are they struggling to meet payroll and grow their organizations? Here are a few key thoughts based upon years of experience.

 

NETWORKING . . . IS NOT A NAUGHTY WORD

Networking is not a new concept with multi-level companies like Amway and Herbalife and a multitude of other such organizations. Jesus started a multi-level organization that most of us are a part of today (the Church). Jesus recruited and trained the most unlikely bunch ever and impacted the world. He gave them assignments, held them accountable, loved them, and even chastised them, but accomplished His mission (the establishment of the New Testament Church). Think of His down line or immediate team – it was Jesus then Peter, James and John – a pretty effective group who worked together and got it done.

IT’S RELATIONSHIPS . . . NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

Since the invention of social media, we stay connected with legions more people than in past years. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. You get the idea. But think of your board, your volunteers and in some instances your donors as your family. Great families communicate and work together to sustain a home. You pass along assignments. I used to assign the lawn maintenance to my son, “Hey Matt, can you mow the grass this week?” Then I held him accountable to get the mower out and get after it. Matt had three days to mow the grass from the point of request. If he did it, I paid him $10; if I ended up doing it on the 4th day, Matt paid me $10. Now, I don’t want or need his money. I need him to realize his place in the family structure and to be accountable to help out. Volunteers can do the same if we ask them and hold them accountable. Keep in mind “volunteers do what we inspect … not what we expect.”

So, who are these family members in your ministry and how do we get them to invest themselves to accomplish your mission?

 

WHO’S ON FIRST?????? AT YOUR MINISTRY

Let’s get real, you need two resources to be effective in your organization. Human resources and dollar resources. You need bodies and bucks. Staff, board, and volunteers need to help you work and network at your ministry by utilizing their existing relationships. Every board and staff member become a center of influence. They help you open doors of opportunity, they become a networker. You build a plan to ask everyone connected with your organization to become an effective “Friend Raiser.” When we ask our family and close friends to help, they step up and do it. Somehow, we have missed this concept in building our networking teams. Instead of asking others and holding them accountable for the outcome, many of you just step up and do it…which leads to more frustration, more burnout, less effective management.

HERE’S THE PLAN . . . FOR THE AGES AND NOW

Won by one, is the timeless strategy for reaching out to others. Ask each board, staff, and key volunteer to reproduce themselves over the next 30-60-90 days by recruiting another person just like themselves to plug into your center’s ministry. As your volunteers increase (bodies) so will your gift income (bucks). Volunteers can and do share their time, talent, and treasure with their favorite ministries. Many hands and additional check books lighten the load.

Your best recruiter for your ministry is someone who already believes in you, who gives to you and prays for you. This month don’t ask for more money (just yet). Ask each board member to help you recruit a volunteer. Do the same with your staff and key volunteers. See if some effective “Relationship Marketing” could help surface another Peter, James, or John.

Provide a job description and share expectations with each and every volunteer. Tell them what it costs (time, talent, treasure) to join your team.

Networking is not a naughty word – it is all about relationships.

 

Pat McLaughlin
President/Founding Partner
The Timothy Group
[email protected]

Capital Campaigns, Development, Donor Relations, Fundraising, Uncategorized

Shari Flaming Center For The Arts Dedication

by The Timothy Group
December 14, 2017

On Friday, December 9th, Tabor College of Hillsboro, Kansas dedicated their $13 million Shari Flaming Center for the Arts. Through the determination and enthusiasm of Dr. Jules Glanzer; Ron Braun, VP for Advancement; Trustees, the Advancement team and the entire Tabor family, Tabor completed this facility debt free and exceeded their $18 million Signature Campaign with a total of $18,683,630. Since 2,000, Tabor has raised just under $60 million for capital, annual and endowment funds!

The Timothy Group has partnered with Tabor College since 2008. Pat McLaughlin, President and Founder of The Timothy Group spoke at the dedication and then was honored with a surprise award for his service to Tabor. The Tabor College/Timothy Group team has been a great partnership. Dr. Glanzer shared some kind words about working together, “Everything I know about fundraising, I learned from The Timothy Group. Pat went on donor visits with us for this campaign. One important thing Pat taught us was to listen to your donors. If you listen to them, they will tell you when and how much. I would attribute our fundraising success solely to the help of Pat and The Timothy Group. When we did what they asked us to do, it worked.”

The award presented to Pat is inscribed, “The Timothy Group – In grateful recognition for your service to Tabor College – Shari Flaming Center for The Arts – Dedicated 12/9/17.”

It’s appropriate that the first performing arts event in the Shari Flaming Center for the Arts was, Handel’s “Messiah.” Hallelujah for God’s provision of this wonderful new facility through the unparalleled generosity of the Tabor College constituency!

 

 

 

Patrick McLaughlin is President and Founder of The Timothy Group. Pat has personally assisted more than 1,654 Christian organizations. In 27 years of service, The Timothy Group has raised over $2.2 billion.

 

 

Development, Fundraising, Stewardship

Finding Volunteers Who’ve Got Your 6

by The Timothy Group
November 28, 2017

A humorous Chinese proverb says, “He who thinks he leads, but has no one following him is only taking a walk.” Leading and following sound like simple concepts, but they are incredibly complex. It’s beautiful when it works, but all too often leaders and followers don’t work together, but against one another. God appointed Deborah as a Judge to lead the Children of Israel through a desperate time. Deborah understood the value of alignment, “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the Lord!” (Judges 5:1).

Deborah faced the same challenges today’s leaders face—building a team you can trust. A friend of mine says it this way, “I’d go to war with a guy like that.” Our military uses the phrase, “Got your six” which means “I’ve got your back.” Deborah wrote a song about six types of people she asked to join her army. We recruit board members and volunteers from the same gene pool.

1. Followers Who Show Up (Judges 5:14-15)

Woody Allen is credited with the quote, “Showing up is 80 percent of life.” Deborah praised five tribes who joined her and General Barak as they marched against the King of Sisera. Faithfulness is a prime quality for each volunteer – groundskeepers who mow the lawn and shovel snow, board members who set the strategic vision and donors who give sacrificially. Showing up is 80 percent of volunteering. How can someone serve effectively, if they only attend half the time? “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). The Apostle Paul recognized faithfulness in several of his co-workers: Timothy, Tychicus, Epaphras, Onesimus and the faithful brothers and sisters in Ephesus and Colossae. Do you honor the faithful volunteers who serve the Lord in your organization? Just a little appreciation will go a long way in motivating your team to keep fighting the good fight.

2. Followers Who Second-Guess (Judges 5:15-16)

Deborah called out the tribe of Reuben for “much searching of heart.” They must have labored over their decision to help Deborah because she mentions it twice. In the end they couldn’t make a decision; indecision was their decision. Sales people can easily read buying signals of potential customers. One type of buyer questions everything and finds reasons for delaying their decision. In reality, to delay is to deny. Possibly, the buyer knows they will say “no,” but don’t want to say it, so they string along the conversation. No doubt, sales people who work with this type of customer want to scream, “Make a decision already!” Volunteer recruitment is similar. Asking questions about the job description is healthy. You want your volunteers to know and agree with your expectations. However, some people get stuck in “analysis paralysis” and never make a decision. Like Reuben, there is “much searching of heart.” When you encounter this person, it’s best just to move on to your next candidate.

3. Followers Who Go Sailing (Judges 5:17)

The tribes of Gilead, Dan and Ashur were distracted with life. Deborah questioned, “Why did Dan linger by the ships and why did Asher remain on the coast?” Don’t get the image that these tribes were lounging on the French Riviera, rather they were focused on work. In the parable of the four types of soil, Jesus taught about the seed that fell among the thorns, “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22). There are many cares of this world that distract volunteers from focusing on your ministry: kids, school, work, church, marriage, bills, health, in-laws, outlaws – the list of concerns goes on and on. Perhaps the biggest thorn is the deceitfulness of wealth. Some are too busy climbing the corporate ladder or growing their small business to devote any time serving the Lord with you.

4. Followers Who Stand Strong (Judges 5:18)

Thankfully, Deborah had a few tribes who not only showed up for work, but excelled. “The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields” (Judges 5:18). It’s rare to find followers who will risk their lives for your organization. King David relied on his top thirty warriors. On one occasion, he was facing the Philistines near Bethlehem and commented how much he longed for a drink of water from the well in his home town. Three of his elite soldiers heard his words and devised a black ops mission to break through the Philistine lines just to retrieve some water for David. David was so moved by their bravery to risk their lives for him that the offered the water to the Lord in worship. Paul wrote a stellar recommendation to the church in Philippi about Epaphroditus, “welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 3because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me” (Phil. 2:29-30). Every organization needs people who are willing to risk life and limb to advance its cause.

5. Followers Who Are No Shows (Judges 5:23)

It would be wonderful if everyone in your army was a Zebulun or Naphtali, but unfortunately that’s not the case. In Deborah’s victory song, she wrote a scathing rebuke against some volunteers who didn’t even show up. “Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty’” (Judges 5:23). You’ve probably cursed a few people under your breath who said they were coming, but didn’t. This is the only time Meroz is mentioned in the Bible and the only thing we know about them is they didn’t help — not the way you want to be remembered for eternity. Solomon warns about putting your confidence in someone who cannot be trusted, “Depending on an unreliable person in a crisis is like trying to chew with a loose tooth or walk with a crippled foot” (Prov. 25:19, GNT).

6. Followers Who Drive a Stake in the Ground (Judges 5:24-27)

Deborah won the battle through the efforts of an unlikely hero. Jael wasn’t a skilled archer or a mighty warrior, she was just a willing volunteer who used what she had to make an impact. The King of Sisera was fleeing the battlefield and came to Jael’s tent looking for a place to hide and rest. Jael welcomed him in, gave him some warm milk to help him sleep, and proceeded to drive a tent stake through his skull into the ground. What a powerful scene! We focus on this incredible victory, but forget that it took a lot of courage and grit for Jael to take matters into her own hands. Every organization needs a few core people who believe so passionately in the mission and vision that they will do anything and everything within their power to advance its cause.

Your ministry needs a Jael to fight for you. You need volunteers — groundskeepers to board members — who will look creatively at your problems, work toward solutions, and push through all the obstacles to victory. Most of all, you need donors who believe in your cause and give sacrificially to promote your mission and vision. You are writing lyrics to your ministry song every day. Years from now what people sing about your organization will be based upon the quality of team members you recruit today. Make sure you find people who’ve got your six!

 

Ron Haas

Vice President

Ron Haas has served the Lord as a pastor, the vice president of advancement of a Bible college, a Christian foundation director, a board member and a fundraising consultant. In 2013 he wrote, Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising. In 2015 Ron wrote Simply Share – Bold, Grace-Based Giving. He regularly presents fundraising workshops at ministry conferences and has written fundraising articles for At the Center magazine and Christian Leadership Alliance’s Outcomes magazine.

Capital Campaigns, Client Impact, Fundraising

A Letter From Hope Academy

by The Timothy Group
November 2, 2017

October 19, 2017

Dear Pat, Kent and our friends at TTG,

At long last, I am writing to express my deep gratitude and satisfaction for the critical role that you played in our Growing Hope Capital Campaign. Your wisdom, experience, and guidance were invaluable as we took this huge step of faith. I’m certain that we wouldn’t have traveled as far, and as fast, as we did under your consultancy. Beginning with the pre-campaign study you helped us conduct (participation and positive responses were off the charts), you headed us on the right trajectory, helping us set a tone and pace towards success.

Here are just some of the highlights of our engagement with you:

Trustworthy:

Your years in the trenches helping Christ-centered organizations expand their impact gives you credibility beyond compare; we were able to trust your advice and move forward in confidence.

Inspiring:

While God has given us a vision to expand our work, you stimulated our move into action and help galvanize our resolve to move forward in faith.

Methodical:

While recognizing our unique scenario, you helped us develop a track to run on and helped us stay focused on the critical next steps.

Organized:

Your team provided timely and efficient support as we needed it, working together as a unit.

Thinkers:

Problem solving and strategy requires brain power – we benefited from your wisdom and experience.

Hopeful:

You recognize that development in a Christian environment requires faith – together we were focused on the Provider of all good gifts.

Yielding:

While God brings the harvest, your guidance positioned us for results – $8.3 million committed in 11 months.

Thank you for the important role that you’ve played in helping us to grow and spread Hope. Please share our gratefulness with others who may be interested in working with you.

In Him,

Jim Stigman, Head of Institutional Advancement, Hope Academy

Hope Academy

Capital Campaigns

Who Can Teach Us To Build?

by The Timothy Group
October 13, 2017
Excerpts from Growing and Building – Faith, Prayer and Leadership
by Bruce L. Fister, Lieutenant General, USAF, Retired
published 2017 Saquaro Publishing

 

Officer’s Christian Fellowship (OCF) has a vision to positively impact the military through Christ-like leaders. Their mission is to engage military leaders in Biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for Christ-like service at the intersection of faith, family and profession.
www.ocfusa.org

 

In June of 2004, I again began a search for a consultant campaign partner. This issue would later become part of the 40-day prayer vigil that the Capital Committee indicated in August of that year. To begin the search process, I opened discussions with three very fine organizations, but the one that attracted my attention consistently was The Timothy Group. Pat McLaughlin, the CEO of The Timothy Group, has two passions: building the Kingdom through biblical fundraising and baseball.

Pat is a very animated individual who paradoxically founded his work on two pillars—the Lord’s Word and the words of Yogi Berra. In his spare time, Pat was an umpire and has worked over 600 baseball games at the Little League, high school, and college levels. He always had stories to tell about experiences with the kids, like “there are no do-overs” (when you’re out you’re out). He also liked to share the sayings of Yogi Berra such as his advice to batters about coming out of a slump. “Slump? I ain’t in no slump…I just ain’t hitting.” Or “You can’t think and hit at the same time.” It was fun to hear Pat talk, and when things were not going exactly as planned with the Growing and Building Campaign, the thoughts of Pat and Yogi provided a little relaxing humor.

What eventually settled me and OCF on the selection of The Timothy Group was the principles; therefore, any organization with which they partnered had to have values compatible with theirs. Second, they would only work with an organization with a vision and a plan for implementing that vision. In this instance, the OCF Strategy, the overall OCF vision that was part of the strategy, and our recent work on a campaign vision were compelling. Third, they were a proponent of leaving no one behind: that is, even small donors were important to the success of a campaign, and in the case of OCF, this fit well with our need to reach out to the younger members. Fourth, they were proponents of a pre-campaign survey. And last, they didn’t offer boilerplate solutions; they tailored their approaches to the uniqueness of each organization. This also meant that they would “coach,” but the real work had to be done by OCF and its members.

In November of 2004, The Timothy Group began their work on the pre-campaign study. As they did their work, OCF, with The Timothy Group’s help, turned their attention to the development of a case statement, a two-page document that they could use with potential major donors so they would understand how the Lord was leading OCF through this campaign.

By April 2005, The Timothy Group had completed the pre-campaign study. They were convinced that OCF could raise the funds necessary for construction of the Heritage House at White Sulphur Springs. Pat McLaughlin presented the report at the spring Council meeting.

The Timothy Group concluded that OCF could raise between $6.8 and $7.2 million in Phase I of a three-phased campaign. This remained a daunting challenge, but the OCF Council and I were confident through faith, that OCF could successfully move forward with this campaign. The Council approved The Timothy Group as the consulting partner for the OCF capital campaign and reaffirmed their support for the campaign. It was time to begin and build the team to take on this great vision that the Lord had put before us.

A point that Pat McLaughlin emphasized was that the OCF leadership, specifically the Council, key staff, and key volunteers had to demonstrate that they had the confidence that the Lord was leading the organization in this capital campaign. As I mentioned earlier, this group of faithful servants demonstrated their faith in the Lord’s direction and gave sacrificially and joyfully beyond expectation to the Growing and Building Campaign.

The Campaign Plan

My first challenge was to build a campaign plan and a broader campaign organization. Pat provided a set of manuals tailored to OCF that would guide us through the development of a campaign plan, production of publicity material, and construction of a campaign organization. Organizing and staffing the campaign with a large group of volunteers along with OCF’s already dedicated staff was not only somewhat of a trial initially, but it remained a challenge throughout the campaign. This proved to “be one of the most difficult aspects of exercising leadership in this volunteer environment, particularly since it involved a significant amount of time, and because all of us were unfamiliar with the process of capital fundraising.

Despite this challenge, The Timothy Group recommended a campaign structure consisting primarily of volunteers. A volunteer fundraising structure is typical for religious and some not-for-profit organizations. The most important reason is that volunteers work from the heart and for OCF: they are the core of the ministry, and they would create an environment of dependence upon the Lord. Professional fundraisers and some paid staff might have been able to do the work for OCF, but not only would it have been much more expensive, there would also be far less commitment toward the project on the part of the membership. After all, OCF was and remains an organization of volunteers, beginning with local fellowships and includes almost all aspects of the ministry. It was in our DNA.

Donor Relations, Fundraising, Strategic Planning

Raising the Bar

by The Timothy Group
August 21, 2017

When Warren Buffet purchases a company, he requires his new managers to purchase stock. He believes that executives with “skin in the game” make better decisions. Buffet is unknowingly expressing a biblical truth, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Board members who don’t give show that their heart isn’t really aligned with that ministry’s mission or vision. Every board member may not be able to give or get $100,000, but every board member should give a generous, sacrificial, annual gift.

How can you engage your board in fundraising? Paul wasn’t writing with nonprofits in mind, but he offers four applications for board members:

“Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person … ” (1 Thess. 5:14 MSG).

1. Warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Some boards are populated by “obit” members who only serve to build their obituary resumes. A board member’s job isn’t just to set policy to manage the money you already have, it’s to help you find more money. One board member commented, “Every one of our board members should constantly be in conversations with people to find out where God is hiding money!” Board chairs should prompt “obit” members to get a move on, or graciously ask them to move on.

2. Gently encourage the stragglers. The most successful fundraising is peer-to-peer. Some board members agree to raise money, but don’t follow through with their assignments. They keep promising to contact a potential donor, but they never call. They talk a good game, but it’s just talk. Solomon describes these board members, and even a few donors this way: “Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.” (Prov. 25:14). It’s not what you expect, but what you inspect that actually gets done. Encourage board members to take an active role in fundraising. If nothing changes, refer to step one.

3. Reach out for the exhausted. Don was a rare board member who jumped into a capital campaign with abandon. As he made donor calls, he discovered that many of his contacts weren’t as excited about the ministry as he was. At one board meeting he shared, “This is hard work. I’d rather be out digging dirt with a shovel than asking people for money.” Don was doing a great job and needed encouragement. Donors weren’t giving because the ministry had done a poor job of telling its story, not because Don was doing something wrong. Don kept asking and by the end of the campaign he had raised three times more than anyone else. Reach out to exhausted board members and pull them to their feet.

4. Be patient with each person. The stress level at board meetings usually tracks with the monthly financial reports. As gift income rises so does everyone’s mood, but when donations go down, attitudes often follow. The executive director looks at the board and wonders why they aren’t helping. The board looks at the executive director and wonders why he or she doesn’t visit major donors. Paul ends with, “And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.” (1 Thess. 5:15 MSG).

How can you bring out the best in your board? Have the “skin-in-the-game” conversation with your board chair. As a group, set giving and getting expectations and hold one another accountable. Start with a small assignment. Ask a board member to invite a friend to meet you for lunch. Good things happen when ministry leaders and board members work together.

 

This article can be found in the Summer 2014 issue of Outcomes Magazine

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Stewardship

Bequest Language in Sync with your Donor’s Heart!

by The Timothy Group
August 1, 2017

I recently helped my mom update her estate plans and discovered three significant problems: 1) One of the non-profits is no longer in business, 2) Several organizations have new leadership and may drift away from their original mission that first attracted my mom, and 3) Over the past 15 years, my mom has begun supporting new ministries that were not reflected in her estate plans. Organizations and donors’ giving interests tend to change over time. How can donors keep their estate plans in sync with their giving desires?

Stewardship

More than a President: Nyquist the Umpire

by The Timothy Group
June 9, 2017

Seventh inning stretch: Moody Board of Trustees member Jerry Jenkins, Timothy Group President Pat McLaughlin, and President Paul Nyquist at a Little League ballgame.

On a hot July day several years ago Timothy Group President Pat McLaughlin needed a partner to help him umpire a double header of the Near West Little League in Chicago. When Moody President Paul Nyquist called and joked that he was going to come to the game to “harass” him, McLaughlin turned the tables and told him to come dressed in gray slacks and black shoes; McLaughlin would supply the ump shirt and hat. Nyquist bravely showed up. “He did an incredible job on the bases,” McLaughlin recalls. “He knows baseball!”

McLaughlin, who consults with Moody’s fundraising, sent a photo of Nyquist in his baseball gear to the Moody Board of Trustees with this message: “Your president can preach, teach, lead, raise money, and now he even umpires.” Jerry Jenkins ’67-’68, the then board chair, shot back a text and indicated he was jealous. “Of what?” McLaughlin asked. Jenkins wanted to umpire with them, so McLaughlin ordered shirts and caps, and the rest is history.

In 2015 Jim Elliott ’83, vice president of Stewardship, also joined them to ump a game. “All three of my crew-Dr. Nyquist, Mr. Jenkins, and Mr. Elliott-have done an excellent job,” McLaughlin says. The past two years he even got Nyquist to work “the dish” (home plate).

“It’s a privilege to serve the kids this way,” Jenkins says. “This is a challenged neighborhood with few fathers involved. We lead the kids in prayer before the games and try to encourage and teach them as we officiate. They seem to get a kick out of having ‘real’ umpires make their games feel like a big deal. But the truth is, Pat is the only real umpire.”

 

Read the full article here.

Source: Moody Alumni News, Winter 2016

Capital Campaigns

Wall-Whacking Success at Hope Academy!

by The Timothy Group
March 24, 2017

Take a moment to celebrate The Giver of all good gifts as Hope Academy (Minneapolis) marks the launch of construction for a significant expansion. The video features the voices of their elementary students singing “If I Had a Hammer.” The video and chart come to us from our friend Jim Stigman, Head of Institutional Advancement. Thanks, Jim!

 

Click for a fun, 60-sec video of the Wall-Whacking

Click here for highlights of the campaign thus far

 

 

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