“A successful donor visit is when the right person asks the right person for the right amount for the right project at the right time in the right way.”
Ron and Kent discuss how to determine the right amount to ask for a gift.
View our 26-minute conversation here.
Click here for Free Resource: Donor Qualification ScaleSterling College recently dedicated the new Gleason Center Expansion, the first of three building projects that are part of a $25 million SterlingNOW campaign. The College also plans to build Zaid-West Science and Research Center, a 30,000 square foot science and math building, and renovate Thompson Hall, a 24,000 square foot building that currently houses the science, math, and business programs.
The Gleason addition features 32,000 square feet of new and renovated space, including three classrooms, 20 offices for faculty and coaches, the Dudrey Center for Health Sciences, the Mabee Wellness Center & Weight room, the First Bank Lobby & Hall of Fame, new and additional locker room space and the new Wilkey Fieldhouse.
For the first 13 months of our campaign, we employed another fundraising consulting firm to lead us through the College’s first campaign in over thirteen years. Among other concerns with the firm, we became aware that the feasibility study this firm conducted on our behalf was dishonest. Not the start that a first-time President, a new Vice President for Advancement, and a Board of Trustees had in mind.
Then Pat McLaughlin and Ron Haas of The Timothy Group (TTG) stepped in. They quickly helped us organize and re-tool our campaign. The training delivered by TTG to staff, board, and campaign committee members was outstanding and customized to who we are and where we were in the campaign equipping us very well for campaign success. Their research and evaluation of our campaign status provided our President and board the assurance that we were on track and that we could achieve our goal.
More specifically, TTG coached us through the intricacies of major gift solicitation. They sharpened the case for support when making the ask, refined our listening skills, and accompanied us in the field with donor briefings and solicitations. TTG built our confidence and helped us be bold with our prospective donors. They helped us craft the proposal and took part in our presentation that secured a $2 million matching challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation.
Personally, Pat and Ron were invaluable to me as they provided insight, encouragement, and took evening and weekend phone calls to help me in some of the most challenging times and situations during the campaign. The Timothy Group was integral to our success.
About the Author: Scott Carte
r is the former Sterling Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations. After leading Sterling’s successful campaign, he now serves as Director of Development-Athletics at University of Colorado Boulder. Scott, Heather, and their two children live in Estes Park, Colorado and enjoy occasional visits from black bears and mountain lions.
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Join us for this insightful conversation!
View Short Video Click here for Free Resource: A Theology of AdvancementThe most effective fundraising strategy is listening. Learn to ask these seven probing questions then slow down and listen for your donor’s heart. You can listen your way to a major/mega gift!
Pat and Ron discuss the importance of asking your major donors questions about their stewardship decisions.
View Short Video
Faith vs. Doubt in Fundraising
Christian ministry fundraising incites our Christian faith. The same God who creates our needs is the same God we must trust. We have a choice to either embrace faith or doubt. As a development director at a Christian K-12 school, I know this circumstance all too well. I rebuke doubt and embrace the belief that God will help me meet my school’s annual fundraising goal. Faith without works is dead, so I put action behind my faith and zealously serve my God, who created my fundraising needs. It is well with my soul because God provided this lack to exercise my faith. Lack often instigates doubt while fulfilled needs strengthen our faith. To quote a line from a Christian-themed, Hallmark movie, “It wouldn’t be called faith unless we had something to doubt.”
Experiencing Jehovah-Jireh
Our ministry needs set the stage for us to know Jehovah-Jireh, which means “the Lord will provide.” Scripture illustrates God our Provider in several accounts, but one account that the Holy Spirit brings to my remembrance is Elijah in 1 Kings 17. In the following passage, God commands Elijah to hide by the brook, where He will feed him:
“You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. (1 Kings 17:4-7)
In this passage, Elijah’s faith and obedience allow God to show Himself as Jehovah-Jireh. While we may not have faith as strong as those listed in Hebrews 11, we often face the same circumstance as Elijah. This circumstance allows us to experience a confirmation of God’s faithfulness.
I recently completed my doctoral dissertation that studies authentic leadership and its influence on venture philanthropy in Christian, K-12 schools. Yes, that is a mouthful. I have several stories on how God created desperate needs in my arduous academic journey only to fulfill them in His perfect timing. One humorous story that comes to mind is how God sent me a venture philanthropist to participate in my research. I prayed for God to send me another participant, and that same weekend, I received a Papa John’s pizza delivery meant for another address. I called the business, who said that I could keep the pizza. Given my petite stature, I am not one to inhale two large pizzas by myself, so I asked God what He wanted me to do with them. His Holy Spirit told me to “be a blessing,” and two of my coworkers immediately came to mind. One coworker is a hardworking father of three young students, and the other coworker is our school custodian who graciously donates $20 a month from his humble ministry paycheck.
The next morning, as I am putting their pizzas in the faculty breakroom’s fridge, my accounting director sees me and begins inquiring about my research. I informed her that I am still looking for a participant, and she insisted that I reach out to a Colorado school she used to live by before she moved to Texas. She asked me to follow her to her office and was incredibly insistent that I contact the school’s superintendent. She went as far as writing down the leader’s contact information, and to this day, she laughs at how that behavior was out of her shy character. As God would have it, the Colorado school superintendent responded to my email that same day and connected me with his school’s co-founder and philanthropist. When I spoke to her on the phone, the Lord moved me to share what inspired our phone call. After I told her my, “Papa John’s story,” she laughed and fell silent from a moment of shock and awe. She went on to say that her husband represented a company that invested in Papa John’s in its early years and how he had one-on-one meetings with its founder long before the company became a household name.
Key Takeaway
The point of my testimony is that it is God who commands the ravens, or in my case, a Papa John’s pizza deliverer, to fulfill a need. God also commanded more “ravens,” or venture philanthropists, to meet my need for research participants just as He commands them to invest generously in Christian schools. Without a need and your prayer and obedience, God cannot prove himself as a faithful provider. It is God, not a high-net-worth donor, who meets our fundraising needs by speaking His commands. Just as us ministry fundraising professionals are eager to connect with Christian philanthropists, we should be eager to connect daily with the wealthiest donor we will ever encounter – Jehovah-Jireh.
Shalom,
Renee Cervantes
Abou
t the Author: Renee Cervantes is the development director for The Christian School at Castle Hills, located in San Antonio, Texas. She leads their $10.5 million capital campaign that has raised $9 million in the last four years. Before joining the school in 2017, Renee’s work experience was in television and newspaper reporting and public relations. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts from The University of the Incarnate Word, where she received a four-year golf scholarship. Renee also has a master’s degree in Christian Ministry and is completing a doctoral degree in Christian Leadership from Liberty University.
In his book The Red Sea Rules, Pastor Robert J. Morgan recounts a story as a reminder of how we can trust God to respond to our needs in His own unique way.
One of the first homeless shelters in America was started in Chicago in the 1880s. Colonel George and Sarah Clarke leased a notorious saloon known for years as the Pacific Beer Garden and began sharing meals and Christ’s love with vagrant men off Chicago streets. The Christian couple renamed it the Pacific Garden Mission which is still in operation today and renowned for its Unshackled radio broadcasts.
In those early years, the Clarke’s personally paid the landlord for the use of the facility. But eventually, operating the Mission became more than they could cover. About to lose the Mission because they couldn’t pay the rent, George and Sarah prayed throughout the night that the Lord would provide a way for them to keep the mission.
The next morning, they awoke to a great surprise. The entire front lawn of their home was covered in a blanket of white. Looking closer, they discovered that they were not ordinary plants, they were rare mushrooms. Gathering the crop, the Clarkes carted the mushrooms to Chicago’s famous Palmer House Hotel. There the chefs paid them handsomely for the harvest, enough money to pay the rent.
Owning to God’s timely provision, Mrs. Clarke would later affirm the miracle by saying “No mushrooms were ever seen there before—nor any since.” It’s a reminder to trust in God’s response to our needs, in his unique way, and for His glory.
What mushroom miracle do you need God to accomplish in your ministry? He specializes in miracles and can provide just what you need at just the right time.
Response: Father, I want to be diligent and sacrifice for the work you’ve given me to do. Help me trust you to accomplish the things that I cannot.
Think About This: Some donors are like mushrooms; they show up once and you never see them again. Make the most of every donor encounter, love them, thank them, and treat them as the gift they really are.
Author: Denny Bender, Consultant – Before joining The Timothy Group, Denny served as Executive Director of Union Rescue Mission in Wichita, Kansas, a 114-bed emergency housing shelter for homeless men that also provides addiction recovery, a residential life-change and re-engagement program, as well as food assistance and infant care items for women and needy families.
Only a few weeks left!!!
Since Labor Day, you have worked hard to plan your Fall and Year-End appeals via mail and email. You have also made follow up calls to your key ministry friends as well as your Multiple Support Program donors (MSPs) who make multiple gifts on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Now is not the time to back off and give up! Rather, it’s full speed ahead as you reach out to your key ministry partners and ask them to help you with a generous year-end gift.
Don’t forget to share the following with your donors and ministry friends:
• Remind your donors about the benefits of giving directly from their IRA or appreciated assets, especially since the stock market is tracking at an all-time high.
• Thanks to federal coronavirus relief legislation, taxpayers are now able to take advantage of a new deduction for donating to qualifying charities — up to $300 for individual filers and up to $600 for married couples. This applies even if they don’t itemize, which is favorable news for many tax filers.
•Another helpful CARES Act change removes the charitable contribution deduction cap. Normally, the deduction cap on charitable contributions for those who itemize is 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). The CARES Act lifts that cap to 100% for individual and joint tax filers that wish to claim this $300 charitable donation deduction.
For December, we recommend the following action steps to maximize your final year-end appeals follow up and personal solicitations to your ministry partners.
December 2020
• Follow up with a year-end appeal sent out via email and snail mail on or before December 10th.
• Conduct a Ministry Briefing virtual event and arrange follow up virtual visits to those attending the event who express interest in learning more about your ministry.
• Schedule personal/virtual visits with your major/mega donors by your CEO, COO, and CDO during the final month of 2020. Prepare a sample script for scheduling appointments.
• Team members should make “thank you” calls to major, mega, and faithful donors as part of your year-end outreach. Acknowledge gifts received during 2020, particularly major gifts and remind them of your year-end appeal. Recruit a calling team of board members, administrative staff, development department staff, and faithful friends or donors (volunteers) dedicated to the ministry’s mission and vision. Provide a sample script for call team members. The best time to call is between 12/10 to 12/20 after the year-end appeal has arrived.
• CEO, COO, and CDO complete personal/virtual visits with key donors for solicitation of significant year-end gift commitments.
• Make sure your Administrative and Development Staff are on call to follow up with key donors interested in arranging special or last-minute year-end gifts; (i.e., gifts of stock, IRA Rollover, planned gifts, etc.).
Please drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. Visit our website for more helpful tools and resources. We would love to partner with you in your urgent year-end fundraising activities to support and advance the unique ministry mission God has called you to accomplish.
Author: Dan DiDonato, Consulant
Have you scheduled a Zoom donor call yet? Perhaps you have been a late adopter and wonder if your ministry partners are willing to connect digitally. Truth be told, probably most of them have been facetiming their grandchildren for months. Video calls are a wonderful tool because you can see your donor’s face and respond to their body language. You can make a deeper connection, see their home, and even comment on an item you might see on a shelf or a family photo on the wall. Here are a few tips to consider.
1. Know Your Platform. Are you using Webex, Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet? Each platform has its own unique features. Familiarize yourself so you can help guide your ministry partner if they have difficulty.
Understand time limitations. WebEx has a 50-minute time limit and Zoom has a 40-minute cap. Plan your conversation well; you don’t want to rush your ask before the clock runs out. You can avoid this by purchasing an unlimited plan.
Log-on 5 minutes early. Legendary Packer’s coach Vince Lombardi once said, “If you are five minutes early, you are already ten minutes late!” Its much better to wait on your donor than to have your donor wait on you.
Look professional. Check your background, position your camera properly, manage your lighting so your face is visible. All of these are important elements of having a great virtual call.
Consider FaceTime or WhatsApp. Virtual platforms may add a level of complexity for your donor. Offer to use FaceTime or WhatsApp which might be easier and more familiar.
2. Understand Your Audience. Some seniors are very tech savvy; some are not. Know your donors’ tech comfort level and help them have a great experience.
Send an instruction email. Before your meeting send an email with a link and all the information they will need. Do your donors need to download an app? Consider including a how-to document that describes the process step-by-step.
Encourage your donor to keep their camera on. Occasionally, someone doesn’t turn on their video. They might not know which button to push; they might be shy or having a bad hair day. Encourage them by saying, “I’d love to see your face.”
Avoid distractions. We’ve all seen Zoom kids and animals. Try to limit any distractions but don’t freak out if they happen. Just take it in stride.
Have a contingency plan. You might experience internet connection problems. Don’t keep trying a bad connection, just default to a phone call. Let them know that if you get disconnected you will call them.
3. Make a Personal Connection. Video gives you an opportunity to make a much deeper connection than just a voice call.
Clearly communication the purpose of your visit. Let them know in advance if you are planning to ask. Say something like, “I would love to connect with you on a Zoom call to share some current ministry updates and prayer requests and ask if you would consider supporting our year end campaign.”
Focus on your donor. Make the first part of your visit about them and their well-being. Catch up on life since the last time you spoke.
Say “Thank You.” Gratitude never goes out of style. Virtual calls give you an opportunity to look your donors in the eye and genuinely express your heartfelt thanks.
Tune into facial expressions. Always mention how good it is to see their faces. This is especially meaningful during COVID when perhaps they haven’t been able to go to church to see their friends.
4. Tell Your Story. Take advantage of the video platform to creatively tell your story.
Send materials in advance. If you have a brochure or even a gift proposal mail or email it in advance to give them time to read it and think about questions they may have.
Include other team members. Virtual meetings give you the flexibility to include your president, a board member, and a faculty or staff member. Use these expert witnesses to add excitement to your meeting and build a strong case for support.
Give a virtual tour. Take your iPad and walk around your building or campus and let your donors see your ministry in real time.
Share a video. If you can’t take a tour, consider showing a video. Be sure to practice first. Videos can add so much to the conversation but it’s one more thing that could go wrong.
5. Focus on Outcomes. If you don’t have a plan for your meeting, it can easily drift into just a pleasant conversation.
Identify three outcomes. Put a post-it note with your meeting outcomes on your monitor to remind you to accomplish your goal. These could be to gather personal information, identify giving interests, discover motivations, or ask for a specific gift, etc.
Stick to your time limit. Virtual calls tend to be more focused. Don’t rush the conversation but realize that a donor’s attention span may be less than the Zoom imposed time limit. Follow the three “B’s” (Be Sharp, Be Brief, and Be Gone).
Establish your next steps. Don’t hang up without outlining your follow-up plan. If they need time to pray about their gift decision ask, “Would it be okay if I called you in a couple of weeks to hear how the Lord might be leading you to partner with us?”
Follow-up. Treat virtual donor calls as you would in-person calls. Send a hand-written note. Answer any questions they asked in the meeting. Share additional information. Check on their gift decision and pray with your donor.
Cross International works with partners in 14 countries reaching out to 40,000 children and families though 46 projects like food, clean water, orphan and childcare, medical aid, education, housing, disaster relief, and microenterprise opportunities. Cross has a small team of three Individual Donor Officers (IDO) and a new mid-level donor representative.
Kristen, one of their IDOs, has been cultivating a donor who was interested in a food project in Guatemala. This ministry partner gave $1,000 last year, so Kristen followed up with thank you notes, reached out with phone calls and emails, and attempted a personal meeting. The donor didn’t have time for a meeting, but later sent $40,000. Kristen continued the conversation and earlier this year the donor wanted to travel to Guatemala to meet the team but COVID restrictions prevented him. So, Kristen offered a Zoom visit with the executive director, herself, and their Guatemalan partners. The donor asked his questions directly to the field staff doing the work. As a result of that conversation he made a $100,000 gift!
Virtual visits work, yet they don’t always go smoothly. You can be fully prepared, but Murphy’s Law applies especially to technology. Kristen had scheduled three interviews, unfortunately one of the partners could not connect. The donor was understanding about the limitations of technology in developing countries and thanked Kristen for all her work to schedule the meetings.
One last note: The donor had car trouble that day and logged on from his phone while stuck on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. This donor has an incredibly busy schedule, but God slowed him down that day so he could hear a great impact story directly from international ministry partners.
Be creative in your approach to virtual meetings and boldly tell your story to your donors. Perhaps God will throw open the floodgates of heaven for your ministry.
Your board members might be an untapped resource. Each of them is in a unique position to influence their family, friends, and business networks. Learn how to equip and engage them as effective fundraisers for your ministry.
Tune in for this insightful webinar!
Paul the Apostle set up shop in the city of Ephesus; for three years he taught, trained, discipled, and mentored a young understudy named Timothy. They became close friends and Paul even penned two intimate books to his young Pastor friend canonized in the Holy Writ (1 & 2 Timothy). The Timothy Group has been teaching, training, discipling, and mentoring our clients around the world for more than 30 years. It’s not rocket science, it’s all about relationships. If you can clearly identify your story, mission, vision, core values, and your need, you too, can be successful.
We have been privileged to mentor a college president in the booming metropolis of Haviland, Kansas, population 683; only 2,516 individuals live in the entire county. Dr. Royce Frazier has been President of Barclay College for 10 years. He has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, not fundraising, yet Dr. Frazier and his team have completed two campaigns in the past three years. In 2018, Barclay dedicated their new fine arts center, a beautiful $8.5 million facility. And in this pandemic year, Royce led a campaign to raise $800,000 to launch their new Nursing Program.
As they were nearing their latest goal, Dr. Frazier and their director of nursing approached the county hospital foundation with a request for $40,000 a year for three years. Three times during his presentation, Royce mentioned $400,000 a year for three years. WOWIZER, the directors sat there in shock. One of them finally asked, “Let me get this straight, are you asking us for $400,000 annually for three years for a total of $1,200,000?” Royce was just as shocked as the board. Finally, he realized his misstatement and adjusted his request to $120,000. The next day the foundation notified him that they had granted his request. Maybe he was implementing some sort of crazy reverse psychology, but in any case, the Barclay College Nursing Program is now oversubscribed at $920,000. God is Good!
Barclay College is planning a $6.5 million campaign for 2021 for a new wellness center/gymnasium. Two weeks ago, a donor mentioned he might want to put their name on the new building and asked how large of a gift it would require. Without skipping a beat, Royce said, “About half!” This mild-mannered family counselor went from fear to faith and asked a donor for a $3 million lead gift.
We have been in the field with Dr Frazier; we’ve taught, trained, discipled, and mentored him. We helped him fine tune his asking skills and he has taken it to a whole new level. Let’s be honest, many times you have not… because you have asked not. We teach our clients to utilize “Holy Boldness,” not a spirt of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). If we can help you become a great storyteller and an asker, give us a shout. Very likely you already have the relationships, they just need to hear your story, review your plan, and be encouraged to give!
