All non-profit leaders by nature of their responsibilities are bivocational fundraisers. Contrary to public opinion, fundraising is a noble profession because it brings meaning to money, and you are participating with God’s mission in the world. When raising funds for a Christian ministry or organization, we are engaged in a Holy partnership.

For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:9

You [God] led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77:20

For many, fundraising is outside their comfort zone, and they are filled with fear of the thought of asking for money. Yet every leader knows money increases your impact and is required for projects to be effective. Most non-profits begin with a dream to make a significant difference addressing a perceived need. In order for the dream to become a reality, resources are required.

One of the ways to overcome the FUD—fear, uncertainty, and doubt—is to engage a mentor who will serve as a mirror to your activities providing guidance to increase your fundraising capacity. The mentor’s role is to light the fire within.

Mentoring is a relationship that increases the growth and progress personally and professionally for the person being mentored. The mentor serves as a mirror and guide for the mentored, asking questions and providing feedback to increase understanding of their reality and preferred future.  Guided conversations, assignments, and action steps are recommended by the mentor. The mentor is responsible to equip and inspire but the responsibility for growth and progress lies with the mentored.

Mentoring is unique from coaching and consulting in that the focus is not on a predetermined outcome or promote a prescriptive model. Mentoring provides holistic personal and professional improvement that leads to desired outcomes. Mentoring is not therapy or counseling, although it often brings wholeness to the mentored.

Throughout my life, in each of the roles I assumed, there were mentors that influenced me in my leadership service. During seminary days, Professor Henry Schmidt met with three of us each Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. We drank bad coffee, ate bad donuts, and discussed a chapter of “The Measure of a Man” by Gene Getz. It was a formative time of my life.

While serving as a pastor and church planter, I sought out people willing to come alongside and provide guidance, encouragement, and direction. When I shifted from pastoral ministry to serving in Christian higher education, Dr. Rich Kriegbaum was on call 24/7 to help me navigate a role totally new to me. And as a rookie college president realizing a major part of the role required me to be a fundraiser, Pat McLaughlin came to the rescue. In each case, they lit fires within me to rise to the challenge. Now in this season of my life, I am finding great joy mentoring others.

I have discovered there are five leadership activities that create a meaningful mentoring relationship.

Listen. It all starts with listening. Listening to their story, their accomplishments and their challenges. Listening for their mindset and experiences that shaped their lives. Asking questions that clarify who they are and are becoming. What do they want to preserve? What do they want to avoid? What do they want to achieve? Listen for what is causing the resistance to fundraise.

See. Observing the habits, attitudes, and relationships provides insights that strengthen the feedback and assists in the assessment of the person, their environment and culture. What in the environment will either motivate or needs to be overcome to increase their fundraising capacity?

Learn. The process of listening and observing now gives way to identifying the hurdles that will need to be overcome. Defining their realities, clarifying their preferred future, and identifying the wet blankets that are extinguishing the flame within them. What resources will need to be brought to the table. What assignments will enable the mentored to increase their capacity? “One should begin with the end in mind. What actions will be needed to see their preferred future become a reality?” What tipping point attitude needs to be addressed?

Do. Taking action is where the rubber meets the road. All the listening, observing, and processing finds its expression in actions. Clear and precise assignments move the person along the road of increased capacity. Experiencing some success in fundraising can become motivating. What activities will move the person towards continuous effective fundraising?

Love. Mentoring is a relationship. The goal of a mentor is to light a fire in the person being mentored. It is not the carrot or the stick but the fire within that the mentor desires to light. And only love can make that happen.

If you want to light the fundraising fire within, consider engaging a mentor who will come alongside to equip and inspire you to increase your fundraising capacity.

About the Author: Jules Glanzer served as a pastor and church planter for 25 years, a seminary dean at George Fox University, and the college president at Tabor College. While at Tabor, God used his efforts to raise more than $53 million with no gift over $2 million. Jules serves as an adjunct professor, mentor, senior consultant with the Timothy Group, and recently authored Money. Money. Money. Actions for Effective Fundraising.

The decision to enter a capital campaign rests with the board, but often there is a lack of full support from the board. For a variety of reasons, boards often are hesitant to approve a capital campaign. Board culture, previous failed campaigns, personal cost, fear of failure, stakeholder concern, economic conditions, or reservations about current leadership are some of the possible reasons for not enthusiastically supporting the decision to launch a capital campaign.

Here are six questions to move your board toward full engagement.

1. What is your understanding of the campaign? Probe each board member’s evolving understanding of the campaign—and the business case behind it. Check in on both their strategic (big picture) and tactical (step-by-step) understanding. This is not a time to defend or even share more details about the campaign. Rather it is a time to gather information about what they are thinking.
2. What concerns do you have? Don’t ask board members if they have concerns—concerns are a given, so get them out in the open and discuss them. Help the board identify their deep-seated concerns and reservations. Another way of asking this is what do they want to avoid moving forward?
3. How do you see your role? Don’t assume boards knows their role in a campaign. Verify and clarify their role. Many will be hesitant because it is implied that they will have to open their checkbooks more than they already are. Let your board members verbalize what their role is in the campaign. Equip them in understanding the importance of their engagement.
4. What do you need? This question validates and diffuses any frustrations or fears a board member might be feeling with the campaign or its impact on stakeholders. Another way of asking this is What do they want to preserve moving forward?
5. How would you describe your commitment to the campaign? Giving your board members a chance to be honest about their commitment allows you to better understand their motivations and increase their support. Knowing from the beginning which board members will fully support the campaign will be helpful during the campaign.
6. What do you want to achieve? Begin with the end in mind and help the board think about the preferred future and the outcomes of the campaign. Help them understand the value of the campaign to the institution. This is an opportunity to inspire the board to engagement by envisioning the missional benefits.

When launching a campaign, full support of the board can make the difference between a successful campaign and a struggling campaign.

Adapted from “5 Questions to Get Your Project Team on the Same Page,” by Timothy R. Clark

About the Author: Jules Glanzer served as a pastor and church planter for 25 years, a seminary dean at George Fox University, and the college president at Tabor College. While at Tabor, God used his efforts to raise more than $53 million with no gift over $2 million. Jules serves as an adjunct professor, mentor, senior consultant with the Timothy Group, and recently authored Money. Money. Money. Actions for Effective Fundraising.