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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

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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Development, Fundraising

Do you have an “Elevator Pitch?”

by The Timothy Group
August 1, 2014

 

If you are involved in non-profit ministry and/or fund-raising for long, you will probably hear the term “elevator pitch.” Are you familiar with it?

From Wikipedia, ”an elevator pitch, elevator speech, or elevator statement is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a person, profession, product, service, organization or event and its value proposition.” (Pincus, Aileen. “The Perfect (Elevator) Pitch”.)

Fundraising

Welcome to Fundraising

by The Timothy Group
July 11, 2014

When employees arrive for their first day at Apple they are greeted with this inspirational note:

“There’s work and there’s your life’s work. The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. The kind of work that you’d never compromise on. That you’d sacrifice a weekend for. You can do that kind of work at Apple. People don’t come here to play it safe. They come here to swim in the deep end. They want their work to add up to something. Something big. Something that couldn’t happen anywhere else. Welcome to Apple.”

Capital Campaigns, Donor Relations, Fundraising, Major Donors

When The Donor Isn’t Ready

by The Timothy Group
June 27, 2014

How do you know when the donor isn’t ready? If you’ve been involved in development work for long, you’ve probably had a situation where you made the “ask” of a donor before they’re weren’t ready. How so? A couple of differing ways, probably – either they were offended, said “no”, or gave a significantly smaller amount than you hoped for. No worries, we have all been there a time or two.

Maybe a better question is – how can you know (for next time)? The relationship between a donor, the development staff person or volunteer assigned to the donor, and the institution in need of support is a tricky one. There are guidelines of when a donor is ultimately “ready” for solicitation, but no hard, fast rules. Every donor, every organization, and every campaign is different.

Development, Fundraising

No Small Dreams

by The Timothy Group
May 9, 2014

I’m sure you’ve heard this expression, “There are no small dreams”… maybe in a leadership class… or maybe from a motivational speaker … or perhaps in a good article on business best practices? One of the more famous quotes in this vein reads, “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” That was penned by German poet, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. I’m not sure exactly when he said it, but I believe it was in the late 1700’s.

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