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Capital Campaigns, Client Impact, Donor Relations, Fundraising, Major Donors, Team Building

Lighting the Fire Within

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.

Donor Relations, Capital Campaigns, Client Impact, Fundraising, Major Donors, Team Building

6 Questions to Ask Your Board When Considering a Capital Campaign

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.

Fundraising Verse of the Week, Team Building

Losers, Vagrants, and Misfits

“David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him” (1 Samuel 22:1-2).

King Saul’s jealousy flared up against David forcing him to escape to the wilderness. Four hundred men followed David. This rag tag band of brothers “were down on their luck… losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts” (1 Samuel 22:2 MSG). How was David supposed to face Saul’s elite fighting force with these guys? Donald Rumsfeld, famously said, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Do you wish you had a different fundraising team? Consider these three strategies for developing the fundraising army you want.

♦  Listen to the Holy Spirit. Leaders lead. David’s first move was to hunker down with his fledgling army in a stronghold in Moab. Sounds like a safe choice, but the prophet Gad told him to go to Judah instead (1 Sam. 2:3-5). As leaders, we tend to lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6). Don’t be so committed to your strongholds that you miss the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Your fundraising team will respect and follow you when they sense you are following the Lord.

♦  Take Responsibility for Your Actions. Before David reached Adullam, he stopped at Nob and asked Ahimelek the priest for some bread for the men who were with him (see 1 Samuel 21:1-9). Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul’s officials, overheard David’s conversation, ratted him out to Saul and later came back to slaughter all the priests and their families. Ahimelek’s son, Abithar, escaped and told David the tragic news. David replied, “I am responsible for the death of your whole family” (1 Samuel 22:22). If you’ve made fundraising mistakes, own them. Strong leaders inspire their followers when they take responsibility for their failures and seek to improve.

♦   Lead by Example. Later, David had a prime opportunity to kill Saul (see 1 Sam. 24). His men urged him to take vengeance; instead, he cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Afterwards, David’s conscience got the best of him and he rebuked his men for wanting to attack Saul. David was a man of action, but first he was a man of integrity. As the leader, you are the number one fundraiser for your organization. You set the pace and disciple your team through every situation. The success of your ministry rises or falls on your fundraising leadership.

How did David’s band of misfits become his mighty warriors described in 2 Samuel 23? Together, they followed David into battle and learned on the job how to kill their own Goliaths.

Response: Father, forgive me for being impatient with my fundraising team. Help me become a more effective fundraiser to lead my team to greater success.

Think About This: Every non-profit organization wants their next development hire to be forty-five years old with 30 years of fundraising experience. Instead of searching for David after Goliath, you should recruit a pre-Goliath David.

Have a Spirit-led fundraising week,

Ron


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. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and 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.

Development, Team Building

Your Work Will Count For Eternity!

When employees arrive for their first day of work 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 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.”

What a great message to welcome new employees! Now that you’ve been raising money for a while, how do these phrases describe your impression of what you do?

THE DRIVE

There’s work and there’s your life’s work. Is fundraising just a job to you, or do you get up every morning thinking, “Who can I ask for money today?” Are you passionate about fundraising or are you just going through the motions? Fundraising is hard. It’s a lot easier to do every day when it’s your life’s calling.

YOUR MARK

What has your fingerprints all over it? Effective fundraising is all about relationships. What are you most proud of when you look over your past two years? Is it the cool brochures you created or the brand spankin’ new software you purchased? Is it the great banquet you organized or the best direct mail letter you’ve ever written? These things are important, but the best thing about fundraising is the chance you get to meet people and win new friends to your ministry. Donors will remember you long after your brochure expires.

NO COMPROMISE

What would you never compromise on? What would you sacrifice a weekend for?  How committed are you to your organization’s mission and vision? Does it drive you to give 110%? Are you willing to work nights and weekends, if needed? It’s easy to become a fundraising work-alcoholic, so it’s important to maintain a life/work balance, but how willing are you to sacrifice for the cause?

TAKING RISKS

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. Fundraising is a risky business. Asking for a gift is a high-risk, high-reward venture. Apple has a risk-taking culture. You might be risk-adverse by nature. It’s safe to stay in the office and be an inside development person, but the real action happens when you visit donors. Don’t stay in the shallow office pool, jump into a major donor conversation in someone’s living room.

SOMETHING BIGGER

They want what they do to add up to something. Something big. Something that couldn’t happen anywhere else. Apple employees believe that what they do makes a difference, and they have changed the way millions of people live, but your mission has eternal value. Kingdom work is the biggest work of all. Your fundraising efforts are providing the salaries of front line workers who are reaching the lost with the life changing message of the Gospel. If you didn’t do what you did, it would be hard for your other team members to do what they do.

IT MATTERS

Welcome to Apple. This welcome note has to inspire new employees that they play an important role in Apple’s future success. You are vital to your ministry. Sometimes Christian organizations don’t do a good job of expressing their appreciation for their employees. Whether your ministry acknowledges you or not – you are important.

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6:10).

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Ron Haas is a Vice President at The Timothy Group. Ron has served as a pastor, the vice president for advancement of a Bible college, a Christian foundation director, and a board member of a college, camp, church, and foundation. He regularly presents fundraising workshops at development conferences and has written many fundraising articles.

Fundraising Verse of the Week, Team Building

Share Your Fundraising Load

The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone” (Numbers 11:16-17).

Moses was having a difficult time. The Children of Israel were complaining again; this time it was about the menu. Moses had reached his limit and cried out to the Lord essentially saying, “I can’t do this by myself. The burden is too great for me. Kill me now!” (Num. 11:14-15). Have you reached your breaking point with all your fundraising responsibilities? Are there too many days of the month left at the end of your money? There’s hope if you follow Moses’ example.

Recruit Leaders. Perhaps you’ve had less than satisfactory experiences with volunteers and are reluctant to try again. You may think that it’s just easier to do it yourself, but that spells burnout. Don’t settle for just any volunteers. Solomon warns, “Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by” (Prov. 26:10). Moses chose those who were known for leadership. Develop a job description with high expectations. Challenge your team to rise to the occasion by giving first and then asking their friends to give.

Empower Them. Most team members want to accomplish something of significance. Some nonprofits make the mistake of recruiting successful businesspeople and then not using them. Unfortunately, these volunteers eventually quit because the ministry wasted their time. The Lord empowered these seventy leaders with the Holy Spirit. Empower your volunteers with stories of your mission impact. Show them how their leadership is making an eternal difference in the lives of those you serve. Motivate your leaders to give their best efforts to advance your mission.

Delegate. The Lord told Moses that these leaders would share his burden. Delegation is an art. Too often leaders just dump responsibilities on others hoping for the best. Even worse, some leaders delegate then don’t give their volunteers freedom to succeed. A wise leader clearly defines expectations, trains fully, provides the resources to be successful, then steps back and lets them engage. The best ways your key volunteers can help your fundraising efforts is to identify, cultivate, and even solicit donors.

Finding, training, and motivating key volunteer leaders is a challenging job, but the alternative of trying to do it all yourself will limit your effectiveness. As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Start small. Who are two individuals you could recruit this week to help you fundraise?

Response: Lord, please forgive me for trying to do it all myself. I praise you that you have empowered others who could help carry the load. Please reveal them to me.

Think about this: Perhaps God has increased your pressures to teach you to rely on him and not yourself.

Have a Spirit-led fundraising week,

Ron


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. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and 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.

Fundraising Verse of the Week, Team Building

Don’t Throw in the Towel!

“If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest” (Ecclesiastes 10:4).

Did you know that the average tenure of a fundraiser is two years or less? Fundraising is a tough job. A recent survey indicated that unrealistic expectations, low appreciation, and dysfunctional work environments all contribute to this rapid turnover. Is there a way to hang on and be productive despite all the forces working against you? Solomon gave great counsel for employees when the king’s anger rises against you.

When You Face the Heat…
Is your boss mad at you for the sin of commission (something you did that you shouldn’t have done), or the sin of omission (something you should have done that you didn’t do)? Either way it’s unpleasant. Perhaps your boss has no legitimate reason to be dissatisfied with you or your work. Maybe he or she is just having a bad hair day. Perhaps you are the boss and you are facing heat from your board for some decision you made or didn’t make. Whatever situation you face, you need a plan to deal with your crisis.

And Feel Tempted to Quit…
We have three choices to resolve workplace conflict: flee, fight, or flow. Many take the easy way out and flee to the mirage of greener pastures. Solomon strongly counsels against this, “do not leave your post.” Others will stand and fight for their cause often exacerbating the situation. Some will opt for flow seeking to find a win-win situation where both parties compromise. That’s a hopeful solution, but often unrealistic. After all, compromise means that no one really gets what they want. Solomon offers a fourth option for conflict: face it calmly.

Keep Calm and Carry On!
No doubt you’ve seen a variation of this motivational poster. In 1939, the British government used this phrase to boost the morale of the British people as they prepared for World War II. Solomon was the first to preach this concept, “calmness can lay great offenses to rest.” Maybe you have greatly offended your boss or your board; Solomon gives hope that your conflict can be resolved peacefully. How does this work? When your boss/board blows a gasket, don’t respond in kind. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Instead of reacting sinfully, faithfully keep doing your job and calmly respond in kindness. God can use your gentleness to change hearts. “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone” (Proverbs 25:15).

Have a Spirit-led fundraising week,

Ron


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. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and 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.

Communication, Fundraising Verse of the Week, Team Building

Blessed are the Peacemakers

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3).

There are many reasons why development departments fail: unclear vision, incomplete donor information, underfunded budgets, wrong strategies, half-hearted implementation, and poor communication. One problem that rises above all the rest is dysfunctional internal relationships. You can have the greatest ministry vision, an amazing CRM database, best practice strategies, a team trying to do their best, and clear communication, but without a positive organizational culture that supports your fundraising effort, you won’t reach your fundraising potential. We can all identify examples of toxic work cultures. Paul shares three antidotes:

Be completely humble and gentle.
So much office drama could be avoided if we simply practiced humility and gentleness toward one another. Unfortunately, our egos wrestle to gain the advantage. We chafe when someone else gets the credit for what we’ve accomplished. Solomon teaches in Proverbs 13:10, “Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Can you identify ways you have shown pride in your workplace?

Be patient.
Fundraising requires immense patience. Externally, it takes time to schedule donor meetings; it can be very frustrating to make multiple attempts to connect with your donors, but you must never be rude or unkind. Internally, it takes time to write, design, proof, and print solicitation materials. Showing impatience with fellow team members or external vendors usually doesn’t speed up the process but only adds anxiety and stress to your entire team.

Bearing with one another in love.
Eugene Peterson paraphrased Ephesians 4:3 this way, “pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences” (The Message). We all have unique personalities and idiosyncrasies and are bound to rub one another the wrong way. A culture of love recognizes and appreciates the differences and works quickly to reconcile when disagreements arise. The greatest solution is to simply love one another because “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). These principles are easy to say and difficult to implement, but the right atmosphere makes fundraising much more enjoyable and productive. If your development department is toxic, what proactive steps can you take to keep the unity of the Spirit? Paul admonishes us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Have a Spirit-led fundraising week,

Ron


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. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and 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.

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