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Fundraising, Fundraising Verse of the Week

Your Fundraising Desert

by Ron Haas
July 25, 2020

“Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
    looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
    staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
    He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
    that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
He poured great draughts of water down parched throats;
    the starved and hungry got plenty to eat” (Psalm 107:4-9, The Message).

When Eugene Peterson penned The Message paraphrase, he had no idea how his phrases in Psalm 107 would speak to fundraisers. Does this describe you? Are you in a fundraising desert “half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion?” Unfortunately, this describes many in the fundraising world. Asking for money is difficult and can be exhausting. Even the best fundraisers face dry spells and wonder why what they are doing is not producing results.

But there is hope!

Your financial condition might look desperate now, but you serve the living God – the “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (Deut. 10:17). When you are in distress, you can call on him because he will answer you (see Psalm 86:7). Cry out to him, “because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people” (Isaiah 43:21).

God’s answers to your fundraising challenges are perfect.

If you need more donors, he can guide you to the strategies that will yield results. If you need more volunteers, he can lead faithful people to you. If you need a significant major gift, he can touch someone’s heart to say “Yes!” to your gift proposal. God can change your perspective and pull you out of your desperate condition. He can quench your thirst and satisfy your hunger. He can “put your feet on a wonderful road and take you straight to a good place to live” (vs. 9). But remember, many times he answers just in the nick of time!

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, Fundraising Verse of the Week

We Are All In This Together

by Ron Haas
May 2, 2020

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need (Acts 4:32-35).

The early believers faced persecution and hardship as many were disowned by their families and shunned by former friends. No doubt, some lost their jobs and homes placing them in dire circumstances. The church responded with great power and great grace banding together to care for one another. “There were no needy persons among them” because those who had resources sold their possessions and brought them to the apostles for distribution.

You should approach this current crisis in the same way. Recognize those in desperate situations and do whatever you can to meet their needs. Perhaps this has always been your ministry focus, but now your ministry and personal needs have increased beyond what you could ever imagined. All of us are coping with budget shortfalls and wondering how to navigate the next steps.

The comforting truth is, “We are all in this together.” Some parts of the body are struggling; other parts of the body are thriving. God has blessed some of your donors with abundance. Your needs are great – greater than ever before. Now is the time to share your needs with God’s people and ask them to respond generously. “And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all” (vs. 33). This powerful grace includes the grace of giving (see 2 Corinthians 8:7).

This is the first time we meet Barnabas who “sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:37). Is it any wonder his name means “son of encouragement?” Share your financial situation with your donors and you will discover who is one with you in heart and mind (vs. 32). Perhaps God will lead a first-time ministry partner named Barnabas to encourage you.

Have a Spirit-led fundraising week,

Ron Haas, The Timothy Group

Development, Donor Relations

A Message Of Hope

by The Timothy Group
March 30, 2020

I was watching Fox News yesterday from home and Lt. Col. Dan Rooney was on as a guest (view video news clip). His non-profit organization, “Folds of Honor,” started in 2007 and their mission is to  provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. Perhaps you have heard of them. One of many quality non-profits serving out veterans and their families.

Anyway, Lt. Col. Rooney told a story about a fellow veteran, U.S. Marine Sergeant Rocky Sickmann and how his situation could teach us lessons during this COVID-19 crisis. Sergeant Sickmann was one of 52 marines and other Americans who were captured by radical Islamic terrorists at the embassy in Iran in 1979. We, who were around then remember that terrible day in history. Over the next 444 days, He and his fellow hostages endured privation, mental, physical and psychological torture as officials sought their release. That finally came in January 1980.

Sickmann describes life in a foreign country 7,000 miles from home. You’re not allowed to talk to anybody. Your mind plays games with you. You lose hope not knowing if you will live or die. You keep thinking. “this has to end soon.” He describes being literally chained to a chair for the first 30 days. He describes being handcuffed with his hands behind his back for days at a time and spending an entire week tied to a bed. He went outside a total of seven times, 15 minutes total, in those 444 days.

When asked what carried him through, he mentioned three things: 1) his faith in God, 2) his few friends who were there with him and 3) keeping control of his mind and his thoughts – staying focused on what little he could actually do in the circumstances.

We are facing a similar enemy today – COVID-19. It has changed our lives. For a couple of weeks now, we have been largely “home bound.” We have been ordered by government authorities to stay home. We can’t go to work, visit our friends, eat dinner out or entertain ourselves as normal. I don’t know about you, but it is starting to get to me. I am bored, easily frustrated, short tempered, angry, you name it. And then I pause after hearing a story like that of Lt. Col. Sickmann, and I want to repent to God for my thoughts.

My hardship is NOTHING compared to what he and other have endured. And, think about what got him through – we can still exercise our faith, we still have our family and we can exercise our minds and stay alert. Oh – we can even go outside for a walk on a nice day, as long as we practice “social distancing.” For me, maybe it’s a good time to pick up that book I never finished, play a board game or do a jigsaw puzzle with my family, or learn a new skill or hobby. Our “prison” is only temporary and will hopefully end shortly (I hear references to Easter Sunday being a significant marker). Let’s pray, love, give, support, encourage and serve those God has placed in our lives.

In God’s Love, Kent

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