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Fundraising, Major Donors, Stewardship

Who Makes It Rain?

by The Timothy Group
August 23, 2020

I have never once caused it to rain in my nearly 40 years of stewardship practice here at TTG. I know who sends the rain and it is not me. However I do know what to do with the rain once God sends it. I have been in the irrigation business all these years. I also admit to an occasional attempt at “cloud seeding.” Yes, I’m trying to help God out a bit! This reveals the need to pause and ask myself the following question.

BHAQ (Big Harry Audacious Question):

DOES GOD REALLY NEED US TO ACCOMPLISH HIS TASKS HERE ON EARTH?

Development, Fundraising, Stewardship

2 Ways To Directly Impact Development By Year’s End

by The Timothy Group
August 7, 2019

Ready for Fall?

Back to school sales are already in full swing. Summer is winding down and Fall kick-offs are only weeks away. As hard as it may be to believe, Fall is upon us. The most critical fundraising months of the year are around the corner.  So, let’s ask the tough question: Are you ready?

Are you ready for budgeting and spreadsheets?

Are you ready for Fall Campaigns?

Are your social media strategies in place?

Is your calendar filling up with major and mega donor appointments?

Is your vision story-crafted well and ready to share?

Is your first Fall newsletter template done, copy complete and formats proofed?

When it comes to development, we all understand the 24-7 nature of the beast. That said, however, Fall offers a uniquely timed opportunity each year and here are two ways to directly impact your organization’s development by year’s end.

1. Top 10/Next 20 lists

That’s right, contrary to what some may think, there is a biblical precedent for categorizing and segmenting donors according to capacity. Look back at the leadership of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 25:2-8:

“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breast-piece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

Starting with the most valued material and continuing all the way through to stones, these leaders understood that in order to construct this mobile worship center (the Tabernacle) there would have to be a variety of gifts from mega-level gifts to common gifts. What do your lists look like? How are your lists categorized? What does your organization consider a mega gift, major gift and so on… Developing and maintaining these lists adds clarity, urgency and understanding to the overall development efforts of your organization.

2. Vision Dots

Every organization on the planet has a story or, more likely, a litany of stories that describe the history, past projects, successes and stories of impact. These are all important. However, stories are secondary to key points of vision or Vision Dots. Vision Dots are those bullet-point items that are timely, strategic initiatives that frame or put into context the stories of your organization.

Vision Dots are leaping off points that you can quickly share in an ‘elevator pitch’ but can also lead to stories that reinforce their value and impact. For example, ABC Rescue Mission shares a story of impact detailing the journey of a young adult who was strung out, at rock bottom, stumbled through their doors at the mission and is now teaching classes to people struggling with addiction.  This is an impactful story of redemption. However, this story should naturally flow from a Vision Dot that describes an aspect of the mission such as:

Leadership Development – 60% of all classes at ABC Rescue Mission are taught by former addicts. Help us continue to train and equip those who God brings to us to recover and lead.

Stories carry much greater weight and donor impact if they can be shared in relation to a Vision Dot or ministry core value. The more you can root a story in the context of a key initiative the easier it will be for the donor to see where their dollars are going and understand the reach of their giving.

And in case you are still skeptical, here are some of the ways Vision Dots are greater than stories:

Big picture thinking to showcase the reach of the ministry

Reveal the inherent understanding that the leaders of your organization have more than just a passion or well-intended hope,

but that there are plans and well thought-out strategies in place.

Quick and easy to share

Easy to remember

Pave the way for donors to ask about other key Vision Dots / initiatives within your organization

Fall is practically here. We hope all your lists are ready and your key vision initiatives are in place! Happy sharing!

*Interested in a planning session to discuss segmenting your donor lists or identifying your organization’s key Vision Dots? Schedule your free consultation today!

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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