Paul the Apostle set up shop in the city of Ephesus; for three years he taught, trained, discipled, and mentored a young understudy named Timothy. They became close friends and Paul even penned two intimate books to his young Pastor friend canonized in the Holy Writ (1 & 2 Timothy). The Timothy Group has been teaching, training, discipling, and mentoring our clients around the world for more than 30 years. It’s not rocket science, it’s all about relationships. If you can clearly identify your story, mission, vision, core values, and your need, you too, can be successful.
We have been privileged to mentor a college president in the booming metropolis of Haviland, Kansas, population 683; only 2,516 individuals live in the entire county. Dr. Royce Frazier has been President of Barclay College for 10 years. He has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, not fundraising, yet Dr. Frazier and his team have completed two campaigns in the past three years. In 2018, Barclay dedicated their new fine arts center, a beautiful $8.5 million facility. And in this pandemic year, Royce led a campaign to raise $800,000 to launch their new Nursing Program.
As they were nearing their latest goal, Dr. Frazier and their director of nursing approached the county hospital foundation with a request for $40,000 a year for three years. Three times during his presentation, Royce mentioned $400,000 a year for three years. WOWIZER, the directors sat there in shock. One of them finally asked, “Let me get this straight, are you asking us for $400,000 annually for three years for a total of $1,200,000?” Royce was just as shocked as the board. Finally, he realized his misstatement and adjusted his request to $120,000. The next day the foundation notified him that they had granted his request. Maybe he was implementing some sort of crazy reverse psychology, but in any case, the Barclay College Nursing Program is now oversubscribed at $920,000. God is Good!
Barclay College is planning a $6.5 million campaign for 2021 for a new wellness center/gymnasium. Two weeks ago, a donor mentioned he might want to put their name on the new building and asked how large of a gift it would require. Without skipping a beat, Royce said, “About half!” This mild-mannered family counselor went from fear to faith and asked a donor for a $3 million lead gift.
We have been in the field with Dr Frazier; we’ve taught, trained, discipled, and mentored him. We helped him fine tune his asking skills and he has taken it to a whole new level. Let’s be honest, many times you have not… because you have asked not. We teach our clients to utilize “Holy Boldness,” not a spirt of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). If we can help you become a great storyteller and an asker, give us a shout. Very likely you already have the relationships, they just need to hear your story, review your plan, and be encouraged to give!
