Taking action is always different than thinking about taking action. I'm sure all of us can relate to this. We have many good intentions but they simply will not become reality until we take action! When it comes to raising missionary support or funds for your organization, we can all have good intentions on calling people for appointments, sending thank you letters, follow up donors etc., but we need to be action-oriented.

I am one of these people that love to create options. I rarely think that there is just one way of doing something. Obviously many of the options are what I would call good, but what we need to continually strive for is what is best and that's why I say the enemy of best is good. Fear alone can cause you to settle for the good over the best as you raise funds. Don't settle just simply for the good, strive for what is best in your fund raising.

For well over a year, my wife and I prayed that she would be able to make 25 years with United Airlines. Miraculously the Lord provided for that, but then the next prayer was that she would be able to work beyond that point. It was natural for us to focus on praying for the future but we began to focus more on celebrating the past and how the Lord had answered our prayers. The Lord always has our best interest in mind, but let's make sure we don't forget to celebrate the past and trust the Lord for the future.

As you raise funds and encounter prospects and donors, there will be those who will simply say"I love what you're doing but I just can't provide a gift at this time. "The human response is obviously disappointment but I would recommend you look forward and say something like:"I would like to look forward to the opportunity when we could talk again. When would be a good time?" You're always looking forward to the next step in your fund raising.

Those that know me well know so well that I depend heavily upon technology. But when I run into problems, I don't waste any time putting in a phone call to tech support and look to the help desk. There have been times when I have gotten a call from one of our donors who has encountered some difficulties and thought that I could assist him. I will never forget a donor who had encountered problems in his travels with the airlines. I was thrilled just to get his call, listen very intently to the issue he was confronted with and then looked forward to a return call to assist him. There are times when you become the help desk. It could be a number of things that you could do to assist them. I love when we get the opportunity to minister back to our donors in our partnership development.

As you're meeting with prospects and donors, when it is practical and possible, extend your conversation with them. It's been my experience that the longer you spend time with people, the more they share and the more bonding takes place. Many a time, more questions will come up on their part that need to be answered. Those answers can make a difference on whether or not they give and how much they give. Also, the more time you spend could allow you to share more significant things about you and your ministry. So when it comes to support raising or raising funds for your organization, whenever possible, extend that conversation.

I have found that if I can spend extended periods of time with donors in partnership development, they tend to open up and share much more. Obviously this is something that has to happen around your prospects' or donors' schedule but it's amazing as I've seen people begin to open up and share much, much, more the longer that you can spend time with them in an appointment or meeting.

We always talk in terms of cultivating our donors. We need to thank them, keep them aware of what's happening with the ministry, send gifts and just any way we can, show appreciation. Here's an example from the business world that I thought was rather interesting. My wife had to take a three-day trip to Hong Kong for United Airlines. We both were disappointed on the timing of the trip because it meant she would be out of town for her birthday. In all of our years of marriage we have never been apart over her birthday. Upon her arrival she checked into a hotel in downtown Hong Kong and this was the day before her birthday. And then on her birthday she received a birthday card from the hotel. Apparently they were proactive and somehow noticed her birthday on the passport. Obviously she was very surprised and delighted but it shows how people can go the extra mile to show appreciation. What are some things that you can even do today that would be unique and special to your donors?