I'll never forget the urgent call that came from one of our donors. Their family was experiencing an emergency. In this particular scenario, the donor had left a voice message and it was very apparent that they were very concerned and were asking for my prayer support. Its times like these that we can quickly move in to a ministry mode for our donors. For me, it's a privilege to minster to them because they have ministered so much to me. So don't be surprised when occasions come when they need you more that you need them. Be prepared to respond and to minister.

Someone had shared this rather interesting, innovative approach of staying in contact with their donors. On the anniversary of the donor's first gift/pledge they would send an anniversary card. Obviously, this is something that can be done by email as well. Keep in mind when raising personal support or fund raising for your organization that it is very easy to lose donors. Once lost, it can be very difficult to restore their giving.

If I were raising support and seeking church support I would ideally meet with the Senior Pastor because that is the ideal and more than likely the key decision maker.

If I were asking for a financial gift the ideal again is to sit down with the person face to face.

If I were looking for a donor to introduce me to a prospective donor again the ideal would be the three of us to meet.

In your fund raising always begin with the ideal and then keep in mind you can adjust accordingly.

Those raising individual support often ask me the question: "How much financial information do I need to provide as I meet with prospects and donors?" My advice is to only provide financial information as requested. I recommend not making it a practice to recite all the details of your personal finances unless requested.

Here is a perfect example of persistence paying off.

Bill,

I had been trying to get a hold of this potential donor for a few months. He said he wanted to give a gift but had a few questions for me. He's very busy and in and out of town. Many of his trips are scheduled at the last minute. I can't even tell you how many times we have rescheduled. He told me about two weeks ago that he was going to give a monthly gift and was going to start at a really LOW amount.

We were finally able to get together today and he complimented me on my persistence and never giving up. He said he really admired that about me and was really thankful. I didn't even have to challenge him to increase his proposed initial low monthly gift for he decided to give much more -- three times as much. Furthermore, he gave me the names and phones numbers of a few of his business friends who had a heart for missions, had high capacity to give and would potentially be very interested in my ministry.

What a blessing.

Brea

As I spend time with my grandchildren I often hear these words, 'It's mine". I guess that really describes human nature. In fund raising, it's so natural for us to say "Those are my donors, those are my prospects, or those are my churches". When it comes to support raising or ministry partner development be careful, for they are not yours but belong to the Lord!

I preach constantly that as a person raising funds, you need to be tracking your donor's giving. You ask people to make pledges but then it's your job to make sure those pledges are coming on a timely basis. I had one gentleman that had made a pledge and would typically provide his gift on a quarterly basis. It's a no brainer for me to check and see if those gifts were coming on a quarterly basis. Unfortunately, I neglected to do that and it was late in the game when I realized that he had missed several quarterly gifts. It was really all my fault. I had not done my homework. Fortunately, after making contact by phone he resumed his giving but I had lost out on the missed gifts.

As I was engaging conversation with a gentleman, I wanted to continue to stay in touch with him and did the obvious--I asked for his business card. He quickly looked through his billfold but no business cards. At this point, I went to plan B, took one of my business cards, handed it to him and asked him to write his name, email and phone on the back of my card. Later, I made contact with him and he gave a generous gift. If I had not generated the option of getting his information on the back of my business card, I might not have gotten a gift!

I had met a brand new contact, was very excited and sensed his excitement for our ministry. Naturally, it was important for me to do follow up with him and I chose to do that by email. Several days went by and no reply. It stretched out to well over a week and still no response. Obviously, I was disappointed because I thought, "Here's a person that God was beginning to lead to be part of my team". Just over a week later his email came back I was amazed when he shared the news that he was sending a major gift. Patience and pray always prevails whether raising missionary support or fund raising for your organization.

As you raise funds, the challenge always is looking for new contacts. One of the ways to successfully accomplish that is to have a donor provide a dessert time and invite friends. On one occasion, I asked one of our donors to do that and they gladly agreed. At that desert time, I was introduced to a gentleman who you knew very little about me and my ministry. During our time together, he caught our passion and vision. He then began to support the ministry. He also caught the vision of introducing his friends to our ministry who then caught the vision and started giving financially. Whether raising personal support or fund raising for your organization sharing your passion and vision with one individual can help extend your network and increase the number of those who can support your ministry.

I had the occasion to place a call to one of our donors and thank them for their ongoing contribution. I shared the good news of what the Lord was doing and outlined a major project. As I shared the total dollar amount of this major project the person surprised me by saying, "I'll do 5%". When it comes to support raising or fund raising for your organization some of your major donors would welcome a chance to get involved in a big project and would know exactly what they want to give-- in this case 5%!