Category: Fundraising
Boyd's blogs about fundraising
- This excerpt is from a helpful fundraising blog on ways board members can share enthusiasm and become more enthusiastic:
- Task them—once a month, once a quarter, once a year—with something specific:
- •Introduce one colleague to the organization
- •Invite a friend to have breakfast with the CEO
- •Host an intimate event where at least 75% of the attendees are their contacts.
- •Give a talk about the organization (or arrange for you to give the talk)
- at their service or professional club.
- Whatever it is, keep it simple; simple enough that they will feel it is something they can (and therefore will) do and can be easily tracked by you.
- I find myself in this frame of mind most of the time. There are so many other cool things going on that I would rather discuss strategy with our team or brainstorm how we can improve our coaching process. This works fine until cash flow begins to creep to a crisis level, and then I have to become hyper-focused on whatever it takes to raise money so we can pay the bills. Busyness just delays my real duty.
- So I am learning to spend a day each week and dedicate those 8 hours to setting appointments, thanking people, and asking for financial commitments. Read more on this insightful blog on balancing busyness with creative fundraising.
- The ask is always the hardest part of fundraising, and some follow George Muller’s model and never ask. However, the rest of the story is that Muller had William Booth (The Salvation Army founder) asking on behalf of the orphans.
- The key point to asking is to pray about how the Lord is leading you to present your ministry need and what timely follow up needs to happen. I like to leave a giver candidate with this question, “Would you and your spouse pray about becoming a financial partner? If this is okay, I will get back to you in a week or so, to see how the Lord is leading you? Thanks for your time; let me close us in prayer.”
- I read this recent blog on Don’t Hide Your Fundraising Call to Action…
- Enjoy!