1. Prayer

Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;“.  We all know that prayer is important yet many of us simply do not pray for various reasons.  To be successful in fundraising, the leadership must pray and recognize that ultimately God is their source.   We can hit people over the head as much as we want to convince them to give or we can have the coolest advertising campaign out there, but at the end of the day it is “God who gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:7).  Pray.

Note:  Do not proceed to #2 until you do #1

2. Vision

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision And make it plain…“.  When people give to a church or non-profit they need to know why they are giving.  It is the job of the leadership to “make it plain”.    Making it plain means that a 3rd grader could understand it; not just an adult.  Vision tells us where we are going which then leads to the “why” I should give to help reach that destination whether through my time, talents, or treasures.  Vision originates with God and we discover it through our communion and fellowship with Him.  As we receive and formulate the vision God has placed in our hearts for the ministry let us be faithful to write it out and “make it plain”.

3. Excellence in presentation

Daniel 5:12 says that Daniel had an “excellent spirit”.  Believers are called to be a light in the darkness.  We are called to lead and influence those in the world, not the other way around.  In presenting your online giving campaign to the world be excellent.  Use the gifts God has given you or those on your team to give that presentation your best!  In practicality this means making sure we are using words full of integriy and high-quality imagery in any media we are using to present opportunities for people to give.  We want others to give their best so let’s lead by example and do the same.

4. Thanksgiving & Follow-up

2 Corinthians 9 says that thanksgiving is given to the Lord as a result of generous giving.  So often overlooked in our culture today is the power of a personal thank-you.  When people give to our ministries or churches there is a response that is not only appropriate but Biblical.   First, thanksgiving should be given to God recognizing Him as the source.  Secondly, let’s not forget the faith and generosity of every donor that makes contributions.  Even though our source is ultimately God it doesn’t hurt to thank the channels of His grace and blessing to us.  To be practical, how about finding a personal way to say “thank-you”.  It should go without said that when someone gives online they should automatically receive an email saying thank-you everytime their donation occurs.   How about going beyond that.  Here are some ideas:

• A phone call to say thank-you and pray for your donors
• A quarterly newsletter showing how ministry funds were used and to keep donors connected
• An annual dinner for those who have given regularly to the ministry throughout the year

Better than all these would be to pray and ask the Lord to give you an even more creative thanksgiving strategy.

Remember, prayer, vision, excellence, and thanksgiving.  And if in doubt, pray again, often.

We had the privilege of designing a handout for Isla Vista Churches Internship Program

Recently I have been working on a real estate blog website for Ryan Malmsten.  He specializes in Santa Barbara and Montecito real estate.  We used genesis framework with the agent press 2.0 theme and integrated a custom mailchimp sign-up form on the right sidebar as well as the contact page.