Take the Fear Out of the Ministry of Fundraising

TRUE CHARITY NETWORK MEMBERS: Watch Travis’ full presentation on this topic, titled Sharing the Story: An Effective Framework for The Ministry of Fundraising, here in the video learning portal.

Fears and False Perceptions

If your experience has been anything like mine, you’ve had a negative view of fundraising at some point in your life (and maybe you still do now). When I was approached ten years ago to consider coming on staff in the development department with a private college, I first had to ask what “development” even was. When I was told it was primarily fundraising, I said, “No, thank you!” I didn’t want to be part of a field I had always seen as a necessary evil that burdened donors, and I was fearful of the responsibility that came with finding an organization’s necessary funding.

Thankfully, the man who approached me had been in fundraising long enough to know that an initial “no” isn’t always a lasting “no.” He sent me a book to read, we kept in contact, and 8 months later, I was on his staff. Having now been in “development” (or “advancement,” or simply, “fundraising”) for over nine years, I want to share three basic precepts that helped me establish a framework within which I have been able to abandon my fears and my false perceptions.

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Fundraising is a Ministry of Provision

In Ephesians 4:11-12, the Apostle Paul offers five areas of ministry that are designed “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” CDF’s David Duncan (the man who first approached me years ago) helped me see how fundraising can be viewed as a teaching ministry to the church. Sometimes I get to be the one who helps a donor understand WHY they have been given so much to manage. Sometimes I get to be the one who teaches that donor how their resources can bless the organization I serve. Either way, my role is a ministry.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” It’s hard to get around the word “everything.” That covers… everything—including all the time, money and in-kind gifts that can potentially be given. So when I sit down with a donor, I remember what one of my mentors, Clark Dickerson, said, “God is the owner of all, we are stewards, and we have what we have in order to bless others.” Donors are stewards, or managers, of whatever God has entrusted to them. And when He entrusts to us more than what we need ourselves, it’s not so that we can indulge our own whims and extravagances. We have what we have in order to bless others (Note: It may be that a donor doesn’t have this perspective or has forgotten it. There, again, is a ministry opportunity to teach).

When we see our role as a ministry of provision, knowing that people are meant to bless others with what they have, it can put our minds at ease when talking to donors, because DONORS ARE MEANT TO GIVE.

Fundraising is a Pathway for Donors

But it’s more than being meant to give. Duncan passed along to me a key refrain from one of his mentors, Ray Lyne of Lifestyle Giving, who taught that donors don’t simply “give money.” Donors DO GOOD DEEDS. They want to make a difference, and they want to know how their funding will make that difference, for good, in others’ lives. When we sit down with donors, we have the opportunity to show them a pathway by which they can do good deeds, assuming the organization we represent is doing them! Fundraising is a pathway for donors.

The thing is, not every donor is going to resonate with the good work your organization is doing. As the organization’s fundraiser, you are (hopefully) 100% convinced that the work being done is vitally important in bringing about good for others. You’re likely very passionate about that conviction. The donor may not be. And that’s okay. There are thousands of organizations providing any number of good services, and it’s possible that the passions of a donor you engage simply lie elsewhere. When that’s the case, don’t sweat it and don’t force it. If they’ve already found another pathway by which to do good deeds, wish them well; then, keep looking for the donors whose passions align with yours.

When we remember that fundraising is a pathway for donors, and that those donors want to do good deeds that align with their passions, it can put our minds at ease when talking to donors, because DONORS ARE MEANT TO GIVE.

Fundraising is a Story for You and Your Staff

Donors are meant to give. Donors want to give. But you can’t control whether they WILL give or if that giving will come to YOUR organization. The ONLY thing you CAN control is the STORY you’re telling. First, yours should be a true story. You’d think that’s a given, but let’s not assume. Second, yours should be a story that clearly communicates the good God is doing in the organization you represent. Third, yours should be a story that clearly connects the dots for the donor, so they see how part of the way God is doing that good is via donors like them. Fourth, yours should be a story that clearly calls donors to action when their passions align with your organization’s. And fifth, yours should be a story that is constantly being reviewed and refined. Your job is to TELL A GREAT STORY.

Telling the story is not just a matter of content, though. You can have the best story of the greatest good, but without an audience to hear about it, who cares? This is why the delivery is also crucial. You and your fundraising team must couple the development of a great story with a cohesive strategy for where, when, and to whom that story is being told.

When we understand that the only thing we can control is how well we are telling the story, both in content and delivery, it can put our minds at ease by bringing clarity to our role. Your job is clear: TELL THAT STORY WHEREVER YOU CAN, WHENEVER YOU CAN, TO WHOMEVER YOU CAN… and TELL IT AS WELL AS YOU CAN.

Knowing Your Lane and Staying in It

There’s much more that can be said about all three of these precepts, especially the art that is telling your story, but my experience has been that when I stay within this basic framework, my fundraising ministry is joy. When I forget God’s role, the donor’s role, or mine, I notice the stress and the fear creeping back in. I start “holding on too tight” and have to loosen my grip by remembering that fundraisers don’t provide. God does. And He does it through donors who are looking to do good deeds that align with their passions. You just keep working at telling the story.

May your grip stay loose as you work without fear, better knowing your lane and staying in it.