Here’s the problem with that. If you don’t mention money, people assume you don’t need any.
Remember, church members are targeted every day by countless non-profits and other ministries for their financial support. A lot of our members respond to these appeals. Yes, I know it shouldn't be this way, but it is. The younger the person is, the more likely they are to be “issue” driven. This will have a huge impact on traditional giving – but we’ll have to talk about that later.
In this blog, I want to talk about the three parts of ANY successful appeal for funds.
First, you have to have a VISION. This can’t be just any vision. It has to be a vision that makes people’s mouths fall open when you talk about it. The vision has to be connected to real life change in real people in real situations. Vision isn't about just shooting at the moon. Vision is talking about why you have to go to the moon or die trying.
Second, the vision has to have a workable strategy. Visions are a dime a dozen. Everyone’s got a dream, everyone’s going to write a book – but no one has a plan. Finding a workable plan is even more rare.
You have to be able to tell anyone at any time what you’re doing and the way you’re doing it. The vision can be as big as you want, but you’re strategy has to be practical and realistic. You have to know each step of the process before you ever go public with your vision. If you don’t have a workable strategy, you’ll be dismissed as just another out of touch dreamer.
Third, you need to have a place for every person to engage with your process – either financially or experientially. It really doesn't matter which one comes first. Involved people give more. Giving people are involved more. You can start at either place and reach the same destination.
You should always be talking about the vision, the strategy and where people can connect.
Without these three components, you’ll fail to engage people in the vision and this failure of engagement will frustrate your fundraising.
So, do you have the vision?
Do you have strategy to get you there?
Now, do you have a place for me to connect?
Until you have all three, you won’t be able to raise the money you need. Be sure to do the necessary groundwork for your fundraising work. After all, we want to make it easy for our people to give.
