Fundraising 101: 5 Lessons Learned

The following are a few lessons learned by the CRC Advancement team over the years. It’s separated into 5 sections: Cause, People, Relationships, Mechanics and Story. 

Please contact me if you'd like more information or fundraising  resources

Cause

• People care  more about the  cause your church or organization is working toward than  they care about your organization
• Crowdfunding is successful because people like giving to people (this is why we support specific missionaries in our churches)
• Donors care about your vision  as much as your cause

People

• When people don’t give, it's because they were never asked.
• Don't count someone out until they've said "no"
• “It's impossible to wake a donor who's pretending they're sleeping" - Kevin L. Brown

Relationships

• Building relationships builds trust, Trust leads to partnership
• Donor retention is easier than acquisition
• When building relationships, ask for advice- People's advice shows you where their priorities lie and emphasizes the relationship - as one man said "if you want advice ask for money, if you want money ask for advice" - as we know this is a double edged sword.
• “Fundraising Tactics" are meaningless and don't bring results like a team and a board that believes in what you're doing

Mechanics

• According to Mike Bell, Donor cultivation and stewardship require a visit (or touchpoint) per zero (e.g. – a $1,000 gift equals three visits or touchpoints).
• Complicated projects make fundraising complicated - Anything is possible- everything isn't 

Story

• A pitch without a problem... is a problem
• Competition is about story - not praise (story not glory)
• Writing stories is a turbo boost to your fundraising
• No more presentations- conversations
• Give donors a story to remember- facts and figures don't go very far