Revitalizing the church requires revitalizing your financial strategy. It appears to me that there was a time when even a smaller American church could get most of its funding from within its congregation, but I assure you those days are long gone for most of our ministries. This means the pastor is on the hook for yet another skill: fundraising.
I have never been through any formal training when it comes to fundraising. Still, I have raised enough money to go full-time in a lower-income church, do major renovations in our building, and even purchase the property right next to our church outright. I had to raise over $170,000 for that.
All glory goes to God. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the one who provides, and my efforts would be entirely in vain without moving his hand. And I owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the phenomenally generous people who have given to Griggs over the years.
Yet, I picked up a couple of principles along the way that I’d like to share with you as you seek the finances you need in your revitalization. I hope to write a couple of posts on this topic; One about fundraising basics and one about fundraising details. Let’s start with the basics.
Gain Confidence in Your Financial System
Before you can ask for money, you need to know (and believe in) how your church handles its finances. Our church has always handled our finances very well, but when I came in 7 years ago, I needed to modernize a few things to be sure we had a foundation to build on.
First of all, we needed to check in with our bank. All of the deacons and I went to the bank together, sat down with a staff member, and ensured we had the best account and the cards we needed and could use the online services they had to offer.
Speaking of online services, we needed to go digital. I’m sure most of you can skip this step, but we had to set up online giving, which took an afternoon or two of me researching the various platforms available. I picked one - tithe.ly - and it has served us well since.
Next, we hired an accounting firm, SPARA accounting, right here in Greenville. For about $225 per month, they took over nearly everything, from storing receipts to producing giving statements to putting donations in the right accounts.
A huge bonus is the added layer of accountability. Our policies and procedures were good, don’t get me wrong. But there’s a peace of mind that comes with everything being seen, processed, and reported by an outsider. It makes it much harder to make a mistake.
Finally, I made sure we were all on the same page. For example, before I started raising support, I reviewed the plan with the deacon board. They knew I was raising support from friends, family, and others outside of our church. They knew that it would go through www.supportgriggs.com rather than griggschurch.com and be easily recognizable by the accounting firm so it could be added to my pay. Everyone was on board with the plan since we all recognized it was time for me to go from bi-vocational to full-time; this seemed to be the best way forward.
Make a Really, Really Long List
I learned this one from a book called “Funding Your Vision” by Matt Rogers. Sit down and write the name of every person, church, or organization that you can think of.
Include old friends, new friends, Facebook friends, family, extended family, acquaintances, college roommates, old co-workers, that guy you went to high school with, neighbors, pastors you met one time at a conference, pastors you see around often, your barber, your mail man…you get it. Write down everyone you can think of who has a name and a pulse.
Don’t create this list based on your mental calculations of how likely folks are to give. In my experience, it’s a total surprise when it comes to who will give (and who won’t). Just write out the list and save it. You can make calculations later.
Answer These Questions
Fundraising requires being able clearly to articulate your mission and cast your vision. You must be able to answer potential donors’ questions.
What exactly is your church trying to do?
For us at Griggs, it’s “Make disciples that transform the neighborhood of Poe Mill with the gospel of Jesus.”
Why is it vital that your church succeed?
For us at Griggs, it’s “Poe Mill is an over-looked and underserved neighborhood with an average household income of $18,000 a year and is riddled with addiction.
We believe the only hope for redemption is a Jesus-centered, neighborhood-focused church to meet their physical and spiritual needs.”
What difference will the donor be making?
For us at Griggs, this dips into our vision. Vision is what we want to see as a result of our mission. Our vision is “Jesus-centered living, church revitalization, and neighborhood-based missions in Poe Mill, West Greenville, and beyond.”
You’ll also need to be able to explain what you’re fundraising for. Is it for a project? If so, that’s a one-time gift. Is it for support? If so, that is likely a smaller but recurring gift.
You also need to be able to show the answers to these questions. In other words, you must answer all these questions in physical and digital materials. I use a PDF with photos, graphs, and stories. It’s easy to print as many as needed or send them as an email.
And once you have a lot of this written down, it’s easier to discuss these questions in person. You can also basically recite what your materials say in front of a camera, and BOOM! You have a video.
I don’t think videos need to be too fancy. I’ve done a lot of fundraising just using my iPhone. But they do need to show some of the needs, the neighborhood, or the project.
For an example of a simple video my all-star assistant pastor, Josh Moll, created a couple of years ago while he was on staff at Griggs, check this out 👇🏻
By God’s grace, we raised all of the $45,000 we needed, and the building is now finished.
Ask This Question
As vital as it is to cast your vision, fundraising comes down to the guts to ask one question, “Will you consider partnering with us financially?”
And you’re going to have to ask this of (likely) more than half of that giant list you made earlier.
First, you’ll take that list and mark out people who truly aren’t askable. Perhaps you know that one uncle you listed is completely out of work. Mark them, and others like them, off the list.
With the list you have left, there will be maybe 5 people you feel comfortable asking. And 95 you feel uncomfortable asking. But you’re going to have to ask. Not hint at, not hope for, not ask for prayer with an asterisk of “money would help too.” You have to tell them what you need and ask them to help meet the need.
This can be really awkward, really forward, and really hard. And this can end in one of our greatest dreads: rejection. But if you can’t do this, you can’t fundraise.
Here’s some good news. In my personal experience, 1) no one hates you for asking, 2) Most people don’t mind being asked at all, and 3) some people actually like to be asked.
But you have to ask.
You can (and should) change how you think about what you’re asking. In one sense, you’re not asking for anything; you’re inviting people to partner with you in building the kingdom of God and meeting the needs of the lost! You’re giving them an opportunity! But you have to ask.
You can ask them through different platforms. For example, through an email with a proposal attached, through a social media post, or face-to-face. But you have to ask.
You can ask them to consider one of several options. For example, $25, $50, or $100 per month. But you have to ask.
You can ask them to consider giving for a certain amount of time. I have a few givers that have agreed to help for a span of 2 years. But you have to ask.
You can ask them to give you a gift by a certain deadline. For example, “we are trying to upgrade our soundboard by the end of Summer, so from now until then, will you consider partnering with us financially?” But you have to ask.
Trust
Asking feels dangerous, so you have to trust.
You have to trust that your identity is not in who does (or does not) give to your vision.
It’s not who writes a check or doesn’t even respond…
It’s not in how out of place you feel as you try to set up meetings with people in the business community…
It’s not in how much money comes in…
Your identity is the one who called you to revitalize the church and reach your neighborhood.
Ultimately, he will use you for his plan and fund it his way through his people. Trust him as you seek financial partnerships that make revitalization possible.