Get out of the Way!

You’ll be successful if you faithfully do the best you can with what you have

As much as possible you want to connect your supporters action directly to the changed life.

Fundraising ImageEg “Your gift today of $60 will feed 10 children” not “Donate $60 to our ministry and we will be able to feed 10 children”

or

“You donation today gives someone, who cannot afford it, their own copy of The Word for Today.” Not “Your gift today means we can give someone who can’t afford it their own copy of The Word for Today.”

It is a subtle but important difference. You might not think it matters, but any fundraiser will tell you that it does. Don’t place your ministry in between the donor and the action. Get out of the way, so the donor is the one doing the action!

Couple that approach with a compelling story/testimony and you are well on the way to a successful fundraising campaign.

That would look something like this…

“Mary’s marriage was in trouble. Fortunately a friend had given her a copy of The Word for Today. The series on “how to restore your marriage” were just the words of encouragement she needed. The right words at just the right time.

Your extra donation as you pick up your copy today will mean that other people like Mary can also get the hope and encouragement they need…”

As fundraisers we have to think outside our ministry and outside our own needs and think the way the people who donate do. They don’t give because of facts and figures, they give because they believe that their gift will actually make a difference.

Record Your Donor Details

Here is a simple Excel spreadsheet as a starting place for recording your donor details.

Download

Read a little more on CRM systems.

CRM Software

There are literally hundreds of options for a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for your ministry. There are some free options but usually they are limited to a short time or a small number of records.

One truly Free option worth exploring is TNTConnect

As CRM software is a rapidly changing field you are probably best to do your own search. But before you do here are some questions you should consider. Start by thinking about Strategy.

  • Are you doing agressive donor acquisition or more focussed on retention activity?
  • What Details do you want to store? For Who? Donors, Customers, Volunteers?
  • Where do you want to house your data? Locally? Cloud?
  • How many donors do you need to manage?
  • What questions do you need reports on?
  • How many people will need access to your donor details on a daily basis?
  • What other systems do you need to work with? eg email lists, websites, events, social media?
  • How will you manage Privacy and Security?

More Fundriasing Tips here…

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We highly recommend you sign up for the FREE Tactical Thursday's webinar series. We believe you will find it is a very valuable resource for you and your local fundraising efforts. Sign up here... In a recent session they explained the Virtuous Circle.  The concept of...

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At times we can all be guilty of not doing something because we 'think' it is going to be too difficult. But often times we just need to give it our best shot. Or, to quote sports apparel giant Nike, ... We need to overcome the Paralysis of Analysis When I travel I...

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Why record details? Did you know that it costs more, and you have to work a lot harder, to get a first donation from someone than it is to get the second or third or… donation? That is why there is so much emphasis put on what fundraisers call ‘Donor Retention’. So...

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Fundraising guru Jeff Brooks says "Donors don't give to support organisations or programs: they give to make something happen" Trouble is, as fundraisers we tend to think in terms of programs and organisations. Often we are facing a financial challenge so can be very...

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Did you know that one way your radio ministry can raise funds, is by being generous! Now that doesn’t make sense… or does it? Let me explain how you can demonstrate generosity like this… Vision Christian Radio runs two on air fundraisers for its own ministry each...