Painlessly Training Staff Online

By on August 21, 2018   /   Leaders, Training   /   Leave a comment

Some people seem intimidated by the very concept of adult education. In reality, it’s not all that different from what most of us remember (or wish we had experienced) in our own childhood educational experiences. The main difference is now your students get the joy of balancing learning with raising kids, running a household and juggling a job. The natural reticence of adults to learn new things, plus the logistical challenges of training staff online, means as distance learning facilitator you act as motivational coach, content expert, and tech adviser. Reaching them is going to be a constant effort on […]

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Ditch the Fundraising Drudgery

By on August 7, 2018   /   Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

You can set goals all day long, but if you don’t know where they are taking you—they are just chores. Drudgery. Items to check off an unending to-do list. And if you’re anything like me (and the rest of the Western world), we don’t need extra items there. As a fundraiser, it can be easy to think once you reach an initial financial goal your work is done, and naturally shift into maintenance mode. But that’s not the way it should be. You might be surprised to know, fundraising has little to do with money—and more to do with how […]

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Double Duty Fundraising

By on July 17, 2018   /   Leaders, Training   /   Leave a comment

Raising personal support is its own brand of crazy, but raising your salary plus organizational funds is madness multiplied! If you are tasked with raising operational or special project funds in addition to your own salary, or you lead leaders who do, perhaps you have felt overwhelmed by this doubly daunting task. So how can you best help those fundraising leaders in your organization who are pulling double duty? First, encourage leaders that organizational support raising doesn’t detract from their personal support raising but instead often enhances it. It’s natural to think that approaching the same partners who make up […]

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Why a $10,000 Buffer Isn’t Enough

By on July 3, 2018   /   Leaders, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   Leave a comment

Being fully funded means more than just being at full monthly support. It also means having healthy and appropriate reserves. Why do we need a buffer, also known as reserves? Living paycheck to paycheck is stressful for families. Missionaries in cross-cultural and other settings face many stresses, and it’s best to avoid adding unnecessary financial stresses. Families need a buffer in their checking and savings accounts for their personal living expenses and to manage cash flow. They also need reserves with the organization in which they serve. How much does a missionary need as a buffer? $10,000? $20,000? It depends […]

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Practicing What You Preach

By on June 19, 2018   /   Leadership   /   Leave a comment

I was riding with my local campus minister and good friend “Mark” as he raced through traffic to beat the clock and pay his debts “just in time.” It was during this particular excursion that Mark inquired about my plausible future as a full-time minister. To the best of my ability as a student, I had carefully counted the cost of becoming a missionary and didn’t mind some of the more challenging aspects of ministry. It seemed par for the course to be ridiculed as a Christian or stood up now and then for Bible study or an evangelistic event. […]

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Using Texting as a Tool in the Support Raising Process

By on June 5, 2018   /   Preparation and Tools   /   Leave a comment

“Hey (potential ministry partner), I am excited about my new role with XYZ ministry! I’d love to get together with you soon to share my vision, budget goals, and how God is using this ministry to change lives. Could we maybe grab coffee next Thursday morning?” You hit send on your well-crafted text and wait for their reply. Crickets. Although texting seems to be a preferred method of communication these days, the majority of successful support raisers I have spoken with tend to avoid using texts to set appointments because of a high failure rate. There are a number of reasons […]

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Different Paths to a Common Destination

By on May 15, 2018   /   Training   /   Leave a comment

Imagine preparing to go on a trip. You open the map app on your smartphone and type in the address of your desired destination. Starting from your current location, you hit the directions button to see what options you have. As is often the case, two to three route options are presented. All of them will get you to the place you want to go, but you have a decision to make regarding which route to take. You choose the one that seems best, hit the go button, and the journey is mapped out. As you follow your chosen route, […]

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Rethinking Short-Term Mission Fundraising

By on May 1, 2018   /   Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

“How would you like all of your new staff to be at 50% of their monthly support within the first 4 weeks of support raising?” That’s what one campus ministry leader asked me, who then went on to explain how they have seen this become a common trend. The reason was not their incredible training for new staff or wealthy networks; it started with how they lead students to raise short-term support for the summer project and mission trips. Over the past 20 years, the US has seen a surge in short-term missions, with millions of teenagers, students, and adults […]

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Sprinting Towards MPD Success

By on April 17, 2018   /   Training   /   Leave a comment

At the Support Raising Leaders Conference, InterVarsity leaders shared their exciting results from a new “Summer of MPD,” a short term assignment for staff to focus as much as 80% of their summer on raising additional personal support. We asked Emery Silva at InterVarsity to unpack the keys to their success… “We used to believe staff of color couldn’t get funded in New York City,” Sophia, an Asian American Staff Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), shared. “but now God is rewriting our narrative.” Sophia’s team of 15 Black, Latino, Asian and White InterVarsity staff raised $276,300 in the summer […]

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Fundraising on Furloughs

By on April 3, 2018   /   Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

It is an honor to be invited to contribute to the SRS newsletter on the topic of fundraising while on furloughs. My wife Jody and I have served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for 26 years, so we have deep experience with the topic. My current job with Wycliffe is as a Partnership Development Coach. I coach new Wycliffe members whose first job is to reach 100% budget funding by building a partnership team. I also coach established career Wycliffe members (EMs) on furlough required to increase their budgets to 100% to return to the field. The Wycliffe members I have […]

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