Taking the Pressure Off: How “Levels of Giving” Charts Can Help

By on February 1, 2009   /   Appointments and Asking   /   1 Comment

Besides making the phone call to set up the appointment, the toughest part of support raising for me is the actual face-to-face asking of the person to join our team. Sometimes popping the “golden question” can be a nerve-racking 30 seconds of sheer terror! Why? Because that is when we are most vulnerable to rejection. And, as much as we tell ourselves that the prospective donor is not rejecting us, but simply our proposal, isn’t our tendency to still take it personally? Some Christian workers, though, are so committed to safeguarding their fragile self-esteem they dare not venture one centimeter […]

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Successful Support Raising In a Suffering Economy

By on December 1, 2008   /   Communication and Relationships, Follow-Through/Obstacles   /   Leave a comment

What’s a support-raising Christian worker to do when things get so bad it’s more appropriate to spell it ickonomy rather than economy?! Should you do the “security shuffle,” scrambling to interview for church staff or secular positions? Afraid not. They’re slashing budgets and employees too! Yes, some of your donors’ 401K’s turned into 201K’s overnight, but God is still in control, and clinging to the six pillars I list below may help you weather the financial tornadoes intent upon wreaking havoc on the economy…and our support teams! 1. Review your calling Go back and remember when and how God led […]

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Four Ways a Steering Committee Can Help You Get to 100%

By on August 1, 2008   /   Contacts and Referrals, Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

Josh and Katie were feeling lonely and isolated. They had applied and been accepted to a well known youth ministry, given a book to read about support raising, and told to report to their assignment when they got to full budget. Now, four months later, and stuck at only 18%, they sat in a room and silently stared at each other. Katie finally spoke up, “Why are we trying to do this all by ourselves? Why don’t we get some of our friends involved? I bet a number of them would want to do more than just give.” Immediately, they […]

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Asking for Referrals: A Key to Multiplying Your Contacts

By on July 1, 2007   /   Contacts and Referrals   /   2 Comments

Olga was a 24 year old Campus Crusade staff girl I met during the year our family spent in Ukraine reaching out to college students. She was later assigned to come to America and raise $2700 in new monthly support that would cover her needs and two other national staff. She knew no one here and had only a 21 day visa. So, a Crusade staffer here made a deal with Olga. He would give her 40 “referrals” to start her support raising activities with if she would give him 40 new ones on her way out of the country. […]

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Back to the Future: Can Old Friends Become New Supporters?

By on June 1, 2007   /   Contacts and Referrals, Fear and Perspective   /   2 Comments

Stevie Hargett. What a guy. We had an unbeatable tandem in 4th grade YMCA football—one would block, while the other would carry the ball. I have such fond memories of Stevie and all the touchdowns we teamed up on. The only problem is—I haven’t talked to him in over 40 years! Now, what if I were launching out on a personal fundraising tour and some crazy support raising trainer told me to write down EVERY PERSON I HAVE EVER KNOWN IN MY LIFE on my namestorming list? And then he challenges me to go back and try to re-connect with […]

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The Top Four Books on Support Raising

By on January 1, 2007   /   Preparation and Tools   /   Leave a comment

1. Friendraising: Building a Support Team that Lasts by Betty Barnett, Published by YWAM in 1991.      Barnett is on staff with Youth With A Mission and trains their staff in support raising from her base in Hawaii. In her short, but powerful book, she teaches the four practical pillars of lasting friend and support raising: Friend Raising, Generosity, Communication, and Prayer with Promises. The only one listed here written by a woman, she brings a warm and enduring emphasis on building life long relationships with our supporters. Barnett exudes a genuine authenticity through her own story and the testimonies […]

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Newsletters: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

By on June 1, 2006   /   Preparation and Tools   /   Leave a comment

Like you, I get numerous ministry newsletters each week from various Christian workers around the world. A few are good, more are bad, and some…really ugly! Let’s look at them in reverse order: The Ugly : 1. Distress signal : “We’re going under unless you give!” may work once, but if we do it again, our supporters will have huge questions about our ability to raise and manage funds. 2. Subtle ask : Instead of asking folks face to face to join our team, we slip in hints in the prayer requests, or even worse, we include envelopes to do […]

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Getting Personal: Support Raising is like a Marriage Proposal

By on May 1, 2006   /   Appointments and Asking, Communication and Relationships   /   Leave a comment

If you are engaged or married (or think you someday will be), this survey is for you. Question: What was the method utilized in initiating the marriage commitment with your partner? Was the proposal made through: A letter A phone call A fax E mail Face to face I have given this “Marriage Proposal Method Survey” to hundreds of people and, almost without exception, option #5 was the resounding response. Amazing! Even in our age of technology the old fashion personal approach was deemed best. Apparently, even though we’ve become high tech, we still need to be high touch. In […]

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Asking Big: Does it Offend or Affirm?

By on March 1, 2006   /   Appointments and Asking, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

There I was, mesmerized by the passion and vision of this campus staff worker who was pouring out his heart to reach the world for Christ and asking me to join his support team. But when the moment of truth arrived and he shared how much he was asking me to invest, I could not believe it. He only asked me for $35 a month! I was stunned and embarrassed for him. Was that all his vision was worth? Was that all that he thought I could (or would) give? Guess how much I agreed to contribute? Yep, just $35 […]

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Support Raising Solutions
PO BOX 3556
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