Church Executive Best Practices Forum: Fundraising & Generosity | Page 4
FUNDRAISING &
GENEROSITY
6 ways to engage
major donors
By Doug Turner
A major donor is an individual with high financial capacity.
These donors are usually solicited 20 to 25 times a year
with intentionality from other organizations.
Normally, they will support fewer than five.
BEST
PRACTICES
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2) Engage relationally before you seek financial support. Building
authentic relationships will be part of the discipleship model. Speak into
their lives, and encourage them to speak into your ministry.
3) Treat each major donor as an investor in work of the church. When
major donors consider giving, they often take the perspective of an
investor. They will ask questions. They might push back on a project and
suggest alterations.
As a leader, this isn’t to suggest you acquiesce to concerns. You might
need to stand strong as a leader. The value is in the openness. You normally
gain respect in the leadership moment.
Major donors want to understand the return on investment (ROI) for
the ministry. Two axioms to consider:
If you want deep commitment to vision, you have to give someone permission
to disagree with it first. With no ability to probe and question, you might
receive a casual response but seldom a deep response.
They will respond to bold vision. Don’t be afraid to “go big or go home” in
the discussion. Engaging major donors will help you match the scope of
the initiative / project with your church’s potential.
4) Invite major donors into the mission of the church. Often, the major
donor audience is sitting on the sidelines regarding time and talent.
Hectic schedules contribute to the inactivity, but also underuse of
individual gifts.
We ask someone to do a job at the church, but we don’t ask him / her
to think or strategize on a critical ministry move. Frankly, high-capacity
givers usually aren’t looking for a job; they are looking to exercise gifts.
5) Create conversational models instead of presentational models for
generosity. Major donors process generosity out of a conversation more
Navigating generosity with major donors often seems perilous in the
local church. Pastors are afraid of being misunderstood (i.e., showing
favoritism to those with deep pockets, seeing dollar signs when they
look at a church member, etc.) when engaging major donors. Leaders are
hungry for a generosity approach consistent with their values, but they
often struggle finding the right fit. As a result, many leaders stay on the
sidelines, afraid to fully resource the church’s vision.
Complicating matters further, those with financial capacity often
are reluctant to give at the highest level to the local church for fear it
will disrupt the stewardship ecosystem. This is compounded when
the potential donor doesn’t hear vision in terms to merit a significant
investment, and other causes outside the local church often benefit as
a result.
How do we engage major donors?
As pastor, the answer to that question will shape the ministry reach of
your church. Engagement means focusing on the well-being of the giver,
as well as the stewardship potential of the church.
1) Develop a discipleship approach to the major donor audience. The
label itself (major donor) can create problems. It implies you commodify
the person instead of pastor the person.
Paul challenged Timothy to focus on those “rich in this world” to
discover “true life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19). More than most, people of
affluence can live under the illusion that life is “my stuff.” By challenging
them to give, you genuinely help them to discover life isn’t “my stuff,” but
true life is one vested in the gospel of Jesus.
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than a presentation.
Aristotle wrote that democracy is experienced in the “one, the few,
and the many.” Stewardship development is processed in the one, the few,
and the many in your church. The major donor will flourish in the “one”
individual, conversational setting.
6) Demonstrate how major gifts catalyze generosity instead of
restraining overall generosity. If you have a major initiative, gaining
momentum is a challenge. High-capacity givers will create escape
velocity to overcome inertia. They create the “big Mo.” Contrary to many
donor assumptions, major gifts don’t discourage broader support; they
actually catalyze wider generosity.
Engaging high-capacity givers will have major impact on the growth of
the individual, the church, and the scope of ministry. You should strongly
consider engaging this audience.
If you don’t, I promise somebody else will.
Doug Turner is founder and President of Culture of Ready
[ www.cultureofready.com ], as well as lead pastor of Grove Chapel in Eatonton,
Ga. Turner has helped churches raise more than $1.5 billion for capital and
ministry needs.
Culture of Ready is a dedicated team committed to helping churches flourish
through stewardship principles in a customized cultural experience and generosity
campaigns. Working with some of the leading churches in America (including
Willow Creek Community Church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Menlo
Park Presbyterian Church, to name a few), Turner and his team view each church
through a unique cultural context.
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