Did you ever wonder about those statements your parents would make when trying to change your behavior as a kid? Like when you were making a face at one of your siblings and they would say, “If you keep doing that your face will freeze that way.” Or when you have asked too many questions and you were told that, “curiosity killed the cat” so quit asking. And there was the phrase I never liked when I was young. You may have even heard this yourself, the one that your parents would say...
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I get pretty excited when I talk about Transformational Giving because it’s a donor discipleship model, not a donor solicitation model. The MIF approach is one that ‘starts with you.’ It makes sense that you are best able to teach and disciple others – such as your ministry champions – when you have first experienced or practiced something yourself.
Does it stretch your imagination to ‘start with you’ when it comes to the typically dry, complicated, technical, and boring topic...
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I just got back from Seoul, Korea where I went to volunteer my time at the International Christian Association (ICA) annual conference. The ICA is a Voice of the Martyrs organization made up of ministries committed to serving the persecuted church. In their annual meeting they share updates on what is happening in the persecuted church around the world, as well as to plan projects for the following year.
This year the ICA conference was hosted by Seoul USA (SUSA), who primarily does work...
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Naming gifts are so ubiquitous in philanthropy that I fear we’ve lost all ability to analyze them objectively, let alone offer a critique. In our just-concluded workshops on planned giving we examined the folly of trying to control one’s legacy with financial gifts. Private schools, universities, symphonies, hospitals, rescue missions, and charities of all types fall all over themselves to recognize major benefactors with very public naming gifts. Presumably, the donor hopes to secure...
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As you can tell by now we, at the Mission Increase Foundation (MIF), look at raising resources for your God-given vision in a very unique way.
We look at it last, not first. Let me explain.
Many organizations (and I definitely include Christian organizations here) focus first on the bottom financial line, and then on people and relationships. And leaders justify this thinking and approach by saying, “Well, if we don’t raise money then people and relationships and ministry will never...
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