Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

I recently had the privilege of helping to write curriculum for the May Mission Increase Foundation workshops on thanking and receipting.  (To view upcoming workshops, go to www.MissionIncrease.org.)

As part of this process, I studied scripture, deciphered God’s leading, thought through concepts and ideas, and read various pieces of mail.  One letter in particular grabbed my attention, although it wasn’t a receipt or a thank you piece; it was written to a colleague of mine explaining her experience after writing…

                                                $48,000 in checks to three different ministries.

Although I was given permission to share this letter, I’ve adjusted a few minor details and names for the sake of anonymity.

“I wanted to share the story below with someone who would appreciate it and might be able to use it in helping others become better fundraisers.

This year I served as the executor on my great aunt’s estate, dollar for dollar the most generous person I’ve known.  She made $1,000 a month in social security and pension and each month she gave away $1,000.  In her estate she gave 25% to 3 charities and 25% to a sister-in-law.  During her lifetime Judy gave mostly $25 checks with the biggest checks being around $500.  I don’t know if she ever gave $500 to any of these three charities.  I wrote each of the charities a check for $16,000 and included a letter saying Judy had died on April 25, 2009, and asked them to call me when they got the gift and to send a letter acknowledging the estate gift for my files.  I have been shocked by the lack of response or no response.

I wrote a check for $16,000 to her small local church.  The bookkeeper called me when the check arrived.  He was not a good communicator on the phone with a tone that said he was doing his job, not appreciative of Judy’s gift.  He asked if the year-end book statement would serve my purpose as a receipt letter.  I asked him to send a letter that specified that it was an estate gift.  He also said he could send another envelope for a small final distribution next year if we so desired.  A week later I did receive a handwritten note from the pastor.

I wrote a check for $16,000 to a foreign missions organization. The bookkeeper called and left a message that the check had arrived.  Since then I have received two letters from the director to Judy talking to her like she is still alive. He obviously didn’t see or read the letter. 

I wrote a check for $16,000 to a large, national ministry.  I received a computer generated receipt.  That’s it.

I cannot believe these responses.  Please keep up the good work of equipping fundraisers to be good stewards with money and appreciation.”

By the way, it doesn’t matter that these were $16,000 checks – they could have been $6 checks. 

What leads a person to give?  An openness to God’s will; God’s prompting; listening to His voice; desiring to make a difference; taking a step of faith.  Let’s not forget that giving is spiritual.  Even more.  As individuals give they are taking a wonderful step on their spiritual journey.

So… how should that be acknowledged by non-profits?  It seems to me that even a genuine “thank you” might not be the answer.

I’ll pick this up soon.

As you are probably aware, MIF offers matching grants to organizations that attend our training and meet our funding criteria.  In addition, we meet with all our grantees to consult with them and train on how they can best raise the required match.  As we were reviewing several grant applications this week, it dawned on me that we are practicing what we preach by aiming to transform the ministries we grant to.

MIF does not fund program grants, as we are focused on helping ministries grow their internal capacity to raise more funds and recruit more volunteers through coaching their champions.  An MIF matching grant can only be used for activity that will grow champions for the designated cause.  That may mean funding a development staff position, purchasing a database that will allow you to adequately track donor activity, or developing a new online giving strategy.  But what it doesn’t mean is funding for feeding the homeless or mentoring teens.

The heart of our granting program is actually in HOW the ministry will raise the matching funds.  And this is where the transformation begins to occur.  Both for the ministry and for the champion. 

A good example of this was cited in our grant review, when we were discussing a ministry that wants to expand their already successful annual banquet using a matching grant from MIF.  The question was raised about the additional impact of a grant, if the banquet was already at capacity and raising a sizeable sum for the ministry. 

Wanting maximum leverage from our grants, it was suggested that the ministry raise the matching grant amount by engaging current and new champions in asking them to give toward an additional matching amount to be combined with the MIF grant to make a more sizeable matching gift to present at the banquet. 

This accomplishes three key goals: 1) to double the matching gift amount presented to those at the banquet, 2) the ministry receives training and experience in how to engage new champions as we coach and disciple them in roundtable sessions and 3) the guests at the banquet are encouraged to give to the cause knowing their gift will be matched. 

How might you incorporate TG into your grant opportunities?  Is collaboration a model you could imitate as you identify new foundation partners?  The strength of the transformation is often in relationship with one another and God chooses to work in and through us to fully develop champions for His cause.

Do you expect to encounter Jesus today?

The reason I ask, is that during my devotions I have been caught up in reading the last chapter of each book of the Gospels found in the New Testament. In these chapters, there are men and women who walked daily with Jesus only to be shocked after the crucifixion that what He said came true. A few didn’t even recognize Him even when they did encounter him.

For some reason these individuals must have, down deep inside, lowered their expectations. They believed, but when they couldn’t actually touch and feel Him, they reverted back to living life as if everything was dependent upon them. You see, Mary Magdalene and her friends didn’t go to the tomb expecting to see it empty; they went with spices to anoint a body. Their worry was how to remove the stone and their expectation was to have a tangible item present so they could take of it with their own hands. They didn’t go expecting to see it empty and in no way expected they would ever have an angel speak to them.

For quite some time they had heard Jesus speak about what was going to take place, they knew it, but somehow failed to act (or stand) on their faith.

Today as I ponder what I would have done, I would like to think that I would have behaved differently. That I would have trusted the words Jesus spoke and would have expected to find him alive. After all, He never once failed to be true to his word and show His faithfulness to them in every situation.

However, you and I live in a different time and place. We should know better and should react to all situations with faith and great expectation that Jesus will show up as He promised He would. But we don’t and somehow we lower our expectations too.

When we, as Christian ministries, revert back to working with Champions in our traditional transactional fundraising ways we show the world that we have lowered our expectations of who God is and what we have been taught. We have heard, and we know what He can do, but somehow we fail to act (or stand) on our faith.

MIF’s Transformational Giving Principles 1 and 2 remind us about God’s word to us. He is faithful and has an abundant supply for our needs. Yet, when we are in despair, or times get tough, we revert back to doing things our own way. Ways that don’t show God, our Champions, and the world that we believe what Jesus has said to be true.

Again, my question today for you is…Do you expect to encounter Jesus today? I hope you do and that you will know it when it occurs.

This month our workshops are on the topic of Thanking and Receipting. Not only will you learn about how to better acknowledge the gifts you receive, but we will help you to understand how God is providing for you even when you don’t see it through your own eyes.

I recently came across Elevator Pitches For Good Causes, featured in the April 16 edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and it struck a chord.  The article features eight charity veterans sharing their pitches on video.  According to the article:

“Most nonprofit executives have an elevator pitch—a short speech that explains their organzations' work to people they meet on an elevator, at a social event, or at a conference. But even the most seasoned pro is usually looking to refine his or her pitch.”

Watch a few or all of them and see what you think.  My opinion is that the majority of these pitches represents a boring, traditional marketing brochure that has been memorized and regurgitated.  Most of these pitches, like ineffective marketing brochures, are:

-          Organization-focused, clogged with seemingly unimportant details such as staff size, client base, and years in existence

-          Mission-focused, meaning the emphasis is placed on services currently provided by the organization

-          Filled with jargon, academic language, or insider phrases that the average listener will not easily comprehend

-          Drawing a line between the expert staff who do the work and the listener who is relegated to the role of bystander

How would your pitch size up to the features listed above?  Assuming you are inspired to spend some time refining yours (you are inspired, aren’t you??), below are some thoughts on how to strengthen your elevator speech.  It should be:

-          Cause focused.  Listeners care about problems and issues in their communities.  Help them connect directly to the cause of teen pregnancy, drug use, homelessness, the persecuted church, etc.  Leave out the unnecessary details about your organization until you are asked about it.

-          Vision-focused.  Help your listener catch the dream of where you are headed and what you aim to accomplish in the future with respect to your cause; help them clearly see that you need their help – working alongside you - to impact the cause and get to this future place.

-          Simple to understand.  The fifth grader next door should be able to understand your language and generally repeat back to you the same pitch

If you want an excellent, in-depth look at how to effectively communicate about your work, check out the book, Made To Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. 

Take some time to refine your elevator pitch!  And remember that the tips above apply equally to other communications like newsletters, appeals, and websites!

Even seasoned practitioners of Transformational Giving lose their way sometimes.  Whenever I do, I return to the TG definition.

Transformational Giving is a collaboration between you and God in which He infuses your corporate and personal assets with His grace as you offer them in the way He asks to the people and purposes that He directs. Read MIF VP of Training Eric Foley’s post on the TG definition here.

That word ‘collaboration’ is the one that differentiates TG from most other fundraising.  Collaboration is the start of the PEO road.  And ultimately, collaboration with God is how champions are nurtured and grown on their road to full maturity in Christ relative to any cause.

But here’s the problem.  Most champions are asleep at the wheel.   They are suffering from Sleepy Champion Syndrome (SCS) — a contagious disease they might have caught from you.  Are you permitting or encouraging champions to participate in your cause with little or no collaboration?

Are your champions awake to God’s calling for them or are they sleepwalking? Is your development program based on enabling your champions to interact with your organization while on autopilot? The harsh reality is that many of the secular fundraising practices the Christian nonprofit community has embraced are poor impersonations of donor development.

Think about it — opportunities to sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), monthly receipt packages full of information about what the organization has accomplished, fundraising events that parade big names across the stage while hoping to collect big checks in return for the show — your champions can do all that in their sleep.

But God intends more for them. He has meaningful work for them to do.  Yes, even heroic work that will transform them. But your champions can do nothing heroic while sleepwalking!

EFT has always bugged me a bit, but now I know why.  EFT is the epitome of autopilot. Sign on the dotted line and watch my funds transfer to the organizational bank account.  I don’t even have to think about it.  But, isn’t thinking about my giving part of the point?  Some may say that EFT is a helpful tool for champions who need to learn to give more regularly. Granted; for some the discipline of regular giving may equal growth. But, when it is automatic, I fear the tradeoff is too steep.

With EFT, I can delude myself into believing that I’ve done something good. And to some degree, I probably have given the statistic that the majority of Americans give less than 3% of their income. But giving more than most Americans won’t transform me. With EFT I don’t even have to write the organization’s name on a check, let alone speak to a homeless person, share my faith, or challenge a young woman to consider alternatives to abortion. Those activities may all be somewhat scary but they are also very enlivening because they require collaboration with God and an infusing of His grace. 

EFT is just one way champions catch SCS.  So, dear ministry leader, I implore you, don’t be party to permitting your champions to sleepwalk. Determine today to wake them up and offer them meaningful opportunities to impact your cause. If you do, I predict that they will call you on the phone and ask for more.

Looking for a place to start?  One of the best ways to snap your champions out of autopilot is to change the way you respond to their gifts.  Our workshops this month on Thanking and Receipting and in July on banquests will challenge you to consider ways to wake up your champions. Register today.