Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

At the Mission Increase Foundation, we provide matching grants to help ministries grow and become healthier and stronger.  We don’t, however, just give grant money to a ministry with the attitude of, “Good luck and we hope this helps.”  We give grant money to a ministry and continue to work with and train that ministry in an area of fundraising potential, ultimately helping them raise their match amount.

We recently granted to an Arizona ministry to help them encourage and inspire individuals to engage their mission at the major donor level – gifts of $1,000 or more to be used for reaching families affected with disability with Jesus’ gospel and to provide wheelchairs for the many in need around the world.

This ministry successfully raised their match amount of $20,000 and, together, we celebrate that!  I thought you might be interested in this ministry’s paraphrased comments (which I’ve been given permission to share) following their major donor campaign.

• As you look back on your campaign, what did you learn from this experience that you might do differently next time?  Next, time, we’ll do even more personal one-on-one contacts with our donors, understanding that those are powerful connections that provide a wonderful setting for sharing our God-given mission and vision.  We will also incorporate house parties – small group gatherings of our champions – into our major donor fundraising efforts. 

• How did you engage volunteers and champions to assist with this matching grant?  We engaged our people by, first, encouraging them to consider raising their financial commitment to the ministry through increasing their monthly pledge giving, and we also asked our champions to contact one person within their circle of influence to share with them the Mission Increase Foundation matching grant opportunity.

• What next steps have you planned to further engage newly acquired donors in your cause?  We have certainly thanked every donor who contributed, both new and existing, for their gift that helped to raise the grant match and that will help to reach families affected with disability around the world.  We have also asked our contributors for specific prayer requests so that our staff can begin to specifically pray for their needs, and we have scheduled follow-up dates to meet with them as well.  We are also in the process of inviting each donor to a Discovery Hour luncheon where they can learn more in-depth about our ministry and vision and discover ways in which they can personally become more involved.

• Please share any other related comments or feel free to expand on previous sections above.  In all honesty, this major donor grant was a challenge for us - it definitely stretched us.  It forced us to connect with our current donors at a deeper level and encourage greater giving to our 2011 vision.  This matching effort also expanded our thinking as to who to consider as prospective "new donors."  We also realized there are some things we need to do more effectively in the future in terms of moving our existing donors into becoming even greater champions for our cause.

For Mission Increase Foundation, that’s what it’s all about!  Working with Christ-centered ministries to help them more effectively resource the mission that God has given them to carry out.

YOUR NEXT STEP:  Go to www.MissionIncrease.org, set up a ministry profile (it takes about 5 minutes) and register for one of our upcoming November workshops.  You’ll join over 1300 ministries on a journey to transform your organization and the way you interact with the champions God has entrusted to you.