How to Create Your Fundraising Plan
(3 hours now saves 3 months of frustration later!)
© The Navigators. All Rights Reserved. Do Not Use Without Permission.
Do you want to avoid frustration in your finances for the next 12 months? Take three hours now to make a realistic fundraising plan.
Three hours spent now will save hours of angst in May, August and November! Take these five steps and prayerfully create your funding plan—then follow it!
1. What is your financial history is telling you?
Resist the temptation to hurriedly list names of potential donors. First, study your history. Fill out the 4-Year Tracking Report. Your office has this data—ask for it! If you are married, share this report with your spouse.
Download your 4-Year Tracking Report here.
Ministry leaders tell me this report is well worth the 30 minutes it takes to fill it out. Some were surprised at how close they were to full funding. Data is your friend! You might be doing better than you think!
2. Study your recent funding history
One gospel-worker was discouraged because he “received so many no’s!” But his Up Till Now Report, showed he had received 12 yeses and only two no’s. Those two NO’S dominated his mind.
Download your Up Till Now Report here >>
As you study your report, action-steps will come to mind. Look for:
a. Undecideds. I say, “We talked last year about support for our ministry, but I did not hear back from you. Let’s meet again—new things are happening!”
b. Those who pledged to give but gave only once or twice. I say, “You said you would support our work, and you gave twice [in January and March]. Thank you. Let’s meet, and I can bring you up to date.”
c. Lapsed donors. Jot down the names of those who gave at least one gift in the past five years but did not give in the last 12 months?
I say, “You have given to our ministry in the past—Thank You! Let’s meet again. I want to bring you up to date and invite you to restart your support.”
Don’t decide for them!
3. Identify your “holy number.” Exactly how much do you need to raise monthly? Don’t guesstimate! If you don’t know your “holy number,” you will not be confident when you make appeals. Pray every day over your Holy Number. Matthew 6:11—“Give us this day our daily bread.”
4. List your Top 25 potential partners. Do not ask, “Who will give to me?” Ask: “Who needs to hear about my ministry in the next 3-6 months?”
5. Find a funding coach and a prayer partner. Two people (without the gift of mercy!) to pray for you and to ask how you are doing on your fundraising plan every two weeks.
Let’s stop complacency in funding! Too many gospel-workers are satisfied at 60% of budget. Others rely on their spouse’s secular job to bring home what is lacking in donor support. What was supposed to have been a temporary job has lingered for years! Other workers have given up—“Fundraising is impossible in my culture!”
Here is a quote from Jesus that haunts me:
“If you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”
“True riches” are spiritual things we cannot see—eternal truths, the souls of men and women—things more valuable than “unrighteous wealth.” True riches (that which we can’t see) come to us as we faithfully handle unrighteous wealth (that which we can see). Your ministry fruitfulness and your fundraising are related. Wow!
As your senior funding friend, I give you permission to take time from this week’s busy-ness to spend 180 minutes to create your funding plan for the new year.
