Tag: funds

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Ministry Partner Development.

We don’t like to call it fund raising.  Not because we want to trick people or call it something that fools people out of their money, but because at the most foundational level, it’s not fund raising (though funds are a great byproduct).

At the most foundational level, when I call someone to set up an appointment with them to share about how God is at work and how they can join with Him in that work, I am developing partners.  It’s not just corporate-speak or sleight of tongue.  I want your money, but only if it is coming from a heart of partnership.  I’ll say that in reverse and in boldface, for emphasis: I don’t want your money if it is not coming from a heart of partnership. If you think you are paying me off (or worse, paying God off) by giving, keep it.

The word development is key, as well.  I am not “Ministry Partner Fishing” or “Finding.”  We aren’t just looking for a one-time thing, here.  Our desire is to cultivate a real relationship, over time.  I am thrilled to say that, in spite of my spotty efforts, God has raised up some folks on our team that are real partners.  We have people that have been on our team since 2002.  What a testimony to God’s work.  When I started this blog about two years ago, my goal was that it would be another place to really give our ministry partners access to our lives.

Yeah, at times I call them “supporters” and refer to what we do as “support raising,” but make no mistake, when I challenge people to give, I am challenging them to partnership.

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Perspective check, 1…2…3?

I got three emails yesterday.  2 of them were people letting us know they are no longer able to partner with us financially–to the tune of -$125 per month. The other was from Piter.

I was too busy wallowing in poor-me-land (or more accurately, trying to evaluate the situation to help to avoid wallowing there, but doing a remarkable job of pre-wallowing) to even read Piter’s email.

I met Piter in 2007, in Korea.  He’s on staff with CCC in Bangladesh.  I remember asking him and friend what the hardest part about being in ministry there was.  Without hesitation, they answered “language barrier.”  They went on to explain that there was no common language uniting the students there, and that even though between the two of them they spoke about 10 languages, they often had trouble communicating the gospel due to language.  They added also how hard that makes it to raise support.  They hardly know any Christians, and the ones they do know don’t speak the same language.  It’s tough to passionately cast vision for a ministry when you don’t speak the language.

After my pre-wallowing session, where I asked the Lord to help raise the financial partners we need and more importantly to help me to fix my eyes on Jesus in the midst of this time, I finally got around to reading Piter’s email.  It was short, and directed us to give to his ministry as we were able.  I followed the link in the email, and learned that currently they (a family of 4) have $300 dollars per month coming in.  And they need $250 more in order to cover their needs.  I’m bad at math, but that translates roughly to a 45% shortfall every month.

I personally could give enough money from our emergency savings right now to cover them for the next 7-8 months.  And I am broke in almost every sense of the word by American standards.  Even in the midst of my financial woes, God is reminding me that all I have is by grace.

Two action points:

  1. I average about 35 visits per day to this website.  On posts where I talk about my son, family, or something funny in the title, I average more hits.  So this post will probably be read by 20 or so individuals. If you gave just 20 bucks a month (let’s call it 2 Pizzas and 3 trips to the Redbox) to Piter and his ministry, he’d have more than enough to reach Bangladeshi students for Christ, without having to devote extra energy and time to raising funds.  Please give to Piter and his wife Mary Beauty now by clicking here.
  2. You clicking the “Like” button right below this line will give your friends the opportunity to help Piter and Mary Beauty.
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The time when I most want to punch another human.

Here’s a tip:  If a missionary calls you on the phone, and name-drops a friend of yours in trying to set up an appointment to meet and share more about their ministry, it’s really best to not treat that missionary like a telemarketer in a cubicle somewhere south of Jakarta.

Heck, it’s not even ok to treat a telemarketer poorly.  That whole “golden rule” thing, remember?

I’ve never in my life wanted to drive 5 hours to punch someone more than the person that just flippantly hung up on my wife.  Raising support is hard enough without the (word I really think describes the situation, but will probably get me in more trouble than it’s worth) like you adding your special brand of acid rain to our parade.

It reflects negatively on the person that gave me your name, it reflects negatively on people from your small town, it reflects negatively on your church.

Jacqueline has gotten hung up on 5 times this month.  One person that she called back said “yeah, I hang up on telemarketers.”

Here’s our deal.  We are passionate about what we do.  Passionate enough to call strangers and try to get a chance to share with them what we do, and invite them to prayerfully and financially join with us.  We’ve seen God miraculously provide, over and over, for our needs.  I’m not mad that I have to raise support.  It’s actually a privilege.  I’m mad that a whole string of “good Christian people” would treat my wife like this.  It’s not OK.

So please, if you get a call from a stranger today, don’t treat them like a salesperson.  Treat them how you’d want your wife, or sister, or mother treated on the phone.

Just a tip.

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Let’s Prove the Numbers Wrong: a look at Fundraising in the Digital Age.

Ken Summerlin had such a good comment on my frustrated post about violence in the name of fund raising that as I started replying to it, I found out that it deserved it’s own post.  Here’s a excerpt of Ken’s comment:

…Unfortunately, telemarketers and political candidates have so abused the phone as a contact medium, that I think we may need to consider surrendering it as a means of unsolicited communication. My wife and I are canceling our home phone service next month for this very reason. Most of our friends and family call us on our cell phones and the majority of calls we receive on our home phone are from solicitors and telemarketers or, at the moment, political robocalls…

…Is using the phone to set up appointments to share about your ministry absolutely necessary? I realize that calling is quicker and less costly than mailing but it may no longer be effective. Could you request an e-mail or snail-mail address rather than a phone number from someone who is giving you a referral? Would it be reasonable to ask the recipient to visit your website or respond to you via e-mail or a phone call if they would like to learn more about your ministry?

Ken, thanks for the comment, and your perspective. It’s a great reminder of what we have to differentiate ourselves from when on the phone. I realize that the phone is less than ideal. That’s why we are trained to not ask for money or referrals over the phone, but to try and get a face-to-face appointment. People just don’t give to causes over the phone, unless they are tricked into it (which you and I have both experienced — the salesman that talks so fast you’ve already confirmed your shipping address before you can tell them you aren’t interested.)

Regarding email: the non-profit industry standard for people OPENING their emails is less than 25%, and the industry standard for people that click on anything in the email is 7%. That means my odds of getting a response of any type is about 1%, and my odds of getting back money are less than that. And believe me, I have tried and found those numbers to be hauntingly accurate, even with people whom I know well. That’s not even counting people that I don’t know.  I have to say something controversial in the subject line just to get the thing opened.

Regarding postal service fund raising: I’ve probably sent over 4000 appeal letters for financial support over the last eight years. And I’ve received back funds from (ball park guess here, but I’ll high-ball it just in case) 20% of those appeals. And I know with a few variations exactly which 20% will respond to a letter. Again, this is with people who know me, most of whom I’ve shared face-to-face my heart for ministry and our need for funds.  And I can count on one hand the number of people that have joined our team on an ongoing basis from an email or a letter in the mail.  Well over 90% of the funds we get from postal service asks are one-time gifts (we call them “special gifts” to avoid the permanence of “one-time.”)

That leaves the phone.  One of the best ways we’ve found to “warm up” the cold call is by using the name of the referrer. “Jim and Judy Moneybags thought you’d be interested in hearing more about our ministry.” Other times we have preceded the phone call with a letter telling them we are going to call.  All of those things help.  Also, as you mentioned, getting someone’s mobile number is a leg-and-a-half up, and increases our chance of getting a face-to-face.

I’d love to prove the numbers wrong.  I’d love to have people click links in my blog posts that allow them to set up ongoing financial contributions (see what I did, there?) or to have interested folks contact me.  But most of the folks I meet with don’t know they are interested in helping out financially until they hear about the desperate need for the gospel on the college campus, and how we propose to trust the Lord to help bring the gospel to the campus.  And they don’t hear that unless I can get a 30-45 minute appointment with them.  And the majority of my appointments are made over the phone, and initiated by me.

Speaking of which, I’m gonna go now and make some phone calls.  If you (not just Ken) have any suggestions for how I might get appointments without the phone, I could not possibly be listening any more intently.  Comment below.

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If You have Nothing to Hide, Hide Nothing: a look at the financial transparency of Christian organizations.

Does transparency matter?  Not according to the likes of Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, and TD Jakes.

I spent some time recently on a the website of a ministry called MinstryWatch.com (the  online database component of Wall Watchers) to see, among other things, how Campus Crusade for Christ (the ministry my wife and I work for) is doing when it comes to honesty, openness, and transparency regarding financial issues.  I was thrilled, though not surprised, to see that we rank among the elite in terms of “putting our money where our mouth is.”  That’s one big reason why I work for this organization, and will for as long as the Lord continues to provide.

Where I was shocked was as I perused other ministries, and specifically those ministries associated with what’s been called the “prosperity gospel.”  Teachers who say that God intends for us to be materially wealthy are not being honest about their material wealth, when asked.

TD Jakes, for example, according the the site, was noncompliant when asked about his ministry’s use of funds.  That means that if you have ever given money to TD Jakes and his ministry, you have no idea how that money was spent.  Legally they may not be required to tell you how they are spending your money, but you can bet I’m not giving a dollar until I know how they will use that dollar.  And you shouldn’t either.

Plus, when Joyce Meyer, who clearly correlates financial prosperity and God’s blessing, is asked about how much she is compensated for her ministry efforts, why wouldn’t she jump at the chance to be totally honest and share how God is blessing her?  But according to the site, she’s released info about her ministry, but nowhere in it does she mention how much money her family makes off of the donations of others.  That is shady, at best.  It’s like she’s ashamed of the income she makes.  Again, that’s not an accusation, so much as a point of fact.  She has not been transparent.  Christians should be transparent.  Especially ones with massive budgets.

That brings me to Creflo Dollar.  His ministry is literally worldwide, with offices in South Africa, the UK, Nigeria, America, and Australia.  He and his wife Taffi co-pastor a megachurch that has spawned multiple corporations and ministries.  Then, when being asked to be transparent and tell folks who give how that money is being used, (and even being asked to do so by the federal government) they still refuse to give any information out regarding their financials.  While I don’t think it is the government’s place to investigate churches and their financial records, I do feel like the folks who give money to his ministry have every right to know how that money is being used.

Dr. Dollar, in the response to the government posted on his website, justifies their financial secrecy with the verse from Matthew 6:1-4 that references individuals giving in secrecy, NOT corporations stewarding in secrecy.  Again, I think the federal government is overstepping its bounds (and please don’t get me started on that as a topic in general), but I think Dr. Dollar’s justifications for corporate and organizational secrecy are absurdly unbiblical.  Nobody is asking him to disclose what particular individuals gave, just that he disclose a dollar amount of total giving, and how those funds were used.  To use the very verse he quotes, he’s on the “openly” side of the equation.  The members and others gave in secret.  It’s time for God to bless openly.  So openly that anyone who wants to see it can see it.  His own (half-biblical) theology says that God will openly bless his church financially if they are faithful.

God doesn’t do back-alley accounting.  He honors integrity and honesty.  If you have nothing to hide, hide nothing.

The list doesn’t end with those.  Go see for yourself which ministries refuse to give account of how they use funds.

What do you think?  Should churches and other ministries strive for openness and transparency?  Why or why not?  Comment below.

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