Funding Your Vision: Finding the Money You Need to Make a Difference

Yes, you can raise money

1-1
Fund raising, integrity and relationships
Raising money without manipulating, coercing or alienating ... the zero guilt approach to raising funds for a worthy cause or ministry.

1-2
A basic theology of fund raising
“I'm trusting God to supply my needs. Should I even be asking people for money?”

1-3
Asking for money is a nightmare ...
... if you do it wrong, but a lot of fun if you do it right.

1-4
How do you raise money in a damaged economy?

1-5
How do I decide how much money I need?
Building a ministry budget

1-6
How much money can I realistically raise?
Assessing your current and future fund raising potential

1-6A
Campaign calculator
This prepared Excel spreadsheet allows you to enter any amount of money you need to raise and instantly get the number of prospects you need to talk to, the number of donors you need to develop, the approximate size of the contributions, and the monthly amount of the contributions, depending on the length of your campaign. Also available in OpenOffice Calc.

1-7
Caution and honor / God's heart in fund raising
“Although I want to cultivate major donors, I'm very sensitive about honoring those who cannot give as much. How do I do that?” (Based on Mark 12:41-43, James 2:1-13)

Finding the people who will fund your vision

2-1
Where are the donors?
“How do I find donors that are interested in supporting our ministry?”

2-2
The secret of linkage
“I'm overwhelmed. Where do I start?” Also addresses the question: “I direct a ministry but attend a blue collar church. Most of my friends are working people. That doesn't lend itself to cultivating donors from the country club set. Do I need to change churches? What should I do?”

2-3
Understanding the donor mind and heart
“What are donors looking for when they look at a project or ministry?”

2-4
Making contact
“How do you break the ice with donors?”

2-5
Building lasting relationships (Secret of Reciprocity #1)
“How do you build relationships?” Also responds to the question: “I try to send my supporters a gift so they remember my ministry. But most of those gifts end up in the closet or the trash bin. How do I keep

2-6
How to ask for money ... without ruining the relationship
“I hate asking for money. I can't quite get comfortable talking about the 'elephant in the room' – money. Yes, we have financial needs, but I don't know how to talk about them. I'm afraid of how it reflects on me.”

2-7
Getting people interested
How to craft and communicate your vision
If you're facing challenges getting people interested in your ministry, this session is for you.

2-8
Keeping people excited (Secret of Reciprocity #2)
“How do we keep donors and volunteers excited about our ministry year after year? How do I keep from burning out my volunteers? (Includes CIA secret.)

Raising money in real life

3-1
Finding time
“I don't have time. I know this is about building relationships. But I'm just so frantically busy doing ministry that I have very little time to build relationships with donors. How do I work this into my schedule?”

3-2
Building a team
“I'm just starting. How do I find and recruit a board of directors / advisers and/or a fund raising / development team? How do I strengthen an existing team?”

Case study #1:
The ministry pioneer

Case study #2:
The church planting pastor

Case study #3:
The missionary in financial crisis
“Help. I'm in crisis mode. I need $3,000 a month, and I'm only bringing in $800. What do I do?”

Case study #4:
The nonprofit in financial crisis

Case study #5:
The church in financial crisis

Case study #6:
The chronically underfunded ministry

Case study #7:
Your first million dollar capital campaign

3-3
Dealing with donor challenges
“Our supporters LOVE to give, but they honestly do not have the money. We had a great support team, but, over the years, our donors have died, retired, gotten divorced or lost their employment. What do we do?”

3-4
Kingdom competition: dealing with an ugly problem
“I'm a missionary. The pastors of the churches I visit seem to resent me ... like I'm taking money away from them. How do I overcome this?”

3-5
Grants and foundations
“Are grants and foundations the answer? What strings are attached and what ongoing obligations do I have if I receive money from a foundation or organization? What do I need to know about grant writing?”

Working smarter

4-1
Real donors: the secret force behind commitment
“We raise a lot of money at an event, but then the support just fizzles. What are we doing wrong?”

4-2
Financial intelligence
“How strong or weak are we financially?” Understanding your donor base

4-3
The secret of packaging
“We could use $10 million right now, but we're having trouble even getting $10. What are we doing wrong?”

4-4
Making a real difference
The secret of the strategic plan

4-5
How to build ... or restore credibility
An exploration of branding and how it relates to ministry.

How the professionals do it

5-1
Crafting a proposal
How to create a personalized proposal for a major prospective donor

5-2
Meeting with a major donor prospect #1
Identifying the donor and setting the appointment

5-3
Meeting with a major donor prospect #2
Planning the meeting

5-4
Meeting with a major donor prospect #3
Sample meeting video

5-5
Meeting with a major donor prospect #4
Debrief and questions
When, exactly, do you ask for money.
How do you tell whether to ask for $50,000, $5,000, $500 or $50?
Getting to “yes”

5-6
Meeting with a major donor prospect #5
Follow up ... how to maintain the momentum
Also responding to the questions: “How do you nurture a relationship with a major donor prospect if that person's passion is slightly different than your ministry focus. For example, your ministry is leadership training and their passion is feeding children in Africa.” “How do you return thanks to the mega donor who has everything?” “How do you sustain the relationship?”

5-7
Getting past the “front door”
How to identify, qualify, cultivate and solicit

5-8
The single most powerful way to quickly raise large amounts of money
A painless way to raise $1,000s or more
The power of the preliminary proposal

5-9
A simple secret for acquiring year end gifts
This could bring in $5,000, $10,000, $100,000 or more

5-10
Planned gifts
How they work, how to set up a program

Tools and how to use them

6-1
Creative fund raising strategies
What works and what doesn't

6-2
Keeping track
How to build and use a database

6-3
What do I say to whom?
Understanding your database
Nuclear, affinity and fringe prospects
The AID principle

6-4
How do I write a fund raising letter?
“I write letters all the time, but only a trickle of money comes back. What am I doing wrong?”

6-5
Keeping in touch
Phone calls, correspondence and “Send Out Cards”
Attention is the new currency

6-6
Events
How to multiply the impact of an event
Responding to questions: “We can put together an awesome event, but how do we get enough people to attend?”

6-7
Other fund raising tools
“What are your thoughts on eTapestry?”

6-8
Working with a professional development consultant
Responding to questions: “Of what you raise for me, what percentage do you keep? What exactly do you need from me in order to raise money for me? Why do you raise money for me? What results have you had in raising money for your own ministry? For others?”