After every heartbeat comes a moment of rest. In that split second, the heart is silent. In our heart's rhythm of beating and rest is a lesson; there is a time to be active and a time to rest. "There is the lonely place to which Jesus invited his disciples when he said, “Come away to a deserted place . . . and rest a while.” With this invitation he was calling them out of their busyness to a place of rest beyond the demands of their life in ministry." - Fr. Ron Rolheiser What

Have you heard it said that “money follows vision”? Nonprofit leaders are usually very good at casting vision. Why? Because they are some of the most excited and passionate people you will ever meet when it comes to their cause. They invest their time, treasures, talents and make many sacrifices to follow their calling. Can you relate? If I were to ask you as a nonprofit leader about the vision of your organization, I am certain you’d have plenty to talk about. You wo

"Corrie ten Boom once said if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. Her logic is sound: both sin and busyness have the same effect - they cut off our connection to God, to other people, and even to our own soul." - John Mark Comer In this busy season of year-end fundraising, it's SO important to keep donor care and relationships at the center of your approach. Yes, it's a time to send appeals and make bold asks - but, when we start viewing people as dollar signs,

It’s a busy time of year for us who fundraise as we approach year-end. I hope by now you have a plan in place and feel good about your goals. At Flagship, we are running several year-end campaigns and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do! Today, I’d like to answer a few common questions I get from nonprofit leaders about year-end fundraising. 1. How much communication should I send out? Here’s a schedule I like to follow: November: 3-4 emails, 1st direct mail piece

Did you know that 30% of all charitable giving takes place in December and 10% the last 3 days of the year? As we approach another busy fundraising season, I wanted to share a few encouraging scriptures and practical tips to help you prepare your heart and mind for the days ahead. Preparing Your Heart In his book The God Ask, Steve Shadrach says [as support raisers]: “We must commit to spend the rest of our lives being “Treasure Transplanters” in order to help people move fro

I have been fortunate in my career to work with so many faith based grassroots and small nonprofit organizations (typically with a budget under $1 million) who are trying to navigate scalability and growth. I love working with these leaders! They have so much passion, zeal and big dreams to change the world by following the calling of Christ. It's contagious! They go all in and give 110% to their mission, even though they face very big challenges (giants) in this phase of gro

I was speaking with a ministry leader last week in Kenya via skype. I’ll be honest with you, I was having an extremely busy week. I was up against a few deadlines. I was hoping the call wouldn’t last more than 30 minutes. God had other plans. Ninety minutes into the conversation I found myself taking notes and this sweet man of God was preaching a sermon to me. I was offering him free fundraising coaching, but in turn, I was the one who received the greater blessing! Hav

Are you considering grants as a way to fund your program or new initiative at your nonprofit? Before you start grant writing, ask yourself these two questions: 1. Have you established solid foundation? Grant Makers like to see you have covered your bases in the following ways: IRS 501c3 approval Charitable solicitation registration and approval Established board of directors Board approved organizational budget projecting expenses and income Financial reports (ex. profit & lo

Written by Chad Bruneski, President/CEO, The Great Commission Foundation I’m facing this question right now in my organization. I have an area of need. It’s not within the core functions of what we do as an organization. Now, do I try and hire people with the expertise to solve the issues I have or do I find someone who is already providing that expertise to others? There’s the part of me that feels like I can control things better if I keep it in-house. I feel like they’ll u

For any nonprofit, fundraising is a never-ending process and with the large amount of advice, sources, strategies and tools – it can feel a bit overwhelming. How do you stay the course to become fully funded and avoid chasing rabbit trails? It starts with developing an annual funding plan. A plan that supports your strategic objectives. A plan that is donor-centric and makes donor care a priority. A plan that has buy-in from the board and staff. The entire organization must e

Strategic partnerships can greatly enhance a nonprofit in many ways. Let’s face it. “We” is better than “Me”! Partnerships can improve your ability to change lives through program enhancements, reduce administrative costs and show your donors that you work well with others in your community. Collaboration is a beautiful thing! After all, we are building a Kingdom, not an Empire. Are you considering a strategic partnership with another nonprofit? If so, I recommend having both

"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." - French Mathematician and Philosopher Blaise As a coach to nonprofit leaders, I have written and reviewed my fair share of fundraising appeals and case for support documents for various organizations. I know EXACTLY what Blaise is describing in his quote from 1657. Centuries later, content writers are still trying to figure out how to communicate in a clear, concise and compelling way. Myself included! Personally,

I have heard this more times than I can count. When board members don’t engage in fundraising it can be super frustrating.

While you are dipping in the pool this Summer, your ministry budget may also be taking a dip. I call it the “Summer Slump”. It’s common in nonprofit fundraising during the months of June, July and August. Let’s face it… many supporters are spending their money differently in the Summer. However, this doesn’t mean you should put cruise control on and abandon all fundraising efforts. Here’s a list of 3 things you can do in July to put the petal to the metal and the dreaded “Sum

Have you heard of the DISC Personality Test? The DISC has become one of the most popular assessments to help people understand how they relate to others in the workplace, at home and in leadership. Even without taking the assessment, you can likely tell whether you’re wired for dominance, influence, steadiness or conscientiousness (DISC). These different personality traits can play a big role in your fundraising approach. Here's how... IF YOU ARE A “D” PERSONALITY STYLE You t

The definition of a major gift differs from organization to organization. A small nonprofit might deem a major gift as anything over $5,000 while a large, established organization might call $50,000 a major gift. Developing a major gifts strategy is critical, regardless the size of your organization. So why doesn’t every nonprofit have one? Here are three common reasons nonprofits fail at major gift fundraising: 1. The Fundraiser Trap As a Founder of a startup grassroots orga

There’s one often-overlooked aspect of fundraising that actually can bring you a big return on investment. Study after study shows this is the closest thing to a fundraising silver bullet. I’m talking about donor retention. What is donor retention? If you’ve been involved in non-profit fundraising for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the words “donor retention.” It simply means keeping donors. Your donor retention rate is the percentage of people who donate to your o

Over a century ago leading philanthropist John D. Rockefeller said, "Giving should be entered into in just the same way as investing. Giving is investing.” Major donors view their gift as an investment and expect an ROI ( View 10 Things Major Donor Want). This takes time and intentional, strategic communication. Regarding major gift fundraising, we can learn a lot from well-known Christian philanthropist David Weekley, President of the David Weekley Family Foundation. He says

In the for-profit world, executives are often discussing a company’s or project’s return on investment (ROI). These entities are often judged by their ability to create sufficient ROI for their investors. One of my favorite shows is Shark Tank. The show features some of the U.S.’s wealthiest investors who spend their own money to invest into contestants’ ideas, products and startups. ROI is important to the Sharks. Shark Lori Greiner invested $200,000 for 20% of one company,

Everyone that leads a ministry or runs a nonprofit has grappled with the tough task of fundraising. Asking donors for financial support, asking volunteers for their time and energy and asking key investors to partner with you consistently becomes a way of life. Which of these 3 classical funding philosophies describes your current fundraising perspective? George Mueller: “Don’t Tell and Don’t Ask” Hudson Taylor: “Tell and yet Don’t Ask” Dwight L. Moody: “Tell and Ask” While t