Leaders first. Never announce a major change of ministry direction or a new building plan from the platform on a Sunday morning that you have not first announced to your leadership. That is a mantra I preach to every Senior Pastor that I help raise capital dollars. Why? Let me...
Let me explain what I mean when I say leaders. As a stewardship guy, I’m thinking of raising funds. So, I want the top 15% of your donors to be present at any leadership meeting. Often, that net captures all your leaders. However, it might not catch the faithful retiree...
What motivates Christians to give? That was the headline of an email I received from the Barna Group a few years ago. They had done a survey to find out what motivated Christians to give. So, what did they find that motivated Christians to give? The Barna report says, “For Christians,...
“Do you want a sales answer or the truth?” Once, I was interviewed by a church that wanted to hire a stewardship partner for its capital campaign. The Executive Pastor asked me how much I thought they could raise in their next campaign. At that point, the church had done...
Are the glory days of capital campaigns over? Since the 1960s, when there was a huge explosion of church expansion and building capital campaigns, billions of dollars have been raised for churches. Those days may be over. Studies are showing that the average capital campaign is now raising about... 1 time....
I’m writing a book on how to hold a Do-It-Yourself capital campaign. As a result, I have been researching all my past writing on the subject. I came across an out-of-print post I wrote ten years ago, entitled How to Use Technology for a Capital Campaign. In 2014, online giving...
If you want to raise significant dollars in a capital campaign you must realize It Starts With a Vision. That is the title of this Coach and the key to a successful campaign. I’m starting back my series on how to do your own capital campaign, entitled Giving Away the...
When I work with a client for a significant giving initiative, I start by asking the Pastor to write out the vision behind whatever we are raising money for. Technically, this is called a Vision Case Statement. I want a broad overview of what we are raising money for on...
The following is a repost that can be found at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/the-state-of-giving “Giving Continues Its Decline, Down 2.1% in 2023. Can Fundraisers Turn the Tide in 2024? 1. That was the headline of a recent post I read by The Chronicle of Philanthropy on Giving USA’s annual survey on giving. When...
July 4th is days away, and in this Coach, I will help you devise a plan to increase giving! I’m taking a break from my series on capital campaigns to focus on this issue, entitled The 4th of July Giving Coach. If you have followed me for any length of...
