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Old habits are hard to break, however,
sometimes you need to look at your ways of doing things and ask
yourself if the performance is what you are seeking. Now is a good
time for evaluation considering the present economic climate.
Private giving is three hundred billion dollars a year in the United
States. I really don't expect a dramatic decline in donations.
This number shows that you don't have to motivate people to give,
but you need to attract an adequate level of the giving that is
taking place to your organization to meet operating expenses.
Sharathons may have had their place in broadcasting, but too many
people are skeptical about what we say and do to obtain funds. It
seems everyone is afraid or unwilling to raise funds a different
way. We know what is available to us with present methods and
message, however a new and bigger message, optimism of a greater
vision tied to a new message can give you the funds needed for
desired ministry goals.
Can anyone imagine promoting a Christian
concert the way we conduct sharathons? Can you imagine having
announcements on the air saying Concert 2009 is coming to a city
near you for about four weeks and then allowing just a few days to
obtain tickets? No one uses this type system to promote and sell
products. Why do we do fundraising in this way? A fellow
broadcaster asked me once how our recent sharathon went and I told
him we didn't do sharathons. He asked how we raised money and I
told him that we may air a few recorded announcements of
sixty-seconds from time to time. He asked if it were possible to
raise funds in sixty seconds. I responded, "There are many
businesses presenting their products through ads of thirty to sixty
seconds why would you think it would not be effective for
fundraising?" There is too much time spent resting in this single
avenue of requesting funds. There are regular listeners who
tune-out during sharathon. The percentage of people with the
inclination to phone a station and make a pledge would be smaller
still. So, why a method where you have lost most potential
contributors before you invite the first phone call?
We need to reach beyond just the bottom-line
and what is needed for funding and embrace the listeners as our
fellow ministers. Once you have done this you will be able to
develop the needed resources for ministry. The key is not obtaining
resources for ministry, but in building relationships with the
listeners and have them join in a united effort. People want
leadership, a sense of unity and family in moving to a common goal.
Look at the sports world and how people
develop their favorite teams and cheer for success. You have
listeners that want you to succeed and they will also join in the
positive feelings of accomplishment to see the ministry's outreach
in communicating hope and touching lives.
The number one thing that will motivate people
to support your radio station is vision. What do you want to do and
how are you doing it? What I hear from most stations is that they
play more music on the radio than anyone else. I agree, cut the
meaningless chatter and keep the music rolling. However, you end up
communicating you are a jukebox and so the listener's reaction is,
"Ok, I'll drop a quarter in the slot occasionally." Your vision has
to be more than playing music on the radio. I have engaged industry
people in conversation over this issue and they become very
defensive and then tell me their vision is bigger than a "more
music" format. However, their vision for ministry is not
communicated very well to the listeners. You must electrify and
energize your base concerning why you do what you do.
The second thing you must do is have the
listeners take personal ownership in the ministry. I am sorry if I
offend anyone, but the tone of most fundraising is, "Give to me so I
can conduct my ministry." However, what needs to be said is, "I am
a servant to you to help you conduct your ministry. Scripture
explains how we have different callings, but one mission. The
person on the air has a different role than the person who sends a
monthly donation, however both work in the same mission. It is very
important for you to embrace this thinking and effectively
communicate it to your listeners. Don't just seek donations, but
provide leadership. Don't desire your organization to be bigger,
but help your listeners to desire growth in wisdom and knowledge of
the Lord and what He desires for them.
Think about it! If your listeners really
embraced your vision and take personal ownership do you think you
would have difficulty raising funds? If you do these two things
you will have the funds you need for your ministry without doing a
sharathon. It is a daily effort of communicating on the air and
expressing yourself in print to your listeners. Each hour you
should ask yourself what you have done to communicate vision and
personal ownership on the air and also in each piece of mail that
you send out.
I mentioned that you must present vision and
personal ownership on the air and in print. In order for you to
have the audio and visual contact with listeners you need to
identify your listening audience by name and address. One of the
most effective ways I have seen is by sponsoring special events and
selling tickets. If you use an on-line source for selling tickets
or the auditorium handles the tickets you need to tell them you need
the addresses for future promotion of events. People who purchase
tickets to Christian events are also willing to support your
station.
The station promotions director and the one
who works most closely with funding should have their desks in the
same room. Seek to conduct activities that will result in people
phoning the radio station or send you an e-mail with their address?
One thing we have done is to give away books on the air. We will
obtain five hundred to a thousand copies of a good title and author
and develop interest in the book over the period of a week and then
have a day when we take the first five hundred to a thousand callers
for a free copy of the book. You will further develop your ministry
by sending quality Christian literature to thousands of people.
You will also build you
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