Jack Eason “Navigating Giving During Perilous Times
1. Take this time to ENCOURAGE & EDUCATE.
If your ministry isn’t reminding your partners/donors of the truth of giving during this time, you are missing a major opportunity. God’s work has never lacked supply. Through great economies and challenging ones, God is still the same. Remind your partners that God is in charge. Encourage them to believe the truths of the Bible. They don’t have to stick their heads in the sand, but God’s economy is different than the world’s economy. Several ministries we serve are in the midst of major campaigns, building projects, and overflow budgets simply because they are Encouraging their partners with God’s truth and Educating their partners about the power of trusting God even in difficult times. It’s easy to give when things are great; it’s much more trusting to give when times are difficult.
2. RAMP UP THE REASON
You might remember that after the economy tanked in 2008, most ministries had to work 3 times as hard to raise the same amount of money. Few things have changed since then when it comes to ramping up the reason to give. In fact, it may very well be that we all will have to work even harder in the coming months. Don’t see that as bad news. See it as we get to ramp up the reason for partners to give. We can’t afford to be lazy when it comes to sharing the reason for giving. Ramp up your communication via email, text, online, your website, social media—wherever you have donors and partners, keep the reason for support in front of them in a creative way: graphics, audio, video, etc. Use people impacted by your ministry to tell their stories.
3. TURN UP THE THANK YOUS
The easiest way to grow your donor base is to keep the ones that you have. If you have partners leaving your organization or withdrawing their support, that’s tough. During these challenging times, make sure they know you are thankful for your support. Don’t assume that they do. Email them personally, have some volunteers hand-write cards, make some phone calls. Invite them to a dessert event. Connect with them somehow, preferably face to face. You can never say THANK YOU enough. And if your communication to your partners hasn’t included a THANK YOU recently, you need to add that to the mix.
While it would be easy to start to panic with the way things are looking, don’t succumb to that pressure. Remember that God is control. Remind your partners of this as well. Don’t forget to do the things that got you to this point. It’s easy to neglect the basics.
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Jack Eason is the President of The Heart Share Group, an organization dedicated to helping organizations reach their full potential through leadership development, brand development, and partnership development. Heart Share serves Christian radio through donor development strategies, fundraising initiatives (including on-air campaigns and major donor support), and creative partnerships. Contact Jack at jack@theheartsharegroup.com…