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The invitation to increase is the beginning of a deeper, more honoring connection with those who have decided to lock arms with you through financially supporting your ministry. Plan to thank those who deepen their investment. A few months later, reach out personally with a story of how their giving is making an impact. A few months after that, reach out to pray with them and connect personally. Wash, rinse and repeat this process over a number of years and you'll find you've nurtured a garden full of deep, honoring connection... connection that fills up and inspires both you and your supporter to press on toward the prize set before us in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). For more on why this matters and how to shift from "donors" to "ministry partners," we recommend Henri Nouwen's 8-chapter booklet, A Spirituality of Fundraising. |
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Practical Steps
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Testimonials
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My communication with my supporters before inviting them to increase had been lacking. I sent quarterly snail-mail prayer letters but hadn't contacted voice-to-voice in 5-7 years with some of them. Because of that, it was difficult to start calling donors. I made excuses that I hated the phone or I couldn't find a good time to call without my kids around. But, once I started calling, I found I enjoyed it. No one was upset. My supporters were just happy to hear from me. I owned that I hadn't done a good job of keeping in touch by saying something like, "Hey, I'm super sorry. I haven't done a good job of keeping in touch. This is my attempt to remedy that." A lot of my calls were an hour long. I was fine with that because I was making up for years of only sending prayer letters and not personally connecting. Almost half the supporters I contacted did some sort of increase. It was definitely worth it. My method: I texted before calling. The text would say something like: "Hey, it's Matt. I'm going to give you a call tonight. If that doesn't work, let me know." Once on the phone with my supporter, I'd spend a decent amount of time catching up. After hearing how they were doing, and listening for how I could pray for them, the transition to offering them an increase wasn't very difficult. I didn't ask every partner on that first call, but when I did ask, I did it at the end of the call. For the rest, I'd follow up at a later time with the offer to increase. I'd say something like “Hey, we need to raise about $1,500-$2,000 a month to stay in full-time ministry ... if you might be in a position to increase, would you prayerfully consider increasing your support?” Then I would discuss a day to follow up (usually 2 days later) and see if that worked for the person. Following up when I said I would was important. There were often multiple follow-ups I had to do. I should also mention that I didn't do it alone. Joining an MTD Cohort group provided the structure I needed to raise more support. I appreciated that it was very compartmentalized – we only talked about MTD. I also learned new techniques from others in the cohort. It has been a very helpful resource for me. Matt raised about $1,500 in new monthly support through that effort. And gifts from his end-of-year ask have increased every year since. |
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