Page History

How does inviting a supporter to increase honor them?

In the Practical Steps section of this page, you'll find instructions on calculating an Intentional Gift Amount. This is based on the number of supporters you feel you can wrap your arms around and stay connected with over the course of a year. Why think through this? Because when it comes time for the cultivation of your MTD partnerships, you can have a quick touch-base with 150 partners or a meaningful connection with 50 partners. It's for you to decide. Do you want a team of ministry donors or ministry partners? There's a big difference, and it will impact every aspect of how you do MTD. 

If you're desiring partnership, consider; "What makes someone a true partner in ministry? And how do I honor that relationship?" Writing your prayer letter in a partner-centered way, showing them how they're making an impact, is a start! Other things to consider: Asking for their advice, inviting them to volunteer, giving them opportunities to speak into your life, sending short prayer texts, investing in their life as a spiritual friend - a place in which they can find a meaningful connection that points them to Jesus (this need can be especially high among some of our higher-capacity partners). 

Yes, this will require some extra work on the front end. But, it will also mean less time on the back end, having to find new donors.

Start small, with the vision to build up to this ideal over a number of years. The Practical Steps section will encourage you to start with a list of 20 people. Ask the Lord to show you what 20 partners He wants you to invest in and go deeper with this year. 

Practical Steps

1. Pray. Ask the Lord for guidance - including a goal and who He wants you to invite to increase. Specifically, ask Him to show you what 20 supporters He wants you to invest in and go deeper with this year. If you need names, ask Him for a number of new names to shoot for. 
   
   
2. Connect with your MTD Coach to set up a strategy call. If you don't have an MTD coach or need a new one, email MTD@reliant.org
   
   
3. Write out a Top 20 list of supporters the Lord led you to contact. Narrowing the list to ~20 people makes this project more manageable. *You can always contact the rest of your partners at a later date. Possible people to start with could be:
   1. Those who give a smaller amount, but their income has increased since they first started giving. 
   2. Medium-top tier supporters. These people are usually "all-in" and will prayerfully consider an increase.
   3. Non-current supporters. 
   4. Those who gave under $3K annually. Invite them to become a monthly, regular giver. 
   5. Those who gave special gifts or annual gifts totaling $3K or more last year put forward another large gift challenge. Ask them to take the next two days to seek the Lord on how much He wants them to invest in this ministry in the coming 12 months. Understanding larger-capacity supporters don't tend to give monthly, we offer them an opportunity to increase that fits more within their annual giving mindset. 
      
      
4. Decide how to reconnect. Some choose to take a season of reconnecting before calling for increases. Others decide to use the increase ask call as a way to reconnect. See Matt's story below for one example. 
   
   

5. Calculate your Intentional Gift Amount

   This is a major step in rooting your ask in honoring the partnership (the smaller the team, the more we can stay connected. The deeper the investment, the more we're empowered to invest deeply.) The steps below will lead you to an average gift based on your support goal. 

   Excerpt Include
   MTD "Intentional Gift" MTD "Intentional Gift" nopanel true

   *If a supporter is already giving at or above your Intentional Gift amount, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to an amount to set before your supporter.
   
   

6. Block out chunks of time on your calendar for phone calls, follow-up & admin (sending emails, entering notes into your database, scheduling reminders, etc).
   
   
7. Pick a script (see below) you like and rewrite it in your own words. 
   Remember, you're inviting people into something larger than just money. Also, consider accepting that most of the conversations you will have with your supporters will be about money because that's an element of your relationship (they give to your ministry), and you're part of a non-profit, which means inviting people to give generously to the Kingdom is part of your job. Make peace with this before writing your script. 
   
   
8. Pull a monthly giving report.  It's hard to know who increased if you don't have their original gift amount. Save yourself a headache later and download a copy of your monthly giving report before you begin asking supporters to increase. 
   • From Toolbox, go to MTD, Received Gifts, and filter for recurring gifts. Print or save for your records.
     • Here's a more detailed tutorial with pictures.
   • PS - while you're there, look to see if you have any "Non-Current" giving (Status drop-down menu). If anyone is on this list, they might be the first to call. Useful scripts & steps are found here: Calling Non-Current Donors
     
     
9. Set up MPDx to track this appeal. Here's how in MPDx. 
   
   

10. Invite your Top 20 to increase. Make this ask boldly, vision-driven (NOT because you're getting short-checked), and rooted in prayer. Examples and scripts are below. Meet regularly with your MTD Coach for encouragement throughout the process. 

    Expand
    title Ways a supporter can change their recurring giving with Reliant.
    *You can copy these instructions and send them to your supporter . or send them a PDF of this page: How to Update Your Giving Update giving on Reliant.org   Log into the website Click the drop-down menu under your name (top right of the screen) Choose "Giving Dashboard." This will bring you to your recurring gifts. Choose "Make Changes."  Enter the new recurring gift amount. Call Gift Services at 877-614-4600 between the hours of 8 am-4 pm EDT. Email Gift Services at gift.services@reliant.org with the request to increase *make sure to use the same email address as used for your Reliant donor account.

    
    

11. Follow up! It often takes someone about 7x to hear a message before they act on it. If you haven't had at least 7 interactions with your supporter about increasing, then it's time for follow-up, not frustration. Organize your database or calendar to automatically remind you to follow up with those who are making a decision (DOH) or have said yes but haven't increased their giving yet. 

    Expand
    title Follow-up ideas.
    Call. If you get them on the phone, ask if they have 5 minutes for you to walk them through updating their giving online.  Text the link to the login page your giving page and instructions on how to increase. (See #10)  3-way call with your supporter and Gift Services at 877-614-4600, between the hours of 8 am-4 pm, EDT, Mon-Fri.  Supporters can email Gift Services at gift.services@reliant.org with the request to increase. *make sure to use the same email address as used for their Reliant donor account.

    
    

12. Discover who gave and thank them. 
    • Pull a giving report at the end of each month to check for increases (See #8). 
    • Thank those who increase. The general standard is a handwritten thank-you card and a phone call. (Other ideas HERE.) 
      
      
13. Plan for ongoing connection

    If we're looking for a donation, the conversation generally stops after we've received the gift. If we're looking to build ministry partnerships, the gift is simply the launching point to invite further conversation, informed input, and deeper connection. 

    You will discover everyone has a "poor" and a "rich." Our work, as the Body of Christ, is to minister to each other's "poor" out of our "rich." That wealthy supporter of yours also has a "poor." And you have a "rich." The one-on-one connection allows you to discover these ministry opportunities and lean into them over time. 

    "Prayer letters are important, but they pale in comparison to one-on-one connections." - Greg, Reliant pastor for over 20 years. Greg has a regular rhythm of texting/calling supporters throughout the year. Sometimes he updates them about what's happening in the ministry. But, most of the time, these calls are his chance to connect with and minister to his supporter. It's no wonder Greg's financial support is consistently strong, even with a large goal.