Is your organization poised for a campaign? How can you use such an opportunity to advance your organization in multiple areas and accomplish various goals in the end? Campaigns can be powerful opportunities in the life of your organization or ministry when organized well. They require time, energy, and thoughtful planning, but can propel your organization in several ways. The first aspect we’ll explore is how your campaign should resource your vision and priorities/plan. This may sound obvious, but all too often organizations move into a campaign without clear vision and priorities or don’t really align their fundraising goals with their vision and priorities - a missed opportunity to enliven your vision and resource your strategic priorities.

Fundraising, as congregations currently do it, is labor intensive and does not bring joy. In fact, a major reason for staff burnout is that congregations don’t adequately fund its ministry with young people, and they have to rely on special fundraising with high investment and low return. There is a better way. Fundraising can align with our ministry goals and can return significant resources, strengthening our ministry.

The 10 commandments of church councils.

Few congregations have up-to-date written job descriptions for paid staff members let alone volunteer leadership board members. Without clear expectations, board members can easily fail to live up to expectations. Anxiety rises with uncertainty and the board does not function well.

Having a code of ethics can help inform board members of expectations and give you the grounding to accountability. This is a great sample to get you started in shaping your own code of ethics for your organization. Have members sign this at the start of their term and review it on an annual or quarterly basis when you gather.

Helping guide our youth in our congregations to raise money to attend a national youth gathering can teach them valuable skills and help the congregation participate in their growth and faith formation. In this post, you will find a growing collection of resources to support their efforts.

The Governing Board is a single body that only has authority as a whole. No individual member, regardless of position or title, has individual authority outside of the Governing Board meetings. After decisions are made, the Governing Board speaks as one body, not as individuals.

Being grateful is a key step in the process with a donor. Learn three components that should be part of every gratitude plan.

Using a gift intent card or form can help provide clarity from the donor about their wishes. It can help the organization plan their budget, and it helps maintain institutional knowledge. Here is a sample you can download and adapt for your own organization.

It’s early January and we should know what our plan for securing generosity for the year will be. Do you have a development calendar? What about goals? Does your board/council know how to monitor the plan and provide assistance in reaching the goal?

Many boards (councils) spend lots of time talking about stuff. But, is it the right stuff? And, when it isn’t the right stuff, are we hindering generosity? A strategic plan is critically important in the fundraising function both for churches and non-profit institutions. And, the board/council needs tools for asking for and monitoring the strategic plan.

Don't bore people with your annual statements. They are a chance to reinforce your message of impact.

Leadership culture can significantly drain or dramatically empower your organization in achieving its goals and delivering its mission. Whatever role you play in the organization, you have the opportunity to influence and shape a culture of leadership. We’ll discuss ways you can help shape a leadership environment that empowers your people and strengthens your organization. Bring your real world situations for us to unpack together and leave empowered to take action.

Ever been at a Council meeting that started great and next thing you know you are spending 30 minutes discussing something no one really cares about? Learn tips and strategies for keeping your focus on the gospel mission of the congregation, rather than something easily delegated.

You have your priorities, you have your plans… now what? It’s time to organize your people to realize those plans and achieve your priorities. Whether you’re a 1-person shop, working with volunteers, a congregation, or a complex organization, intentionally organizing people to play fulfilling roles in your plans is powerful in advancing your organization to new levels of achievement and mission potential. Once again, bring your real world situations for us to unpack together and leave empowered to take action.

Priorities are great… but how do you go about achieving those priorities? In the second of this 3-part series we’ll discuss the role of planning, once again highlighting the need for and relationship between your strategic plan, fundraising plan, and communication plan. We’ll explore planning approaches that are nimble, accessible, and scalable for organizations of all sizes. Once again, bring your real world situations for us to unpack together and leave empowered to take action.

What should you be raising money for? How are you raising it? What kinds of communication are supporting those efforts? Clear priorities, at all levels, empower organizations to achieve fundraising success. We’ll discuss ways to cultivate and orient your priorities for mission fruition and fundraising success, sequencing and aligning institutional strategic priorities on through to fundraising and marketing priorities. Bring your real world situations for us to unpack together and leave empowered to take action.

Commitment Sunday can be a time of joy and celebration. From original screen plays to adapted works, to generosity and abundance stories, learn how to make your next Commitment Sunday fun and fabulous.

Face to face visits are the most effective fundraising approach to build donor relationship, but they are time consuming in the short term while the results may not be realized for a prolonged period of time. How do you know if you're seeing the "right" people? How do you balance the number of visits between known givers and potential, but lesser known, givers? With tight budgets and limited human resources, reassessing your 1:1 Donor Portfolio is an important part of strategically managing your fundraising effort. At this Roundtable session, we'll talk about how to build a donor portfolio, assess an existing list, and leave with confidence knowing when to add and remove prospective givers.

Small details can make a huge difference. At this Roundtable, we'll talk about small adjustments to your fundraising efforts that can have a big impact. You'll leave with tips for technology tools and practical systems that help you work smarter while sustaining personalized donor connection. Join the conversation with your own favorite tip or technology tool that you've applied in your own fundraising strategy.