As 2009 begins, this is the final conversation that represents a significant stumbling block to the Christian community's ability to impact the culture. Remember that in today's media-driven world, perception matters, and regardless of your theological persuasion, it's time to realize that some of our efforts - even well intentioned efforts - can have damaging consequences. Yesterday we talked about what's called the "prosperity message." Today, the next step is ... read more

Your mom told you that "First impressions count." In the digital age, mom's advice matters more than ever. With today's technology - email, instant messaging, Twitter, mobile phones, texts, and more, word travels fast, and first impressions matter. In fact - and this is what I want you to remember - when it comes to fundraising and donor development, the way you first connect with a TV viewer, radio listener, supporter, or donor is the way they'll expect you to connect from that point on. In other words - reach them through email first, and they'll expect that to continue. Reach them through direct mail, the expectations are the same. So give a lot of thought to how you want to start the conversation with potential donors, because they get used to it. ... read more

I asked a distinguished panel of donor development and fundraising experts about the advice they would give churches and ministries during this financial crisis. The panel included Mary Hutchinson, Mark Dreistadt, Dale Berkey, and David Holland. I asked them to send me a couple of suggestions that could help a church or ministry get through this tough financial time. Here's their suggestions: ... read more

When it comes to your ministry or non-profit organization, like it or not, an important aspect of successful fundraising is that it needs an enemy: Sometimes that enemy is hunger... Sometimes another need such as drugs, alcoholism, child abuse... Even spiritual darkness.. It shouldn't be individuals, but it can be a group such as drug dealers, human traffickers, child predators, etc.... The question you need to think about is: ... read more

An important technique all churches, ministries, and non-profits can learn from Barack Obama's presidential campaign is how they focused their fundraising. While Hillary Clinton was focusing on a handful of major donors, Obama concentrated on many more smaller donors - primarily using the web. While no one would turn away a million dollar gift, understanding the difference is important. Here's why: ... read more

Reading the newspaper or listening to the TV news makes it hard not to wonder about the economy. Some say it's getting stronger, while others protest it's in a serious crisis. It takes up the majority of the presidential candidates speech time, and it's pretty much 24/7 on the cable news channels. Whatever is going on, it's important that non-profits understand the connections between the economy and giving. There's little empirical data out there on the issue, but experience is a good teacher, and you need some tools to work with as your consider your strategy for the coming months. Here are my thoughts on the current economic situation and how it could impact your organization. I would encourage you to meet with your team and make sure they understand these important principles: ... read more

One of the things that the financial crisis at Oral Roberts University pointed out recently was the apparent internal direction of funding. The Oral Roberts Ministry was founded first, and during the evangelistic ministry of the founder Oral Roberts, the ministry organization was used to help fund the university. In essence, the ministry spawned the university, and for many years used it's national television program and direct mail outreach to raise significant funding for the university.

But apparently, ... read more

Mary Hutchinson of Creative One sent me this "Top Ten List of Fundraising Tips" for Christian media programmers. It's particularly focused on religious and non-profit media, but many of the ideas could impact the way you raise money outside of media as well. Do you agree with these techniques? Let me know your thoughts... ... read more

As 2008 comes closer, I want to throw out a few statements that I'd like you to be thinking about. I want to write about each of them more fully in the near future, but let me toss out a few controversial topics and see if you agree that each one is something we need to confront: ... read more

I originally wrote this post earlier in the year, and this month a version of it appeared as my faith and culture column in Charisma magazine. I'm already starting to get some criticism of the column, so I thought I'd publish it again, and see what you think. Let the good times begin:

The U.S. government has given non-profit status to organizations created to serve the common good. Humanitarian efforts, religious organizations, educational outreach, medical services - all are common types of non-profit groups. They accept donations, and are exempt of taxation, which allows them enormous financial incentives and latitude. Therefore, in the case of churches and ministries, fundraising has become a vital tool that's used to raise the necessary money to make ministry happen. ... read more

Some recently dismissed professors at Oral Roberts University have filed suit alleging financial improprieties at the school - mostly having to do with President Richard Roberts, his wife Lindsay, and their children. I'm an ORU graduate, and hate to see something like this at my alma mater, or with any nationally known non-profit organization. No matter what the outcome of the legal action may be, the PR damage will be serious. Non-profits are especially at risk because ... read more