2009
Developing a Fund Raising Plan
From PlantingSpace.com, which is sponsored by Church Planting Solutions (CPS), a Passion for Planting (P4P) ministry.
- Money Follows Vision – nail your vision. Learn to tell your story in a compelling way. Tell life change stories that you can use in fundraising. Nothing will be more important than your vision.
- Money Follows Trust and Trust Follows Relationship and Competency – work to build relationships with your potential donors. Give them a professional-looking launch plan and action list.
- Share Stories – tell your story of why you are planting a church. Also rather than give demographics about the area, tell a story about a person or family that you have met from the area that illustrates the need for a new church.
- Budget Cycles – it is generally best to raise funds from churches in the early fall (August – October). This is their normal budgeting cycle and when they are determining what projects/missions they will be willing and able to support for the following year.
- Tax Cycles – for individuals you will want to consider soliciting year-end gifts
- Know Your Contributor – find out anything you can about the individuals and organizations you are soliciting. Generally speaking, an existing church’s budget will be about $1,000 per person (e.g. church of 250 members will likely have an operating budget of $250,000). If they are “tithing” on their budget that leaves $25,000 for missions. Keep that number in mind as you determine what your specific “ask” will be for that church. Whenever possible, be as specific as you can when asking.
- Be Bold – you often don’t get what you don’t ask for.
- Be Specific – make a specific and concrete ask. Ask when you should follow up.
- Try to Meet in Person – your first step is to start a conversation that leads to a personal meeting. Individuals and committees are more likely to say yes when you make your pitch in person.
- First Impressions Can be Misleading – you can’t judge a person’s gift of generosity by their looks.
- Multiple Touches Make a Difference – send several letters to potential donors. Follow up with a call. Send them your written launch plan.
- Find out Who the Decision Makers Are – every church, organization or family unit has a decision maker. Learn who the person is in each organization and learn as much about them as possible. Try to build a relationship with them.
- Get Advice From Those Who Have Given Large Donations – find a mentor or coach to give you advice on how best to talk with potential donors. Who better to get advice from than those who have a history of giving large donations?