Year-end fundraising advice from angels: Don't be afraid
I could smell the fear in an email I got recently. I suspect the email resulted from a panicked appeal to every email address the charity ever had on file.
I’m not an angel, but angels give good advice. Don’t be afraid.
Let’s imagine your charity is behind budget. You’ll be cutting programs and laying off staff next year if more money doesn’t come in. What to do?
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Be specific, like the man asking for three loaves of bread in Luke 11. Here’s my suggested steps to take before sending the email, and a template that might be a helpful starting point.
Pray first
I’ve met with finance people who carry the weight of the fiscal struggle alone. If this is you, remember that you are a valuable resource in your organization. Pray. Isaiah 12:2-6 comes to mind.
Ask others to pray for you. Who can you ask to pray for you in your ministry of administration?
Phone a friend
Here’s what your wise friend might ask…
What do you want me to pray about?
The budget. We are behind budget. I’m worried we’ll have to make cuts next year.
What sort of cuts?
We've already let the fundraising staff person go. Next would be an admin person and our youth worker would be cut to half-time.
You’d be a leaner organization but still doing the work?
No. Without a strong admin team, we’d have a difficult time fulfilling the grant reporting requirements. Everyone feels stretched thin as it is. We still need to issue receipts and communicate with our supporters.
That sounds stressful! What keeps you at CDE Charity?
It is stressful right now. But if you could see how happy families are when they get ordinary things like toothpaste and hand soap. And the behind the scenes work that we are doing - the long-term advocacy work for social justice. The toothpaste is the tip of the iceberg. I’m convinced is our work is a gift to the next generation.
How much money do you need?
$60,000. $100,000 would be even better.
How will CDE make the world a better place with $100,000?
I feel like it’s not us alone doing the work. God is using CDE to bless this community. We have so many dedicated volunteers and faithful supporters.
I’m glad you have a support base. Why didn’t you ask sooner?
We probably should have shared our situation earlier. It’s hard times for so many right now, and I hate to ask…
You hate to ask?
Well, it’s uncomfortable to ask for money. Feels like begging…
Are people who come to the food bank begging?
Of course not! People are working multiple part-time jobs, paying high rents, doing everything they can to get by. We wish they would come to the food bank earlier. We are glad to help!
What if I was glad to help? What if you were asking me to help bless the community? What if it was a real encouragement to me, knowing that in these hard times I could make a gift of hope to others?
That would be amazing!
An email template
Dear <friend’s name>
Thanks to our dedicated volunteers and faithful supporters like you, CDE Charity has blessed many people this year. Your generosity helps people today - people who visit the food bank to get tooth paste and hand soap. Your generosity also funds social justice advocacy work - a gift of hope to future generations.
Can you make a financial gift to bless our community? $100,00 will help us stay fully staffed so that we can:
reach out to youth: teens have been incredibly isolated with virtual school and need us more than ever.
maintain our admin team: We need them! Our admin team help us secure funding from foundations, keeps our programs running strong, issues the receipts, answers the phone and performs a thousand other tasks that are the bedrock of everything we do. It’s easier to get donations for toothpaste but we also need a place to store it, someone to keep track of it and to pay the light bill.
Please pray for CDE Charity. It’s your prayerful support that keeps our ministry going. Know that we are praying for you, grateful for your contributions to this work. In these difficult times, your gift provides hope and encouragement. Thank you!
Gratefully,
CEO
P.S. Our monthly donors …