Category: Practical Tips and Information

tips from other ministry workers on full-time support, information on practical elements of raising your financial support

You Need To Listen To This Podcast

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 2 Comments

Recently a friend of mine from Support Raising Solutions, Aaron Babyar, was a guest on a great podcast called EngagingMissions.com. He spoke on the topic of support raising.

I think every ministry worker needs to hear it. Including you.

Think of this podcast episode like a audio syllabus for a upper-level support raising class at a fancy university. Also, if you have been searching for better language to describe what you are doing in raising up a financial partnership team, steal every one-liner Aaron says and turn it into your own vocabulary. Here are some great examples of Aaron one-liners for stealing purposes:

“Begging and inviting — those are diametrically opposed.“

“My supporters are a part of my ministry because they are in it with me.“

“Believe and have faith that it all depends on God, but meanwhile, work like it all depends on you.”

Take an hour to listen sometime this week and thank me later – here’s the link:

http://engagingmissions.com/em140-aaron-babyar/

 

The Phone Call Mind Map

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 2 Comments

Most of the time, you will be asking individuals on the phone for face-to-face appointments to invite them onto your partnership team.

Phone calls can be daunting for anyone. For some of you (particularly for younger generations) phone calls can just be down-right scary.

One worker I coach found the phone call to be very daunting. To combat this she made a Phone Call Mind Map to help her move through her phone call script. I found the map extremely helpful when thinking through some of the scenarios we may face while making phone calls asking for appointments. Thus, I created one like her’s including some of the typical responses workers get when making phone calls.

Just so you know, I’m fully aware that it looks like a mess.

However you may find it helpful to print off and have near you while you begin making phone calls, especially those of you that are new-er to the process. Phone calls require the caller to go with the flow in some respects, but it does help to be prepared.

Below the mess are two things:

  1. Some important things to remember when making your phone calls.
  2. A basic phone call script / outline.

I hope you find this helpful!

the-phone-call-mind-map (14)

 

PHONE SCRIPT

WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT THIS PERSON  (i.e. hobbies, job, sports, family, name of spouse and kids…)  If a referral, who referred this person?

_________________________________________________________________

GREETING, INTRODUCTION, RAPPORT

_________________________________________________________________

TRANSITION TO THE APPOINTMENT

_________________________________________________________________

ASK FOR APPOINTMENT (MAKE SURE TO TALK ABOUT DESIRE FOR FINANCIAL PARTNERSHIP)

_________________________________________________________________

CONFIRM TIME, DATE, PLACE OF APPOINTMENT

_________________________________________________________________

CLOSING AND THANKS  (Details, dates, times, write directions on the back).

_________________________________________________________________

 

Make YOUR Newsletter WAY MORE Read-able

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 4 Comments

Are you writing a newsletter on a regular basis? Or maybe I should put it this way, SHOULD you be writing a newsletter on a regular basis? Well, if you want to make your newsletter awesome, this post is for you! Here are 10 Tips on Making Your Newsletter WAY MORE READ-ABLE.

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GUEST POST – Let’s Be Real: Why Ministry and Fund Raising Follow Up is So Important

~ Pastor Chris ~ 5 Comments

Before we get into this amazing post, I (Jenn Fortner), just want to say how thankful I am for another Pastor Chris guest post. In this post Pastor Chris continues to challenge us with his wisdom in a huge area of ministry partnership development: follow-up. If you didn’t get to read his first guest post you can find it here.You can also read Chris’s full bio below. Enjoy! – JF

Are You Doing Proper Follow-Up?  This is a critical question regarding your success as a christian worker.  As a christian worker or missionary you are going to find many people interested in speaking to you about Jesus, but they may not always be ready to make a commitment.  They may not be prepared to forsake Islam or their family’s religion of many generations because you told them a nice story.  Successful ministry work requires faithful and patient follow-up with that person who has shown some interest.  The man who pumps my gas gave his life to Jesus, but only after I spoke with him many times.  He had to know more than my “story” about Jesus… he had to know ME. Was I a worthy person to carry such a story to him?  Could I be trusted?  Did I really believe the message I was sharing with him?

The first place you learn and practice how to do follow-up is while raising your financial support.  You may think raising money and sharing the gospel are vastly different but they are not.  If you are unable to look a pastor square in the eyes and say, “I need your support to fulfill God’s call on my life” – then you will find it difficult to look another man, with another religion, square in the eyes and say to him, “I need you to abandon everything you have been taught and follow Jesus!”

Before you get to meet that man and share the gospel with him – you must meet many pastors and individuals who will help send you to the field of your calling.  You will face a lot of rejection along the way.  Your success will depend on how YOU HEAR rejection.  Yes, you read that correctly… it is up to YOU how YOU hear rejection.  When a pastor says to you, “I’ve just taken on several other families and our budget cannot support another one right now” – What do you hear?  Do you hear “NO”?  Or do you hear “NOT NOW”?

I have been serving on the field for many years.  I have raised a lot of funds.  I have done a lot of asking. I do not remember in all of those times of asking that I have ever heard a “NO”. If you hear “NO” when you ask (or if you are hearing “I DO NOT WANT TO SUPPORT YOU”), then I believe you are hearing incorrectly.  Most people you share your vision with likely believe in you, and admire what you are doing.  However, everyone is not going to be willing, AT THE MOMENT YOU ASK, to support you.  This is where follow up becomes a key to your success.

Successful sales people will tell you the one difference between them (the successful ones) and the others (the unsuccessful ones) is performing proper follow up.  Salesmen are pushed by their organizations to close the deal on the first meeting.  When they are not able to do that (close the deal) they allow the potential client to drift off to a competitor, while they go looking for a new potential client.  This is a HUGE mistake.  Recent studies have shown that most sales come much later than originally thought and after multiple contacts.

In an article entitled – Shocking Sales Statistics as it Relates to Follow Up – the author shares these statistics:

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
12% of sales people make more than three contacts

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% of sales are made on the second contact
5% of sales are made on the third contact
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

follow up

Look at that last line.  80% of all sales come between 5 and 12 contacts. Amazing!!! I do not know how those statistics compare to fund raising, but I believe they would be very similar.

How can you apply this information to your fundraising campaign? Here are some ideas:

1.Change the way you HEAR rejection

Unless a “NO” is a very emphatic “NO” – you must learn to hear it as “not now.”

2.Develop a Contact & Follow-up Strategy

Every contact with a potential supporter does not need to be an “ask”.  In fact if it is, you may become obnoxious and pastors will run when they see you.  This is true when presenting the gospel on the field also… every time you meet that guy or gal you are sharing with – you cannot ask them to accept Jesus; however, there will be the right time when you can.  Every time you meet a pastor you cannot ask for money, but there will be the right setting when you can.

3.Set a Goal to Work your Strategy

If you are raising your support for the first time set a goal to contact every pastor in your district multiple times (of course always follow the protocol within your organization / your role on this one).  Contacts can be any kind of contact: a newsletter, a Facebook post, a postcard, a formal letter, an invite to coffee or lunch, greeting him/her at a district function, etc. Create a spreadsheet and track how many times you have contacted each pastor.  Look for the ones you have had little contact with and try to increase your connection with them.

Doing these things will help keep you moving towards your goal of reaching the field and sharing the gospel with the people God is calling you to.

Ye have not… because ye follow up not!

Begin today putting together a Follow-Up & Contact Plan that works for you!

-Pastor Chris

Want more on these subjects? Here are some suggestions:

Dealing with the Monster of Rejection

6 Tips for Connecting with Pastors

Effectively Communicate with Your Financial Partners

Dealing with The Monster of Time Management

~ Jenn Fortner ~ Leave a comment
As the holidays approach, so do the packed schedules. Am I right?! I personally feel as though I ran through November and am not wanting a repeat for December. Does anyone else feel like Thanksgiving possibly can’t be this week? Anyone?! Okay just me? Anyway…
As I’ve been pondering best practices of time management in my own life, I would like to share some of my thoughts on the subject in the context of financial partnership development. I’ve also added the advice of a few christian workers in the throws of intensely packed schedules.
If you have ever procrastinated partnership development in favor of getting the other thing done or just gotten tired of hearing the words “I’m busy” come out of your mouth  – this post is for you! (in all reality, this post really is for me and maybe for you…)
 Time-Management
Time Man·age·ment
noun
noun: time management
  1. the ability to use one’s time effectively or productively, especially at work.
    “time management is the key to efficient working”

7 TIPS FOR BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT

1. Keep a detailed calendar. Become familiar with the calendar on your smart phone (or computer) and start using it… EVERY DAY. Set multiple alarms (sometimes I set it to daily if it is urgent) for yourself so you are reminded of your tasks. If you aren’t a “scheduled type person”, strongly consider figuring out how to become one. Find some helps in the area of time management online if need be. Try out a daily method of entering calendar appointments and checking your calendar.

2. Get an accountability partner or a coach. It is easy to get behind on raising up a committed team. If you can find someone within your ministry context to hold you accountable. Ask that person to hold you accountable on multiple levels:

  1. Daily goals.
  2. Weekly goals (Sometimes it is better to commit to weekly goals instead of daily goals. However, some people work better with daily goals instead. Find out what works best for you and commit)
  3. Overall goal of when you want to be at 100% fully-funded.

Your accountability partner can be someone you work with, for, or even a good friend who can do a good job at motivating you. Try to be as transparent as possible with this person. As you go through highs and lows keep them involved and informed. Having someone to chat with about this season of life can be helpful in and of itself.

3. If you can cut back somewhere, do it. While raising your funds you may have other ministry assignments within your local church. You may also have multiple hobbies, small groups, or other things that take extra time out of your schedule. Find out which of those to keep and which of those to let go of in this season.

While raising up your team it may not be the time to say yes to joining the new softball team that your work is putting together. It may be time to ask your worship pastor if you can cut back on your commitment with the worship team to once a month. It may be the time for someone else to lead the small group at your church. Of course, ask God about your commitments. Realize that this season takes some time out of your schedule and is important to do correctly and relationally. If you can cut back on some commitments, do it.

4. White boards. Perhaps you are not so good about checking your iCal / Google Calendar, but you are a visual person. Enter the good ole’ white board! Find a space in your home that you see on a daily basis, and put up a dry erase board. Create weekly and daily goals to write up on that white board. Change the day goals daily and the week goals weekly. It always feels good at the end of the day to scratch things off the list!

5. Take a sabbath. Be kind to yourself during this season of life. Make sure to take time out for God, yourself, and for your family. Take one day a week for sabbath. Let it be a full day, and hop back in the other 6 days of the week.


 time-and-money6. Don’t do the thing I do. If I need to get a lot of things accomplished on my to-do list during a busy week, typically I work on everything but the hardest thing on the list first.

Consequently, if you are anything like me during a busy week or season of life, the first thing you’ll fall behind on is financial partnership development.

Let’s call that what it is: ole’ fashioned procrastination.

Here’s my suggestion if you have a problem with this: switch and reverse. If you START your work on the hard thing you will feel better than if you leave the hard thing for the LAST THING. If it helps, here’s some permission: you can still procrastinate! Just procrastinate the easier things instead of giving yourself mental trauma for a week by procrastinating the hardest thing on your list.

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Warning: you may not like me much after this next one….

7. What’s your favorite Netflix show right now? If you can easily answer that question I may need to have a coaching moment with you:

AnimationNOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR NEFLIX.

I know I know… hear me out though. As I mentioned in #3 and #5 – white space, flex-time, important commitments, and a weekly sabbath are all very important to adhere to during seasons of partnership development. I personally need scheduled white space in my routine. I also need to let my brain unwind after a complex week. However, scheduled productive white space is different than hours of Netflix binging.

To stay productive but to successfully unwind – watch out for time sucking habits such as Netflix or hours in front of Facebook. Try and limit the amount of downtime with those as your go-to’s. When you do seek out white space, seek out restful activities that are natural energy resources to you. For instance go have a cup of coffee with a dear friend, take a nap, go for a walk or a bike ride with your spouse or by yourself, play a board game with your family, work on a painting or home project, or play your guitar. Go with what brings life, energy, and fun back to you.

Also don’t forget, one of the most restorative things we can do with our time is spend time in front of God! Right?! Right.

Here are some other thoughts on Time Management from other itinerating christian workers:

TIPS FROM 7 OTHER CHRISTIAN WORKERS 

Worker 1:  I’m substitute teaching 4-5 days per week as I raise my budget. I did leave my super hectic reporting career because there’s pretty much no way I could handle all the nights and weekends while trying to schedule appointments and speaking engagements. So that’s something to consider – if you can, keep working but possibly cut back a little. Apart from that, prioritization is so key! Having a to-do list (I use the 2Do app) has helped a ton. I never get everything done that’s on my list, but it helps ensure I get done what has to be done on a certain day. And this may seem simple, but I also just started keeping my TV off for most of the day. I started looking for little time suckers and took steps to eliminate them. I didn’t sit for ours in front of the TV, but getting distracted here and there for a few minutes at a time added up!

Worker 2: Divide and conquer. It sounds so simple, but I feel like our generation can get so overwhelmed with huge tasks that we freeze in our tracks or don’t know where to start. Break your weekly tasks up into bitesize chunks. Send 5 emails. Get caught up on thank you notes. Make 10 calls, write newsletter. Write them down and cross it off the list. It really does help!

Worker 3: Lists are extremely helpful. Keeping a detailed planner that I take everywhere and being intentional with my time has also helped.

Worker 4: Say “Yes” to the planner! You never know when someone will call you back about an appointment and it’s best to have your schedule right in front of you. As a substitute teacher, I’ve had to have a planner anyway; I have a different job every day.

Worker 5: I am not a planner by any definition of the word but I have grown to rely on my online calendar very much. I do not make plans any more without checking it. And when I do make plans, I update it immediately. There is time in life, but sometimes we need to truly force ourselves to take advantage of it when it is there.

Never give up!

Worker 6: Know that it’s going to take time. More time than we’d like. We live in an instant society. Everything we do we expect immediate rewards or results. Don’t feel guilty if your fundraising journey takes longer than others, just don’t compare at all. Comparing more harmful/painful than helpful.

Remember God is using this time to prepare us in more ways than we even understand! So ask for patience, be content in all things, and rest in God’s timing rejoicing with others and not worrying about how fast or slow you get to the field.

Worker 7: I strongly recommend substitute teaching during support-raising season if you MUST work. With substitute teaching you are able to set MANY preferences. Specifically, which/how many days to devote to both subbing and support. At the end of the school day (for the most part) you don’t have work to take home with you!  So many positives about substitute teaching, I could keep going, but won’t. (wink emoticon)

Do you have practices that help you in the area of time management? Share them in the comments please!

The B Roll: All the Things They Didn’t Tell You

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 3 Comments

Support raising is a dense subject! Right? Right.

As I continue to teach on support raising, I’ve found typically there is more to teach than time allots for. As I coach numerous small groups and individuals, we just never get to all of the things. Teaching and learning how to raise a budget can be like drinking from a fire hydrant. #TOOMANYTHINGS

Thus, I’m calling this post: The B Roll.

This post goes out to all of those workers I have coached along the way! Here are some random pieces of information that may have gotten stuck in the cracks of little time, lots of practice, and dense material.
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I mentioned above the post on How To Create a Successful Facebook Campaign. Check it out and I hope it helps!

Also, a quick word on #5…I’m not saying never ask for a appointment on Facebook. I’m just saying do some strategic thinking before you do, and I wouldn’t default to it.

Want more practical tips, you can find them in the Financial Partnership Development Workbook here.

 

 

Grab the Elephant: 3 Critical Components of Successful Support Raising

~ Pastor Chris

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG!

Before we get into this really amazing post, I (Jenn Fortner), just want to say how thankful I am to Pastor Chris for agreeing to challenge us with his wisdom in the area of ministry partnership development. You guys!! This post is full of practical wisdom straight from a guy that truly knows the ins and outs of raising funds biblically. Unfortunately, we have to do a little bit to hide his identity for security reasons, so I can’t say much about who Pastor Chris is. However I can tell you what an honor it is to have our friend writing a guest post with hopefully more to come! Enjoy! – JF

*Once upon a time there were 3 blind men in India.  Each man was asked to go up to an elephant and then give a description of the elephant.

The first blind man puts his arms around the leg and realized the elephant was sturdy and strong.  He came back and reported – “An elephant is like a tree.”

The second blind man found himself behind the elephant and grabbed the tail.  He returned and said, “An elephant is very much like a rope.”

The third blind man approached the front of the animal and reached up and felt the flapping large ear.   He turned and exclaimed, “An elephant is like a large fan!”

The morale of the story is that each man is correct.  But he is only partially correct which makes him dangerously wrong.  Each man was feeling only a part of the animal and therefore missed the BIG picture of what an elephant really is.  In fund raising when I listen to missionaries I hear that many have only a part of what it means to raise financial support in the Kingdom of God.  Over many years I have discovered that there are 3 critical components to be a good fundraiser and to maintain good partnerships over the long haul.  If you have one or two of these principles in operation you may succeed but it will likely be a struggle.  When you have all three in operation in your life and ministry you will find fund raising to be enjoyable and meaningful.

#1 – Your Spiritual Relationship to money

Do you fully understand what the Word teaches about finances and are you practicing those principles in your life?  If we are asking others to give are we being givers ourselves?  If we are asking others to partner with us have we personally picked up a few missionaries for monthly support?  Do you see in the Word that God is a Good Father and wants to provide for you?  That His calling on your life is not a call to poverty but a call to generosity?  Are you praying and exercising your faith for your financial support?  Is your increase of faith resulting in an increase of actions?  Are you managing your finances in a way that honors God – in others words – do you live by a budget?

As you can see by my many questions above that there is much to understand about your spiritual relationship to money.  So do not just give a quick check that says, “yeh – I’m good.”  But take an inventory of your life and your relationship to the resources God has already brought into your life.

#2 – Your Philosophical Understanding of fundraising

Do you know that God has called you?  Do you know that by the nature of your calling you are “worthy” of financial support?  If you are “worthy” can you boldly proclaim your vision and ask others to join in the work to which God has called you?  Once you have supporters it is critical to treat them as partners.  We cannot do the work we do alone and without their support we would utterly fail.  So what do you “owe” them?  Yes – you do “owe” them dearly.  You owe it to your partners to be faithful and work hard… But you also owe to them sharing the information of what is happening in your ministry.  Regular communication is critical to keeping partners working with you. 

Once you have a correct philosophical understanding of fundraising, you will never again feel like you are begging.  You will never feel like you are asking them to pay you personally.  You will never be embarrassed to ask someone to partner with you.  You will never be uncomfortable in sharing your vision and inviting others to join you in your calling.   

#3 –Your Practical Application of Good Financial & Fund Raising Principles

Are you an accountant?  Probably not… But guess what?  You are now expected to be one and you better be a good one!  Learn to track your partners giving.  Learn to do all your reporting accurately and timely.  Learn to pray over all your partners and contact them regularly.  Find unique ways to communicate and share the good things God is doing through your ministry and through their partnership.

Once you are good at the practical side of things, create systems so that everything naturally repeats itself.  Using your monthly statement as means to review, pray, and communicate with supporters is an excellent way to keep these activities going on a monthly basis.

So the morale of This Story… Your Story… is get the big picture of what God is wanting to work into your life and through your life in the area of finances.  Do not make fundraising a “necessary evil”, but turn it into an encouraging and empowering ministry where you gather many people and churches together to accomplish something great for God.

*[Old Indian Folktale – Author unknown]

 – Pastor Chris

17 Resources That Will Make You A Support Raising Rock Star

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 3 Comments

Below is a list of great blogs, books, design tools, social media helps, and more. All of these resources can majorly help as you build your financial partnership team. Below the infographic I have the links for all of the resources. Check them out!

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  1. Support Raising Solutions – www.supportraisingsolutions.org
  2. Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton – amazon.com
  3. A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen – amazon.com
  4. People Raising – the book and blog are available here
  5. Reachmodo.com – find out more on their website
  6. Piktochart.com
  7. Canva.com
  8. MailChimp
  9. IMissionsPro
  10. TNTMPD
  11. Portent’s Content Generator 
  12. How to Create Your Own Facebook Campaign
  13. Funding the Family Business – book and blog available here
  14. Dunham&Company – Fundraising Research
  15. Tailored Fundraising – Twitter feed
  16. 101 Fundraising Blog
  17. Biblical Basis from jennfortner.com

Also as a resource, check out the Financial Partnership Workbook available here, and my Twitter and Facebook pages. I try to continually share content from multiple angles on partnership development and think you will find it helpful!

Have your own great resources? Post them in the comments!

Busy? 10 Easy Ways to Keep Up With Donors While On The Field

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 4 Comments

This past month I traveled for the majority of the month, visiting various christian workers I had previously coached. Those workers are now on the field in active their respective ministry roles. In almost every conversation I had with them, they touched on the need for help connecting with their financial partners while leading very busy lives on the field.

Thus I wanted to take a little time to share on my post on this topic again and update it with a few new ideas. (If you have read the old post, this one will have a few new ideas – so please read again.)

If you are a worker already in your field of ministry – this post is for you! And now for the post:

Here’s a statistic that Bill Dillon, a guru in the support raising world and author of People Raising, has that I think you’ll find potent:

For every 100 people that stop supporting you:

66% of people stop giving because they think you don’t care about them

15% are unhappy with your organization

15% transfer their giving somewhere else

4% move away or die

Woah.

Investments that Count

When I train missionaries on how to raise their budgets I tend to stay away from the word “fundraising” for many reasons, and when I really think about it — this statistic is at the heart of all of my reasons.

No one wants to invest in something that yields no return.

If the people/church giving a christian worker funds every single month feel as though the worker could care less about their giving, they will go somewhere else with their giving dollars.

And in my opinion, they should.

Ouch! Why you ask? Because the reason donors are investing in the Great Commission is because they are called to be a vital part of the Great Commission, too. And if they are called to be a part of the Great Commission, why should they be made to feel as though their vital part is on the sidelines?

I believe that one reason we forget to invest ourselves into the relationships we have with our financial partners is because we forget (or perhaps don’t have the paradigm) that they are as vital to the work that we are doing as we (as ministers) are. (Side Note: I call “donors” by the term “partners” or “financial partners” because donors also give blood – look up the definition – you’ll be surprised)

That being said, many christian workers on financial support struggle in the area of continually connecting with their financial partners even they have a high value for their relationships with them.

It makes sense. We are all busy. Ministers are typically very busy.

As much as I understand, I also believe it isn’t a valid excuse. There are so many easy ways to connect across continents in our world. As such, I would like to offer up 10 suggestions on how ministers on financial support can continually – and easily – connect with churches and individuals who financially invest in the kingdom work they are doing.

Minister to Partner: Ways to Connect

1. The Quarterly Newsletter

Here’s a no-brainer: Send your newsletters. You should do a minimum of four a year. Keep them short, and talk more about ministry than personal things. Include pictures of active ministry and not vacation spots.

Here are two “do not’s” with newsletters:

The Vacationer Newsletter

I recently got a newsletter that made me jealous. And not in a good way. There were pictures of vacation spots all over it, making me wonder (from my desk in the middle of a rainy Missouri day) why I couldn’t go myself? I want to go to these wonderful, beautiful, far off destinations to do “ministry” instead of supporting someone else as they take these paid looking vacations; however, I know my job, and my calling is here.

Sure I knew that they were active ministers, or else I wouldn’t have started supporting them in the first place. However, there was something as I was reading that felt just a twinge off and left me wondering. Let’s not put the people that are giving us the opportunity to minister in that place of wondering. Let’s keep our newsletters active in ministry.

The Negative Newsletter

I have read a lot of newsletters over the years. And can I say one thing I see over and over again? A negative outlook. I believe I’m with the majority when I say positive newsletters win verses negative newsletters all day, every day. Sure prayer requests are important, and of course there is the need to be honest. However, the general feel of your newsletter should be one of a positive outlook and experiences. No whining. No complaining about how hard it is to raise your finances. Keep your newsletters vision based and focused.

2. The Digital Hello

When you get on the field, pick 5 – 10 financial partners each month and email them a short personal hello/touch base. For example:

“Hi Sally, just wanted to touch base with you and see how you have been doing. You and Chuck are, of course, on our prayer list and we are wondering if you have any updates or requests. Things here are going wonderful! We just finished with our building project and couldn’t be more excited to receive students this coming fall. I am really looking forward to getting back into teaching. Anyhow, hope you all are well and let us know how we can be in prayer for you.” – Jenn

See…how painful is that? It took me all of one minute to write that… You may be saying, but what happens when they write back? Then, take another minute of your day to promptly reply to those who responded to your email. If all 10 respond it will take you around 10 minutes to respond to all of the emails. Then, take the time to mention them in your prayers and follow up with that as you have time. Keep a simple notebook. Write them down. It will make all of the difference and mean so much to the people spending so much time praying for you.

Once you have gone through your 5 – 10 partners each month, circle back around your list. Put these on some sort of white board in your room or house to remind you, or put it into some sort of calendar each month. Whatever you do, calendarize it in some way.

3. The Traveling Present

Send small gifts or postcards to your financial partners. Tell them thank you for their continuing support.

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I recently received a postcard from a friend vacationing in Costa Rica. That postcard remained on my fridge for 2 months for two reasons: (1) My friend thought of me from a far off destination and it made my day getting that postcard! (2) It was beautiful! Personally, I’m a sucker for a pretty print of any far off destination.

Small gifts do not have to cost much to mean a lot.

4. Stay Active on Social Media

If you don’t already have one, create a Facebook page. Create a secret group if you are going to a sensitive country. Stay active on it while you are on the field. Pictures, prayer updates, videos and praise reports are all fantastic. *If you are somewhere sensitive keep that in mind while posting and follow the rules of your organization.

If you have the time and know-how, get onto Instagram and Twitter as well! This is not for everyone, and typically I say to start with one social media outlet and do it well. However if you have the time and know how try one or both of these. I love posting on Twitter and have a personal Instagram page as a creative outlet. Both have been effective in communicating with friends and helping me to network on a larger scale.

5. The “I’m Thinking of You” Share

Facebook message your financial partners or like their posts. Stay active on your personal page (including Twitter or other social media outlets).

Sometimes as I listen to audio sermons, worship sets, podcasts, or Scriptures, I’ll ask the Lord if He would like me to share any of those with my friends, family, or financial partners. If I feel prompted, I’ll send that sermon or verse to a friend on Facebook with a little message. These have to make sense and the sermons probably shouldn’t be overly convicting on major sins or anything. (Don’t imply that your friend has a problem). Use common sense. ie. Don’t send a message on tithing to a partner who hasn’t recently been giving.

6. The Church Letter

Write a short letter to the churches that financially partner with you. Put a note in to the pastor to please read where he feels it appropriate to the congregation (small groups, prayer groups, Sunday school).

7. The Homecoming Event

When you come back home, hold a non-fundraising event in key areas where your financial partners are. During the event provide desserts and coffee. Share stories from the field, answer any questions, tell them about your future plans, and thank them, thank them, and thank them.

These events can be as elaborate or simple as you want to make them. I would of course error on the side of taking care of your important guests by providing refreshments and some sort of dessert or snack – these also provide an incentive for your guests to come.

Recently, a ministry couple I coach held one of these type of events but made it a fundraising event (this type of event means they asked for monthly commitments from friends and family at the event. A non-fundraising event means you only ask for contact information and do not ask for commitments from your guests).

They took care to have a sign in book at the front door that collected people’s contact information as well, and they had a pastor come up and share with the guests about the value of missions and their ministry. They raised a total of $1,200 in monthly support in one night.

8. The Homecoming Coffee

In addition to the church event, when you come home set up one-on-one coffee times with pastors and friends and family that have supported you. Thank them and catch up on their lives while you were gone. Be relational and intentional.

9. The Real Time Facetime / Skype Meeting

Are you spending some time on Facetime or Skype with your far away family and friends? Why not pick 6-12 financial partners per year to Skype or Facetime while on the field? This is particularly good practice with financial partners that are giving sizable amounts or with churches and small groups that are partnering financially. Give them a real-time live update on where and how you are. Take them into an actual ministry event via skype or Facetime on your phone if you can. They will be floored at your thoughtfulness and most likely continue to financially partner you throughout assignments to come.

10. Text them!

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There are multiple programs available that will allow you to set up video and picture messaging while on the field. If you have a urgent prayer request, why not send a group text message out to your financial and prayer partners with a picture detailing your prayer need? If you have a praise report, send a text and allow them to celebrate with you (of course, keep in mind time zone differences so that you are not texting them at 2:00am)!

I personally use ReachModo for these purposes. It allows me to communicate while on the field and to set up a Text to Give option and a Text to Connect option that helps tremendously while itinerating. (Text to Give is when someone wants to start giving financially, and Text to Connect is when someone wants to sign up for prayer alerts and newsletters.) I then use the service to group text everyone on my ReachModo list. As I said above, there are numerous programs available for this type of service like Constant Contact and ReachModo. Keep in mind that you need to use a service that is secure, and check in with your organization that you are following your organizations security protocols. Check it out and you’ll be glad you did.

If you are a minister on financial support, I hope that these help you. Let’s remind our financial partners that they are important to us and to the Great Commission! Let’s keep our attrition rates up with our financial partners by spending just a little time letting them know that we care. Let’s value them! Let’s realize that they are vital part of what we do. Amen? Amen.

Want to know more about how to connect with financial partners? More practical help while raising your funds for ministry? Check out the Financial Partnership Workbook: Biblical and Practical Tools to Raise Your Support. 

How to Effectively Communicate with Your Financial Partners: ANSWERS FROM ACTUAL FINANCIAL PARTNERS

~ Jenn Fortner ~ 1 Comment

In continuation of my previous posts Hard Questions with Thoughtful Answers:  Q&A With Support Raising Geniuses, here are some “Hard Questions with Thoughtful Answers” from another perspective. The perspective of those that give. 

I hope you find these as helpful as I have! Wow. What great responses! Thank you to the pastor and individual who answered these questions. And ps. – thank you for giving to the work of the Great Commission. I hope it is said often enough to you how vital you are to the work of God. Truly, you make it possible.

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