By Scott McClure / Senior Campaign Manager
Well, how much did you give?
Such a direct challenge to a major gift request would heighten the pulse of even a seasoned gift officer. In this case, the question was posed by a high-capacity fixture of a Catholic school community to the school’s campaign general chair. Our chair relayed this exchange during our weekly leadership team meeting.
Major fundraising initiatives rise and fall on their ability to unite. The challenge, of course, is to unite a community amid all those elements that have the potential to divide it. In the case of the individual above, those divisive elements were all too prominent as he considered the major gift request before him. So, how are those who seek to advance their faith-based missions to go about uniting in the face of all that can disrupt and divide?
Know your community.
Under even the best of circumstances, no community is perfect. Among those strongest advocates of a parish or school are those who may have had less-than-positive experiences, or have misgivings about the direction of the community. These feelings can become amplified when especially great change is on the table, be it a leadership transition or parish consolidation (or closure) that many faithful are navigating.
Whatever the case, these are conversations to embrace rather than avoid, particularly with your key supporters. Critique does not mean the absence of love for the community and a supporter who is critical is far preferable to one who is absent or apathetic, you can be sure. By directly engaging in tough conversations and seeking input, you not only give your supporters the opportunity to be heard but you also gain vital insight to inform your forthcoming campaign.
Focus on mission.
Athletics is always prioritized over the arts at our school …
The paint color in the sanctuary is awful …
Running a debt reduction campaign is hardly exciting …
Such are the opinions that can arise when learning where your supporters stand on a particular project. (I’m sure you can list others.) Beyond providing a community pulse, such critiques illustrate the importance of the leader’s concentration on mission. Conversations that become stuck in the complaints themselves will not move the needle. By appealing to mission, however, you can give your supporters the vision to see their isolated critiques in a broader institutional scope. Far from invalidating their concern, you are elevating the conversation by offering a perspective that is grounded in hope for a future that is possible with their partnership. Speaking of partnership…
Seek partnership, not ‘donations’.
Renowned Catholic priest and spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen once was asked how fundraising could be understood in a faith-based, spiritual context. His answer was his now well-known Spirituality of Fundraising. In it, he shares the following:
Whether we are asking for money or giving money we are drawn together by God, who is about to do a new thing through our collaboration.
Mission advancement is about relationship – and on two levels. First, it is about our relationship with our mission. Second, it is about our relationship with one another in bringing about this mission. This means that we are not, fundamentally, seeking mere ‘donations’. Rather, we should be seeking partnership. Partnership makes way for a deeper collaboration than ever could be achieved through a donation. What’s more, through partnership we allow the room God needs to labor alongside us: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)
Pray
For some, the prospect of fundraising can seem cold or transactional. With prayer, it is anything but. As people of faith, prayer is the foundation and the binding force of any effort to live our parish or school’s mission more deeply. Not coincidentally, prayer also offers a means by which you can come to know your community more deeply, keep mission at the center, and deepen your partnership with one another. Prayer is indispensable to your mission advancement.
Well, how much did you give?
Our chair paused before he shared his reply with our leadership team. As we waited with bated breath, he shared his answer to this challenge:
You know, we gave ’til it hurt a little.
Now, there is the answer of someone who is devoted to mission, bound in partnership, and united in prayer.
