Creating Shared Impact

As people of faith in Christ, we talk about impact as something that happens when we enter into what God is already doing.

But when you talk about your work to those who might fund it, is that the message you are sharing?  

Too often, and it’s easy to see why.  We feel the need to demonstrate that our effort is what makes something happen.  When this program gets up and running, you’ll see kids’ lives changed.  When I am on the field, things will change. 

These are all noble pursuits.  God gave us hands to do, and a brain to think, a heart to connect, and legs to get there for a reason. But he’s already at work.  We’re just joining him.  

That’s how to communicate with a donor.  And here’s a few tips to make that approach more real to them:

• Tell them about where you are serving, even if you are not there yet or are not permanently based in the field.  Give them a description of the community, the people, what their spiritual state is. Don’t be afraid to share the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly. 

• Share what’s happening on the ground already - or outside/alongside your work - to combat the challenges.  Who is at work? What gains do they see? Where are they stumbling?  

• Tell them what you’re praying for that community ultimately, and ask them to join.  Yes, they can pray for the work at hand, but that has such a direct connection to you.  But that ultimate impact - healing, flourishing - is in the hands of God, and we all can pray for that from an equal footing no matter if our hands are dirty doing the work.  

• Report back the progress, not just the result.  When you only report accomplishments, you give the sense that the work is done and that their contribution will fund new/additional work.  But when you report progress, you invite them in to what’s happening now, in real time. That open endedness can invite people in to the challenge so that you can share in the end result, no matter what it is.  

Keep the triangle in your head.  The burden is not on you solely to engage your partners in the work.  It’s a shared commitment to seeing life change that matters.