Thinking Bigger = Bigger Funding
One of the slogans we’ve adopted as a company this year has been to encourage our clients to THINK BIGGER in terms of asking for major financial gifts.
Maybe you have never thought about asking for a major gift. Or maybe your ministry isn’t even structured to invite a major gift.
If this is the case, I'm going to suggest the main reason you might not be structured for major gifts is because you have siloed yourself from receiving them. Simply put: You do not raise money the same way you spend money.
Your donors want to give to outcomes. Impact. Vision. Water wells. Food for hungry kids. Schooling. Mentorship programs….
To change your giving structure to a "vision-based budget" versus an “accounting-based budget” you will need to think differently about what the money being given will do, and create systems supporting that vision.
1. Structure for a Major Gift: You may not be structured to receive a major gift because you have not yet created the right size package for your donor to give to. If you have not created a scenario in which that donor can give a large amount through personalized giving options, they never will.
2. Create Giving Packages: Another issue could be that you may not have grouped your giving packages well. You want to group the giving options in a way that says, "This part of your impact costs $250K, this part will cost $50K, this part $30K, and this part will cost $10K." So often, there are people who are already giving to your ministry who have a much higher capacity and might be willing to give more (if you simply asked and gave them a way to do so).
3. Think Bigger: Remember, God does the incredible—far more than we could ever ask or imagine. We recently had a client who was struggling to make big asks. They kept saying, "I don't think I have anyone that can give that kind of money.” Knowing how much he needed to raise, we were challenging him to believe and make bigger asks. Several weeks later, one of his donors offered to buy a house for him. God will always provide far beyond our greatest imagination. Think and dream bigger!
To discover more about “Thinking Bigger” check out the 3rd chapter in our e-book, Get More Funding without Adding More Donors.