Be Prepared to Thrive with Larger Gifts

Keeping fundraising small is great, if you or your organization can operate successfully on a small scale budget. But if you need a larger budget in order to sustain the impact you can have in this world, then you need to be prepared to use large gifts in an effective way.

I recently talked with a director of a small children's home in Haiti. They have a huge heart. And the need for this home is great in their neighborhood, and in the country. But when I asked him how much he needed to raise to be successful in ministry, things got a bit foggy.

He started talking about line items in his budget instead of the vision of what God has called him to do for these kids. If someone offered him $100K, he wouldn't know exactly what that could do for the ministry. Because this organization is currently so underfunded, they cannot even imagine what kinds of things they could accomplish with one or two large financial gifts.

Structure your funding in a way to accept small donations, being able to communicate the difference that will make in someone's life is invaluable. And, at the same time, be prepared to ask for and receive larger gifts, allowing your impact and your long term budget to thrive. 

Russell Cooper, Co-Founder