How to Make Your Potential Donor List Longer Than 100 People
Are you open to allowing anyone and everyone to partner with you? You know that financial partnership is an opportunity for ministry - your ministry to the donor as well as the donor's ministry with you. You have a chance to invite people to impact the world for the Kingdom of God by being on your team.
Your job is to find the people God has prepared for this mission with you, and connect their passion with your passion for impacting this world. Practically, how do you find those people?
Some places you can start to find names of your potential financial partners:
Your phone - scroll through your phone and add everyone to your list. Go ahead and include their contact info, so you don’t have to go back through your phone later.
Your address book, either physical or virtual. Don’t have one? Start one!
Social Media, remembering to use any media on which you have a profile: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google +, LinkedIn. Who are you friends with? Who is following you? Add them to the list. There's great and not so great ways to use social media when fundraising; please do it in a great way!
Call your mom, or other family member who is connected to everyone, and ask them for names of family members and family friends that you haven't thought of yet.
Your Church Directory, but remember this one where you need to be sensitive. Some churches may not want you using the directory for fundraising purposes. Be okay with that and use the directory as a great place to get a list of people you are friends with, that you may not have originally considered for financial partnership.
Businesses you patron. Do you have a family dentist or doctor that you’ve seen for years? A mechanic, banker, accountant, lawyer, counselor, insurance agent, grocer? Add them to the list!
Former or current classmates and teachers. High School, College, Grad school, tech school - who are people from that time in your life you can add?
Former or current co-workers. You might have seen these people every day for a period of time, you know them fairly well.
Former or current teammates, including any sports team, clubs, or groups in which you participated.
Your friends have parents, add them to the list!
Others in your community: neighbors, teachers, coaches, etc.
God can move through anyone - it’s up to you to listen to Him and share the opportunity with others, inviting them to partner with you.