It’s Important for Pastors to Ask
LeadershipI was with a client pastor last night. He and I have been working on the major donor development piece of the church’s current capital initiative. He had just completed his first visit.
The donor asked if the family could combine individual gifts into one, which would result in more than what the gift profile guide indicated as a needed top gift. The value of the gift they had in mind was $300,000. By combining their gifts, they were able to do more financially than they could have had the gifts been given by individual family members.
His answer was YES, of course. Just another example of the importance of asking. Your top donors want to be engaged, they desire to invest in effective ministries, they need to ask questions.
Still not sure? According to Patrick Johnson of the National Christian Foundation, the top 3% of US households are responsible for 66% of of charitable giving.
Are you developing relationships with this key constituency in your ministry?
About Rusty Lewis
As a church leader, there’s nothing more frustrating than not having the funding to do what God’s calling you to do. But when you think about trying to address that problem, you feel overwhelmed, you dread the potential pushback from your congregation, and you’re not sure where to turn for help. Over the last 18 years, I’ve helped more than 120 churches close the gap between their current financial reality and what they need to move forward in ministry.