Do you ever notice it’s usually aggressive, “don’t-make-me-play-by-your-rules” children who usually get most of the attention in many families. While the compliant, rule-following children often recede into the background and get less attention. Parents often make concerted efforts to make sure the compliant children get a fair share of attention and accolades. What happens among families also tends to happen among donors to ministries like yours. You tend to make a bi ...Read more »

There are many keys that can bring success to your major donor program. One with the greatest opportunity for impact is setting goals for your major donor team. Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, “If you aim at nothing, you’re sure to hit it every time.” The corollary is that if you aim at a goal you have a good chance of hitting it. Common Major Donor Team Goals In one study of Christian ministry leaders, 64% said they have a major donor program. When we explored ...Read more »

One of the most frequently cited reasons for gift income plateaus or decreases in a broadcast ministry is that donors are bombarded with requests for gifts from many ministries. It’s easy to conclude that donors spread their gifts around and dilute their giving to any one organization. But, does research back up this reason? Data from two studies suggests, for most stations, that is not a major problem. In Advocace’s Listener-Supported Radio Development Outlook (LSRDO) 2017 st ...Read more »

How passionate are your donors about your radio ministry? Do they give every once in a while because they benefit from your programming, or do they really “buy into” your ministry more deeply? One way to gauge donors’ passion is by asking them what priority they place on giving to your ministry compared to other causes they support (other than their local church). In Finney Media’s recent nationwide survey of Christian radio listeners to all major programming formats ( ...Read more »

Some of your donors who could give more to help you grow your ministry’s impact may be pulling a “King Saul”. Remember the story? After Samuel had anointed Saul King of Israel, he couldn’t be found when it came time for his public coronation (1 Samuel 9:9-10:22). The Lord revealed his whereabouts saying, “He has hidden himself among the baggage!” Pretty funny, especially when you consider the writer’s later comment, “As he [Saul] stood among th ...Read more »

God’s first priority is getting your donors’ hearts—and their heads. That may sound strange to development staff members who feel the daily pressure of raising money for ministries.Read more »