This is really the first challenge that you have to turn over to God when you begin your World Race journey. As you read this post about how to fundraise, know that I have prayed for you and God wants to do amazing things in your life! This is a journey I don’t think you will regret.
Everybody does fundraising differently…so it helps to do what fits your style. First, I’ll tell you what I did and you can see what you think. I will also go ahead and tell you that my strategy now is completely different than it was when I started. I learned a lot through an internship at Saddleback Church about raising money and how churches campaign for funds.
I will go ahead and say that I’m more of an introvert (as you can see from my previous post)…so selling t-shirts, doing fundraisers, car washes, etc. wouldn’t really be a strength of mine whereas it might be for you.
The biggest thing to look at first is your home church. I’ve been in the same church since I was born so I’ve been really blessed in that area. I preach every once in a while and serve on the board so I’ve been able to promote my trip frequently. Because people know me so well they have probably been more apt to give.
I did the typical fundraising letter…and then sent it out to pretty much everybody I could think of lol.. Also had business cards made with my blog address on them (super clean and simple). So if I meet random people and they ask what I’m doing with my life, I tell them about God’s mission for me and give them a card.
I created a Facebook group that has worked pretty well. It was really useful for getting gear donated. If you would like to know more about how I did it, shoot me an email at [email protected]. The general concept is to create a photo album with a picture of each item you need and the item you are giving up in its place. Simply add a link in the photo caption to the item you are requesting. I couldn’t believe the response I got! I was actually able to get all of my gear donated!
The majority of the money I have raised has come from just a couple of different people that I least expected to give. You never know who your donors will be. That being said I just had to learn to keep an open mind. The people most likely to give are often the ones you think most likely can’t afford it. So don’t ever count somebody out. Telling somebody not to worry about it because of their financial situation is like robbing them of the blessings God will give them for their giving heart. Look at the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, or the ladywith the alabaster jar.
The most important thing to do is to share your passion and ministry with them. When you are fundraising you are asking people to support you financially. But ultimately, they are supporting your vision…not your financial need. So it is good to focus on your purpose and mission before anything else. When it hits somebody’s heartstrings they will be your highest donors. They are the ones moving forward who you really want to focus on building a relationship with and maybe just take them out for coffee every once in a while. Because they are such a big donor and probably the ones who believe in what you are doing the most, they are the ones who are more likely to give later on when your deadline is approaching.
Even after countless t-shirts, car washes, yard sales, and pancake breakfasts, at the end of the day fundraising is all about building relationships and getting people to partner with the mission God has put in front of you. So be relational. It will pay off. The most important thing is to find ways to share your mission. Not everybody has the means or ability to do something awesome and share the Gospel to 11 different countries like you do. Therefore, they are the ones who can’t wait to partner with somebody like you who can.
The church I interned at actually calls it “Faithraising” rather than fundraising. 90% of what people remember is what they actually felt when they met you….not what you said. So try to break their hearts for these 11 countries as much as God has already broken yours. Be vulnerable. And when somebody hands you a big fat check, play it cool and be thinking about how you can bless them…whether it be just prayer in the moment or whatever it may be. Pray that their gift would bless somebody else.
There is a right time to thank somebody (like taking them out for coffee for example). Do it too soon and people think you are just paying your dues. Do it too late and people think you forgot them. Do it right in between and they think you are being intentional (which I know you are…its just all perception). My plan was to wait until after Training Camp. At that point, they know I’m even more committed and I have a lot more to share with them about how God is preparing me for the Race.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to continue to give yourself if you have the means. God will bless you for that. You are ultimately answering to Him about your financial situation. Your brain may tell you that buying somebody a new starter for their car (I did that haha) isn’t good stewardship when you are scrounging up pennies just to pay for your mission trip. But God will say, “when you make that sacrifice, watch what I will do with it.” Not a day later and I had another $500 in my account.
