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Operating a non-profit mentoring organization costs money. But that money isn't self-generated like a normal business, so where does it come from? In the first of a three-part episode on the subject, Jeff Giddens from NextAfter joins Zach to discuss the practicals behind asking people for donations to your non-profit in person.
Show Notes
Operating a non-profit mentoring organization costs money. But that money isn't self-generated like a normal business, so where does it come from? In the first of a three-part episode on the subject, Jeff Giddens from NextAfter joins Zach to discuss the practicals behind asking people for donations to your non-profit in person.
Reach out to Jeff at NextAfter:
https://www.nextafter.com/
Purchase the You Can Mentor book:
You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Curses
youcanmentor.com
Reach out to Jeff at NextAfter:
https://www.nextafter.com/
Purchase the You Can Mentor book:
You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Curses
youcanmentor.com
Creators and Guests
What is You Can Mentor: A Christian Youth Mentoring Podcast?
You Can Mentor is a network that equips and encourages mentors and mentoring leaders through resources and relationships to love God, love others, and make disciples in their own community. We want to see Christian mentors thrive.
We want to hear from you! Send any mentoring questions to hello@youcanmentor.com, and we'll answer them on our podcast. We want to help you become the best possible mentor you can be. Also, if you are a mentoring organization, church, or non-profit, connect with us to join our mentoring network or to be spotlighted on our show.
Please find out more at www.youcanmentor.com or find us on social media. You will find more resources on our website to help equip and encourage mentors. We have downloadable resources, cohort opportunities, and an opportunity to build relationships with other Christian mentoring leaders.
You can mentor is a podcast about the power of building relationships with kids from hard places in the name of Jesus. Every episode will help you overcome common mentoring obstacles and give you the confidence you need to invest in the lives of others. You can mentor.
Speaker 2:Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I am here with Jeff Giddens of NextAfter.
Speaker 3:Jeff, say hi. Hello, Zach.
Speaker 2:And today, Jeff and I are going to talk about one of the essential things when it comes to operating and leading a mentoring program, and that is? Fundraising. The f word. Fundraising. To say it.
Speaker 2:No one wants to talk about it.
Speaker 3:No one
Speaker 2:wants to do it. God knows I don't wanna do it. But the truth of the matter is, guys, there's 2 things that you gotta have if you're gonna run or operate a mentoring organization, and that's mentors and money. And so No money, no mentoring. It's a big deal.
Speaker 2:No money. We should create a rap song about that. Or t shirt. Yeah. Kinda like Biggie and, Puff.
Speaker 2:Alright. So, Jeff, why don't you tell us a tad bit about kinda how you got to be what I like to call a fundraising expert?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm not sure I would consider myself that because I think I think you learn something every time you ask about people. I got into fundraising in a a very odd way. I worked with my dad a little bit when I was in college, and he had a business that created coffee table books. And he would use these coffee table books in fundraising campaigns for universities and so and and prep schools. And he found this market because they didn't specifically, Adelene Christian, where you and I went to school, was running a capital campaign, and they had nothing to give people, which is something we'll talk about a little later, you know, in in exchange for their gift.
Speaker 3:And so, he made this book about I think it was the the first 100 years of of ACU or something like that. And, you know, he can make them pretty cost effectively, and then he would give he would sell them to ACU, and then they would give them away for a big gift. Right? And a lot of times, these organizations he was working with, even like the University of Alabama, they had these volunteer led alumni associations. And so we'd make this book, and they'd be like, alright.
Speaker 3:Great. What do we do with it? Right? And so he'd have to come up with a marketing strategy, and they'd be like, we have 100,000 emails. How do we sell this book?
Speaker 3:And this is, like, mid 2000. And it's kinda surprising how far things have come, but at that time, there weren't, like you couldn't, like, set up a website and just start selling stuff online. Like, there was eBay, and there was Amazon, which is still pretty early. And so we would help them set up these these I guess, you call them, like, a portal to go order these books. Right?
Speaker 3:And then we'd put together emails and different things, try to move them, and I really liked that business. He ended up selling that business, I guess, when I was in college as well or maybe shortly after. And I went and worked in digital marketing for a long time. I've always loved technology and and then the Internet, and I kinda got this opportunity here in Dallas at KERA, which is a public radio station, to go back into fundraising, and, you know, this hooked me. I I've always liked fundraising.
Speaker 3:I'm a little bit of a contrarian, and so I like it because no one else likes it. I think asking for money is really cool, and I had a mentor, you know, kinda teach me that pretty early. I was at KERA. I was there for 2 years and realized I liked working in fundraising, but not in that specific nonprofit. And so I wanted to find something else and found an agency in town that worked primarily with fundraising or with nonprofits rather.
Speaker 3:And went and was there for a couple years and met, a guy, Tim, who is now my business partner and has been for several years. And we just I I learned from a guy that that agency named Tom McCabe this concept of the theology of fundraising. It made me realize in terms of, like, spiritual gifts and purpose outside of just business or having a job, it was like, man, we have the opportunity or I have the opportunity in fundraising to unlock generosity and to, you know, convey wake up every morning convincing people to give their stuff away Mhmm. Or their money away for a greater purpose than what they might spend it on that day. And I thought that was a really worthy calling, and then I realized there was a ton I didn't know about it.
Speaker 3:And the Internet's probably the best way to find out how people behave because, what we do in our business is lots of testing. So it's like, does this message resonate more, or does this message resonate more? And you'll learn, and then you'll say, well, why? And then how do we iterate and learn from there? So we're learning all about people and psychology while we're trying to help organizations grow their fundraising capacity.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. That's awesome, man. Tell the audience just a little bit about NextAfter and then who y'all work with.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We work with pretty large organizations typically, and and what we do is we solve one problem for them, which is how do I grow my online revenue? The kind of way that we've found that you grow your online revenue is really by growing your market or your audience. That's something sometimes in nonprofits, like marketing and fundraising live in, like, different worlds, and, like, they don't wanna talk to each other. And what we find sometimes is, like, the marketers just wanna be judged on, like, engagement goals.
Speaker 3:And it you know, like you said, fundraising is a dirty word. Not all the not all the time. I think in some of the most successful organizations that we work with, it's not like that. Right? Like, they actually stack marketing.
Speaker 3:They realize that marketing is the beginning of a conversation, and fundraising is, like, one of the, outputs of that conversation. Right? So what we do is we help people expand their audience lots of times through, like, growing their email file. We always say that the greatest indicator of your future fundraising success is the size and quality of your email list. And so, I mean, we'll talk a little bit about that in just, like, fundraising.
Speaker 3:Right? I think one of the things that that we've really figured out is you gotta get people to show up. You gotta have conversations. So even if you're not online, say you're in you're doing a a a mail campaign, like, in in the, you know, in through the postal service. Right?
Speaker 3:You gotta send out pieces. Like, if you're if you're making face to face, it's asks. You gotta get appointments, and we kind of apply, like, just like a business like, a a for profit marketing mentality to nonprofits.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 3:Like, you gotta grow your audience. You gotta ask them. You gotta get better at asking them to get more of them to say yes, and then you gotta cultivate those people so that they will turn into your next major donor. Right.
Speaker 2:Just to give you guys kind of a little bit little bit of backstory on me and Jeff. So I I started 4 Runner Mentoring Program. Now our budget is at about $1,000,000. We've grown pretty quickly since 2011 when we started, but we have almost doubled in size every year since 2016, which has been awesome. And I have known Jeff since our freshman year of college, so we're going on 20 years.
Speaker 2:And whenever I found out that my job was gonna be to primarily fundraise, the first person that I called was Jeff. And he really helped me understand that I'm not going after people's money. But instead, what I'm doing is I have the opportunity and the privilege to share about what the Lord is doing through our ministry. And same outputs, but totally different mindset.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. You know, I was in a meeting one time with a a a pretty large faith based nonprofit, and they had a brand new executive director who just come in. And he was sitting in this meeting just not really participating. But somehow, there there was as as there always is, there's some folks who really feel uncomfortable fundraising, don't want it to be a part of their job. And we were talking about some initiative they were doing, and one of these people brought up, oh, this is not a fundraising initiative.
Speaker 3:This is a ministry initiative. Right? And it kinda sparked a little bit of conversation, and the new executive director, he he chipped in. He's like, hey, guys. If it comes down to, like, fundraising versus ministry, I'm gonna choose fun or I'm gonna choose ministry every time.
Speaker 3:You know? And what exactly you just said reminded me that because it's like, that's not a binary choice. Those aren't 2 different choices. Fundraising is a ministry in itself. Like, getting people to give you their money is ministering to them.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:So And I know for me, my my whole mindset about fundraising, and this is the first thing that we will speak on is the mindset of someone who has to fundraise, is it's not my job to go and raise money. That is not my job. My job is to go and to meet as many people as possible and to share with them all that the Lord is up to in our ministry. And if I do that, then that's my job. Right?
Speaker 2:It's it's God's job to stir up their hearts. It's God's job to do whatever he wants to do, and sometimes the result of that is they support us financially. Sure. Were you
Speaker 3:tell me about your mindset when you started for runner
Speaker 2:as it
Speaker 3:pertained to fundraising. And I don't I don't claim to think that I changed that. I think God changed and gave you wisdom. Mhmm. But, like, when you're starting this ministry, obviously, has a budget of 0.
Speaker 3:And tell me, like, what was running through your mind when you when you started that?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think for me, Jeff, the main feeling that I felt was fear. I mean, I was just absolutely terrified. Like, oh my gosh. Like, I have to meet these people that I don't know, and I have to ask them for money.
Speaker 2:And I felt like a beggar. Like, hey, John, like, I'm so sorry to bother you, but I really need $5,000. Like, is there any way that you think that you might be able to look, I this is weird. I'm sorry. But just just come on.
Speaker 2:Please help us out. Yeah. Yeah. Like, you Please apologize. How many times did you apologize?
Speaker 2:I apologize, like, you know, 8 or 9 times of conversation. And just fear and, insecurity and just I I felt like I was doing them a disservice. Like, I felt like I was wasting their time, and I didn't have any confidence in what we were doing. And so, like, I didn't feel like I was worthy. I felt like I was a burden.
Speaker 2:I was anxious. Like, just felt so, like, I've gotta ask this guy, and he's got a huge house and a nice car, and I'm gonna ask him. Right? And then, yeah, just like I I would apologize and just, you know, toss out there just like a super weak ask all the time. So That's interesting.
Speaker 2:And you were coming,
Speaker 3:you know, you were coming from being a teacher
Speaker 2:and coach. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And so you were originally just trying to replace your salary.
Speaker 2:Right? Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And, I mean, I think it's amazing that in spite of, you know, the stammering voice of, like, a brand new fundraiser, like, doesn't really wanna ask for money, you know, or thinks it's not, as you said, you know, it's not your job. You know, you were able to provide in spite of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. And and, I mean, I think I think after I did it a couple times and after I saw how the Lord worked really despite my best efforts. And then the main thing, Jeff, was I saw the joy that the donors got, that our supporters got whenever I shared with them stories.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so there's a phrase that kinda is at the center of my fundraising philosophy now, and that then this is something that, 2 of us say often. Right? And it's what? It's people give to people. People give to people.
Speaker 2:People don't give to, you know They don't marketing campaigns? Yeah. Like, people don't give to, oh, well, you know, this kid was here, and then he's like, while you need to have the data, you need to be a good steward, you need to be wise. It's really it's people give to people. It's, man, I'm going to give you x amount, Zach, because I believe in you and because I trust you and because you are the one who's going to lead this thing and you're the one who's going to share with me the impact that my support will have for the kingdom.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so yeah. So can you just kinda speak speak more on the whole people give to people mindset?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think that's something that we talk about all the time. I think in digital fundraising, it's specifically you're you're very distant from people. I remember in in public radio, it was this way too. It's funny.
Speaker 3:We're sitting here talking on these mics. Right? And in public radio, you raise money by going on air Mhmm. In these pledge drives. You know, go on air for 2 weeks, which sometimes feels like an impossible amount of time.
Speaker 3:And you will talk, you know, you take over the airwaves, and you take these little breaks, these little 10 minute breaks, and talk about why people should give, and you make asks, and you hope people are listening, and sometimes people are not listening. It's like the dead of night, and you're up there fundraising. But all that to say, you're speaking into a mic and you can't see anyone. Right? And what's funny is we would have volunteers come in, and, you know, they would get totally freaked out in front of the in front of the the the microphone, and they'd be like, you know, what do I do?
Speaker 3:There's, like, millions of people on the other side of this. And what's funny is, like, that's a very, like, childlike naive response, but it's actually, like, kind of the the mentality that we that we would lose as you got really comfortable in the mic. It's like you just forget there are all these people out there. Right? Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And that's typically what we see that marketers do is they'll hit send on an email to an email list, and they forget that that email list is made up of individual people. Right? And you start, like, writing these emails in this marketer voice or writing letters in this marketer voice or talking like an organization, and you rattle off, like, so many statistics. Right? And people do not give to statistics.
Speaker 3:They give to people. Right? And so I think that, like, the the underlying concept is, like, something we have to it's a it's a mantra, I guess. Something you have to remind yourself of all the time is that, like, people are gonna give to people. Sometimes that person is you, the fundraiser.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. That's, like, a powerful motivator because Zach, in this local community of, like, Highlands, like, you're you're well known. Yeah. And people trust you, and they've seen what you've been able to do and build. And they may have never met one of the forerunners.
Speaker 3:Right? They may have never met one of the kids, and that's okay. Like, people will support you and your work, and they're happy to do it. Mhmm. And then you also have, you know, people who have met a kid, and maybe they haven't met all the kids.
Speaker 3:Right? But they've met one kid.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And even though they know their their donation is not specifically going towards that kid, you know, it's that kid who inspires their gift. Right? And I think that is something that is fundamental in our our our being. You know, I I see it with my kids when we're driving and we see someone, like, asking for money on the side of the road, like, they can't look away. You know?
Speaker 3:They're like they look at and they're just like, that's what do I do? How do I you know? Like, I I like to think at least. You know, I think in our in our flesh, we are selfish with our our resources, but, you know, I like to think they don't know that yet. And they look and they're thinking, like, I wanna do something to help that person.
Speaker 3:In fact, we have these little blessing bags that, our kids made at school, and it's like, you know, we it's got a toothbrush and all these things that you can pass out. So so we can give something to them. Right? And, you know, I just think that, like, that that sort of mentality of, like, trying to trying to forget your logo and your website and your mission, people just, like, flog their mission to death, and it's like, no. People are giving to you.
Speaker 3:And even as a organize or a small organization, like for runner started, like you had something very powerful and that it was you. Mhmm. You were the personality. And, like, you didn't even have you weren't even at the beginning. You weren't even doing much of the work yet.
Speaker 3:It was like just starting. Right? Yeah. It wasn't the program that it is now, but You know? And, ultimately, you've gotta continue to tell them what you're able to do and, you know, cultivate them on the work and and and then those sorts of things, but you have to remember that you're unlocking their generosity towards you initially and then towards the people that you're able to reach because they they're not able to do that on their own.
Speaker 3:You give them the opportunity to do that. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. And and just like what I have found is that telling the story, I mean, you will get so much further about talking about what the Lord has done than talking about statistics. We're talking about, you know, hey, we've got this new thing and we need to raise a bunch of money. Like, no. Like, tell a story.
Speaker 2:Yep. Why don't you talk about how the Lord changed a mentor's perspective on how to serve? Why don't you talk about how the Lord helped a single mom find support through your ministry? Why don't you talk about how a kid gained confidence and came to follow Jesus Christ through what was going on in your nonprofit? And just like, you know, telling a story, and we can talk about the, you know, elevator pitch, the different types of stories to tell.
Speaker 2:But telling a story from what I found will get you so much further. And it's just talking about God. Like, hey, like, I believe that the Lord will put his hand on your fundraising efforts if every story you tell is about how he's working, like he is getting like, he is getting the praise there, and
Speaker 3:Yeah. That's
Speaker 2:a powerful thing.
Speaker 3:For sure. I think that that that's especially for, like, you know, for someone who's starting, like, a nonprofit, like, the position you were in in 2011. It's like the hard thing is, like, you think you don't have a story? Like, you haven't done anything yet or you're not big. Right?
Speaker 3:And that's a challenge because I think that there's this, like, weird paradox or conflation that people think, like, I have to have massive impact. You know? I need big numbers and things like that. And oftentimes, I think that, you know, that can lead people to chase the wrong things. I think they have to have that for fundraising.
Speaker 3:It's like it doesn't have like a powerful story. You know, I've heard so many missionary organizations who are like, if we raise all this money and one person hears the gospel, it's worth it. Right? I think about I don't know if you know that that picture. It's from, I think, the seventies or eighties.
Speaker 3:It's called the the vulture and the girl, and it was taken by a photographer. I think his name was Kevin Carter, and they said this one photo did more to raise money for Africa than than all the statistics that were combined about, like, world relief. And if you look at it, like, honestly, I look at it sometimes, like, I can't look away. It's, like, so arresting. It's this little starving girl bent over on this on the this dirt road with a vulture sitting next to her.
Speaker 3:And it's just, like, so much is captured in that in that story right there. Mhmm. It's one child. You know? And that goes back to people give to people.
Speaker 3:Like, people aren't giving to, like, all the famine statistics about Africa. Right. Like, they they don't even know this girl, and it's, like, arresting their hearts. You know? And so when you talk about having a story to tell and continuing to tell that story, there's 2 factors to that that I wanna talk about.
Speaker 3:Number 1 is, like, you know, the story, especially of a of a nonprofit always starts with a problem. And I think that's something that is often forgotten is that there is a problem. Now I know this because I'm dyed in the wool about 4 Runner. Right? But I remember so clearly, and I always tell people this.
Speaker 3:I think it's instinctive because not because I'm some great fundraiser, but because it was what, like it was it was my vulture and the girl. Like, it arrested me when you were at football practice and you asked, you know, the the boys in your team, you're like, how many you have, you know, or don't have a father at home? And, like, 75% of them raised their hands. Mhmm. Right?
Speaker 3:And I think sometimes as fundraisers, we want to be we the solution is what we wanna talk about, and we don't spend enough time in the problem. Right? Because if people are gonna give to people, they have to understand that there's a problem. And you have to understand too that that problem is not gonna resonate with everybody. Right?
Speaker 3:Like, not everybody is going to like, your cause is not gonna be every everyone else's number one concern. Right.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:But people can be arrested by a good story, and they will they will support it. Right? But if you don't if you don't put that problem out there, if you just talk about your solution, number 1, people don't really think there's a problem. And so their impetus to give or their motivation, if you will, is not it's not as it's not as deep or as as powerful as it should be. Right?
Speaker 3:Because people, just like I was talking about with my kids, when they see someone, you know, asking for money at a stoplight, right, like, they look and they know then, like, they don't have to ask. They know something's different and wrong. Right? And they wanna they wanna do something about it. They'll always say, like, can we give them something?
Speaker 3:And so so, you know, as as you're telling your story, even in your elevator pitch, like, you have to include the problem. You know, it's not just we started doing this. It's like, what is the problem? What are we trying to do? Your solution is is what you care about, and I think that's what a lot of people who work at nonprofits, that's what they love is they get savvy.
Speaker 3:You know, you think about some nonprofit that builds water wells. Like, they won't talk about the, you know, how much water they've delivered and all these great statistics. And it's like, well, the problem is people don't have water. Mhmm. Right?
Speaker 3:And what's funny is sometimes you I've actually seen this where an organization that was doing, cleft palate surgeries. Like, one of their organizational issues is they were running out of people to do surgeries on because they had done so many surgeries, number 1. And because genetically, cleft palate was disappearing, you know, they had they were, like, struggling to find the problem. Right? And so all of a sudden, you end up with this organization that's all solution and no problem.
Speaker 3:So resting in that problem, being okay talking about that problem, and, honestly, like, asking people if they care about that problem. 1st, like, for the ever presented with a solution. That's we do a lot of of mapping of the value proposition, which is something that you're doing when you're telling a story regardless of whether you know it or not, especially if you're telling an elevator bitch. And the the the biggest factor is motivation. It's like if someone's motivated, you know, then a conversion is easy.
Speaker 3:Like, if you're super hungry, it's easy to sell somebody food. Right? But it's very difficult if they're full. And so if you don't create some sort of problem, you're not gonna be be able to, you know, you're gonna have a less likely chance of getting to say yes. The other thing I think that you've you've done such a good job of embodying as you've built Forerunner is realizing that you're gonna have to tell that story over and over and over and over and over again.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And that elevator pitch, it's old to you, but someone's just hearing it for the first time. And maybe someone has to hear it 2 or 3 times. We talk about this a lot in in the online advertising world. There's a word called frequency, and it is how many times a certain person sees an ad.
Speaker 3:And, you know, a lot of times people react really negatively to, like, a frequency of, like, 3. Like, on average, each person in this audience that we're advertising to has seen this ad three times. And we're like, well, what if it takes 4 for it to register? You know? Sometimes you're telling someone the story again.
Speaker 3:And you're you know, I know you haven't told the exact same pitch. You sharpened it, and you found new angles. And as you've built the ministry, you found new things to talk about too. But I think just that confidence in telling the story over and over and over again. There are people who have told the same story for 50 years.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Right? Your story doesn't have to change. If you can make it better, great. You know?
Speaker 3:But being willing to sit in the problem and, like, really let the problem weigh on people before you jump into, like, all the cool things you do to solve it. Right? And then just realizing you have to tell that so many times because someone may be hearing it for the 3rd time, and that's when their heart is actually opened or that's when God moves in them and says, you know, this is this is maybe they don't have the resources the first two times, you know, but then they acquire them, and they're looking for a place to to send them.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Man, Jeff, that's That's awesome. I know I know for me, like, telling the story is the most important piece of fundraising because you're communicating the story about what the Lord's doing. You're communicating about the need, and you're communicating about how you believe that you guys can play a part in the solution of of that.
Speaker 3:You know, what's funny is is you say that, I realized that it's it's a lot like evangelism. Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I think I used to think when I was young that we would have these missionaries come to our church from, like, Venezuela and, other places across the world. And I would think that these people were out there, like, they would show these pictures of them, like, baptizing people in rivers or something. You know? And you would think that these people are, like, conversion experts. And I remember one of them telling me one time, he's like, no.
Speaker 3:I just go tell people, and God moves their hearts. Mhmm. But if I don't tell them and he's like, I have to ask them. Right? Like, he has to have a call to action, if you will, is what we call it in marketing speak.
Speaker 3:But it's like you have to present people with the gospel, and then you have to say, do you want to respond? Right. Right? Because I think there's a there's a distinct relationship between those two things Mhmm. Is, you know, presenting people planting the seeds, if you will.
Speaker 3:You have to go you have to go sow, and then you have to give those you these people you're talking to, like, an opportunity to say yes or no. Yeah. Because if you don't, I think that's one of the hardest things for young fundraisers, especially, is, like, making the ask every single time. And if you it doesn't have to be some invasive, oppressive thing. It's like, you know, let me know if you'd like to support this.
Speaker 3:Think about it, pray about it, whatever. Like, we're we're trying to do we're trying to raise this much money for this thing. Like Mhmm. You know, like, let them know how they can get involved because it's one thing to plant the seed and walk away. It's another thing to plant a seed and walk away, and they have no idea where to start.
Speaker 3:They're not gonna find it on their own. Right? But it reminds me of of just evangelism. It's like, our your job is not to go out and save souls. You can't do that.
Speaker 3:Right? Yeah. What you can do is go tell people about Jesus and then ask them if they want to respond. And they may not right then, but, you know, God takes a hold of their heart. It's the exact same thing as fundraising.
Speaker 2:Right. I know for me, like, I I really do think fundraising is like the parable of the sower. Right? Yeah. You're just tossing out seeds.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Every time that you tell a story, every time that you meet someone, every time that you're talking about what you guys are up to, you're tossing seeds. And sometimes that seed might, you know, that might take root right then. Sometimes it might take 2 years. Sometimes it might take 10 years.
Speaker 2:But your job is just to toss seeds. It's God's job to take that seed and to turn it into something. Just like getting super practical here, like, I know for me, I've got different types of stories. So, like, I have the elevator pitch, which that typically takes less than a minute. Right?
Speaker 2:And it's just, hey, super fast. Here's the need. Here's what we're trying to trying to do to help that need go away. The next, type of story is, like, if they show interest, if they want to hear more, then I'll add a little bit more detail.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And that story typically takes, you know, 3 to 5 minutes. And then if they want even more, and then we'll, you know, go out to lunch. And that's where I can share the, like, you know, 5 to 10 minute story. Mhmm. And then list out to them in a super clear way, hey, here are the 3 ways that you guys can get involved.
Speaker 2:You can introduce me to your friends. You can give per month. You can give a one time gift. You can volunteer. You can right?
Speaker 2:And so it's important for us, as we have been called to fundraise to get good at telling the story. But telling the story only matters if you're getting in front of people.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 2:So can we talk a tad bit about how to network and just I'll share my philosophy on that, but
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I wanna hear I wanna hear what your take is on that. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So we have this thing we we talk about, but next after we're children of the eighties, and so we grew up watching back to the future. I saw it on Amazon Prime last night. Almost turned it on. And, you know, the the flux capacitor was what drove Marty's DeLorean, you know, back in back to the future. Right?
Speaker 3:And we have this thing that we call the flux capacitor of online fundraising or online revenue maximization. It's called the f core. It's we like an or acronyms. And, really, it says that revenue and this is not just for online fundraising. It's for any business.
Speaker 3:Revenue is a product of 3 factors, traffic, conversion rate, and average gift, right, or average order. And so it's the same thing for the coffee shop I went to this morning. Like, their revenue is a product of how many people show up and how many people say yes and buy something and then how much they buy. And if you can affect any one of those factors, you'll raise more money. Right?
Speaker 3:So if you get more people to show up and your conversion rate is the same, then you raise more money. If you get more people show up and you get more people to say yes, then you're you're gonna have an exponential amount of more money raised. Right? And so traffic is the core piece of that. And like you said, visits, like, conversations matter.
Speaker 3:What I have found is there's a really effective I use this a lot in recruiting. So one of the best ways I found to recruit somebody is to ask them if they know anybody I should be talking to about the job that I want them to hire for. Right? Mhmm. And a lot of times, there's something there's something that's happening in that, which is you're assigning that person, like, some amount of authority or power, right, or trust, I guess.
Speaker 3:Like, hey, Zach. I want you to come work for my company. I'm gonna show you this job description that I know you're perfectly suited for. I'm gonna say, do you know anybody who might be a good fit for this? Will you just think about it?
Speaker 3:And that's a really powerful thing for networking, especially as you're trying to make your way into a community. You can ask questions like, do you know anybody else who you know, if you're starting a great way for any mentor organization to start a conversation is like, did you ever have a mentor growing up? And just, like, try to unpack that. You know? Maybe they did.
Speaker 3:Maybe they didn't. Maybe it was hard for them because they didn't. Maybe they reflect positively. It's like, do you know anybody else who may have, you know, grown up with or without a mentor and may care about this sort of thing that I should be talking to. Because what it allows people to do is it allows them to help.
Speaker 3:Right? Which they're if they're listening to you, if they've been moved by your story, if they're gonna give, yes, what else can I do for you? They can become a multiplier. Right? And so I think that little question at the end of a lot of conversations is like, I'm just trying to expand my network.
Speaker 3:You know, do you know anybody who I should be having coffee with? Right? Because I think there is a little thing where it's like people are a little res reticent to give up their access to their network, I guess, if they feel like you're just gonna go ask them for money. And that's where the the the method of fundraising comes so much into play. Like, they have to know that you're not gonna go ask them for that.
Speaker 3:Right? I had a guy one time who gave my information to a fundraiser, and I never met this guy. And he sent me an email. It was very clear that he was asking me for money. He actually asked, almost asked for money in the email, like, the first time we ever met, right, via email.
Speaker 3:And but he was asking me to go get coffee. It ended up not working out for a lot of reasons. But I remember that because I was like, man, that's such a different approach than what you were just talking about, which is, like, let me tell you what foreigners are doing. Let me tell you about this problem we have in Lake Highlands, what foreigners are trying to do to fix it. Right?
Speaker 3:And I think that that people want to expose more people to that story, especially it's when it's something that you can be proud of. It's something, you know, that you feel confident. Like, your confidence as a fundraiser is gonna get you more yeses in those those second pieces. But I think the very simple thing is, like, look at your calendar and say every day is an opportunity to take someone to coffee. I know that's something that you did.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But don't waste a lunch. Don't waste a coffee opportunity. You know, you need a place do you need a place to to make it happen? So you may have a list of people you wanna come converse with.
Speaker 3:Like, put those people on the calendar and realize that every every afternoon, you know, from 4 to 5 is your opportunity to go sit down with someone and talk to them about that. So, ultimately, fundraising is a product of getting people to show up and having conversations. If you don't have those conversations, then you're not going to raise money because there's no one to raise money to. Mhmm. Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, like, you have to have people to tell the story to. And I know for me early on, it's like, I had a breakfast with someone every Tuesday, Thursday.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:I have a lunch every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Mhmm. And then I put in my schedule coffee on Wednesday Fridays.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think that's what you've done there is, like, brilliant because it's like you have these, places that you've gotta fill. Like, that is the way that you see about it, and it's not it's even before you're like, I've got all these people. I gotta ask for money. You're like, no.
Speaker 3:I just gotta get this person to a lunch. Yes. Have lunch. Right? That is the ask.
Speaker 3:It is not, can we go have lunch, and can I ask you for money at the end of the lunch? You know, it's we gotta go have lunch. And so when you look at your schedule like that, I think that is it's it's great too because those times that you mentioned are times that you're not working. Right? So it's not like you feel like you have this trade off of, like, I'm also trying to do this, you know, mentoring project or ministry or whatever it is.
Speaker 3:You're just saying, hey. Like, when I used to work in the service industry, I waited tables for a year. It was like, one of the weird things is you're working when no one else is. Right? Like, you work at dinner time.
Speaker 3:And so what you just did is you just blocked off times when you are when, a, other people are not working, and, b, you are not doing the actual work and you're nonprofit. So you're taking a break. Like, use that time really wisely. And the way that you said it is just so simple and brilliant. It's like, I'm going to have a a breakfast every Tuesday and every Thursday.
Speaker 3:And so who am I gonna go to breakfast with? Right? It's a very it's much easier thing than how am I gonna raise a $100,000.
Speaker 2:Like, who
Speaker 3:am I gonna
Speaker 2:go to breakfast with? Exactly. And and, I mean, hear me when I say this. People give to people. It's not my job to raise money.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:It is my job to share about what the Lord is doing. It's my job to spread the Lord's heart for what we're doing.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. Right?
Speaker 2:So, like, God loves kids who don't have father figures around. God wants to help them succeed. Mhmm. It's my job to share about God's heart for those kids. Yes.
Speaker 2:So whenever I go to lunch with someone, 1, I'm caring for them as a person. Like, I I am not going to that lunch with a goal that I am going to ask this guy for money. I'm going to that lunch with the mindset of I get to love on this person today. Mhmm. And if the opportunity arises, then I'll share about what's going on with, you know, our 501c3.
Speaker 2:But my main job is just to be like Jesus. It's just to love our neighbors
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And to not force it. But if it comes up, then just to share stories about what he's up to.
Speaker 3:Well, people will ask you.
Speaker 2:Right? Well, you don't have
Speaker 3:to go in there and be like, I'm here today at lunch to talk to you about the 4 Runner Mentoring Project.
Speaker 2:No. It's like, what are the main things that people say, hey, man. How's it going with your family? How's it going with your kids? Did you say how's
Speaker 3:it going? Night?
Speaker 2:Yeah. How's it going to work? Oh, dude. It's here's a story about a kid that we can spend time with.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Right? And so it just comes naturally because it's my life. Like, yes, I have my wife. Yes, I have my kids. Yes, I have all the things that I, you know, go play basketball.
Speaker 2:But I also have a job. And people almost always ask about that. Also, one thing that helps me is everything that I wear has our logo on it.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so, like, I can be at the grocery store, and some guy's like, hey, man. Why don't you share with me about that thing? You know? Oh, are you talking about and it's just like, the more you can give little, like, opportunities for people to ask you about your nonprofit, whether it's putting your logo on a sweatshirt or on a backpack or on a vest or for a long time, every person that I met with, I handed that person a high quality t shirt. And what happened was after doing that year after year after year, any coffee shop that I would walk into, there would be at least, you know, 2 to 3 people.
Speaker 3:I was usually one of them. Right. I wore that Nike pullover for, like, a year and a half solid. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's an opportunity for someone to say, hey, Why don't you tell me about that T shirt? Why don't you tell me about that sweater? And it works because your job is just to toss out seeds. Yeah. And every time someone sees your logo, every time someone meets with you, you're tossing out seeds.
Speaker 3:Well, I think that's an important thing too is, like, people it's part of our human nature to want to belong to something Mhmm. And we don't wanna be on the outside of things. I think that's why we, like, love, like, innovators or people who are, like, disruptive because we're not like most of us are not like that. Right? And if you can I I drove on the way here and, you know, there's a guess, a city council election and a board a school board election, and there's all these signs in people's yards?
Speaker 3:You know? I think that's such an underrated part. You know, you talk about t shirts. I think yard signs are like a dollar 25 a piece. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Right? And if you can get people asking, like, what is that thing? Like, I wore this 4 Runner pullover. People would be like, what is you know, just awareness, that sort of concept of, like and you had 2 very important words there, a high quality shirt. If you wear a shirt if you make a shirt that no one wants to wear No
Speaker 2:one's gonna wear it.
Speaker 3:No one's gonna wear it. It's amazing how many terrible T shirts are giving away.
Speaker 2:Like, spend $9 instead of 6, and it'll go so much further. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Exactly. I think that yeah. Maybe Goodwill is the charity you actually have supporting. Yeah. Right.
Speaker 3:Terrible T shirt. Right?
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks. This is But sure it's made by Gildan. Get get Gildan out of here. Yeah. It
Speaker 3:it's it's it's, you know, your opportunity to just create. And I think especially when you're working in, like, geographic constraints Mhmm. It's it's it's a very powerful thing because all of a sudden, you see these these things popping up, and people are like, well, what is that sign in your yard? Or what is that T shirt? Like, I wanna wear one of those.
Speaker 3:Exactly. How do I get one? It's not by giving, but it draws them closer to the to the ministry. And sometimes it is by giving. So it's like, hey.
Speaker 3:I'll give you one if you give a a recurring gift or something. Right? But the that you have to realize that's hardwired into people. It's not exploitative to take advantage of that. It's just natural.
Speaker 3:Like, people are gonna wanna be drawn to something. You've seen how, you know, Lake Highlands has really rallied around 4 Runner because they realize it's happening in their midst, and it's something that people wanna be a part of. Mhmm. So
Speaker 2:And kinda one of my philosophies is whenever the Lord stirs someone's heart to give, whether it's end of the year, whether it's whenever they receive, you know, their paycheck Mhmm. I don't know. Every person's different. I want the 1st nonprofit that they think of to be ours. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Because they've seen the T shirts, because they have the water bottle, because they've gone out to lunch with me, because they got an email from me, because I texted them, because I called them.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so it is just tossing out seeds. And this is the most important thing, Jeff, is if I only care about the people who can give me lots of money
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna fail 100% because God doesn't and this kinda is one of our main points. Your job isn't to raise money. Your job is to share the story. Your job is to toss out seeds. And this happens all the time.
Speaker 2:I go out to a I spend some time with a person who doesn't have, you know, just they don't have a ton of money. It's a teacher. Right? But my job isn't to raise money. My job is to share the story.
Speaker 2:And what I do is I share the story with this teacher who they might be able to give. Right. Some. But but then what I do is I say, hey, who's someone? And this is what, you know, we we're talking about who's someone that you know who might need to know about this.
Speaker 2:And that teacher who makes, you know, $48,000 a year introduces me to their dad.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Introduces me to their neighbor. Introduces me to the person who's in their small corporate church. And that person can give me 10, 20, 30, 40,000.
Speaker 3:Which means the teacher the teacher might have been the most valuable person to
Speaker 2:get you to. Right? Exactly. There are people in my network who they haven't ever, you know, supported us with a large gift. But what they have done is they've introduced me to 10 people who have.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And so take people out to lunch no matter how much money they make. Just share the story with as many people as possible and see what the Lord does, and you'll be amazed at what happens.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I I think that one thing you've always done really well is just follow-up and communication. I remember, like, you know, I think it I think it's important to think of the people who support you. Right? And remember they support you, but also I remember, I think even before I was a donor to 4 Runner, you did cookies.
Speaker 3:You you did cookies
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3:In our mailbox at Christmas. And I know that, like, that's a ton of hard work, like, driving those things around. Right? But the fact that, you know, you think about all the people you come in contact re regardless of whether they give to you, especially early on Mhmm. Regardless of whether they give to you or not.
Speaker 3:Now as your donor base becomes big, you almost have to, like, service that. You have to continue to grow it too. Right? But those little things those little those little things that seem to have, like it's not that they have no meaning. You wouldn't do them if had no meaning, but they seem to have no instant return and value.
Speaker 3:Like, those are planting seeds too. I think you and Sarah used to send video texts. Yep. You know? And it's, like, just a little message, and it said, like, hey, Jeff.
Speaker 3:We're so grateful for you. And it's like, it probably took you guys several hours to send all the you wanted. Maybe you could make, hey, Jeff, and send it to all the Jeffs on your list. But that little extra bit of work is, like, so so powerful. Right?
Speaker 3:And, honestly, for a small nonprofit, like, you're punching above your weight there. You're actually doing things that large nonprofits can't. And the thing that you said earlier about wanting to be top of mind when, someone gives, I think one thing that's really underestimated is how many people are out there that maybe at the end of the year, they're like, I wanna give a gift. I don't you know, people ask why people give gifts at the end of the year. I think it's like a tradition more than anything.
Speaker 3:Yep. You know, the the tax deductible deadline of of December 31st, I don't think most people even use that or or it matters or they're trying to, like, you know, they don't they're not even gonna meet, like, the standard tax deduction. But at the end of the year, people are are giving, and it's it becomes like a a thing. Like, where am I gonna give? And they start getting lots of appeal, and they start giving.
Speaker 3:I think it's, like, underestimated. Like, how do people don't really know where to give to? Like, I see we have this program in our company called First Fruits, and we give away 10% of all the money we make and or of our profits. And we do that through our employees. So every month, a certain number of employees get to designate where those gifts go.
Speaker 3:And it is fascinating. Like, we work with all these nonprofits. Right? And our employees sometimes are like, I don't know what I should give to. And they're like, come into my office and be like, can you help me choose a a charity or something like that?
Speaker 3:Or they're gonna give to something that's just, like, really big and broad, you know, like a like, I'm just gonna, you know, give to, like, just like, an organization that gives grants to other organizations or stuff like that. Right? Like, there's gonna they don't really have that cause. And like you said, like, being front of mind and and it's almost like free advertising. Right?
Speaker 3:Like, getting people walking around with your brand, getting people talking about your brand, getting yard signs Mhmm. Things like that. Like, it's just gonna help people make that decision. Oh, I saw this thing one time. Right.
Speaker 3:You know, like, if they go to the coffee shop on December 21st Right. See someone wearing 4 Runner, it's like, oh, that matters. Right?
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 3:And that's a seed you planted a long time ago that's kinda coming right for the harvest. Mhmm. So help people make that decision.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And and I think this is what's so important is people aren't gonna give every time, and that's okay. You can't take that personally. Just because they're not in a position to give today, that doesn't mean that they don't like you. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Like, when someone doesn't give, there's an opportunity for the enemy to get in there and to start to lie to you and say, oh, they don't like you. You messed up. You're in just, like, really mess up your self confidence. Yeah. But just don't take it personally.
Speaker 2:Like, just because someone doesn't give today, that doesn't mean that they're not gonna give tomorrow. I just had someone that I've been grabbing lunch with them. I'm not getting around for 12 years, and they have never supported us. But that doesn't matter because my job is to tell the story. My job is to care about my neighbor.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And I've continued to grab lunch with him. Well, his someone in his family just passed away and left him some money. And he called me up and said, hey, man. Here's who what happened, and I wanna give you a $25,000 check.
Speaker 2:And it's because every time we meet, you share about how your nonprofit is changing the life of a kid Mhmm. In my community. And I'm just like, oh, my gosh. Like, that's so awesome. Now I don't meet with him because I'm saying to myself, well, perhaps one day he's right.
Speaker 2:But it's just like people give to people, and relationships change lives. It's not just the kids that we serve. It's relationships change lives with every person that I know.
Speaker 3:Yep. Like One thing you said there was really important is it's important not to let nos destroy your self confidence. I think going into this was something that's very, like, clear, and that is conversion rates, if you will. The amount of people that say yes to any fundraising ask are very low. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Right? It's like, you know, most nonprofits have, like, a 1 to 5% conversion rate, and that doesn't really matter the the channel. Like, it doesn't matter if it's direct mail or digital or face to face, like, 1 to 5%. So that means if you have 100 lunches, you're gonna get 1 to 5 gifts. Right?
Speaker 3:And I think it's important not to try to see that as, like, a a failure rate, like, a high failure rate, but it's like, just go into that realizing most people aren't gonna say yes. Yeah. Like, accept that fact today. Most people are not going to say yes to you. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:That doesn't mean you shouldn't ask. You still lay. You know, you still you still present the story. Right. You still, you know, give them the opportunity, present them with a clear opportunity to give and or, you know, another another often underused tactic, asking them to consider giving, not making an ask, but saying, like, is this is this the sort of thing that you would consider giving to?
Speaker 3:Because it actually puts a lot of power in their hands and people, you know, psychologically respond really favorably to that. But if you go in knowing that most people are not gonna say yes, then it actually takes a lot of pressure off you. Right? But it also means it's a volume game. Like you said, you gotta go get a 100 lunches.
Speaker 3:You know? I think that we see this a lot because it's like you send out an email to a 100000 people or 500000 people. Like, you don't get 250,000 gifts. You know? You get, like, 25100 maybe maybe if it's really good.
Speaker 3:You know? And so just having that understanding and, like, being armed with that, it almost can help, like, help you guard yourself. Because really what you're doing there is you're working against your own insecurity or the enemy who's telling you that you're not a good fundraiser. It's like, no. You're actually you may actually be outperforming, you know, traditional metrics.
Speaker 3:You may be the best fundraiser in the world, specifically. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And also just, like, I know for me and this is one thing that I learned from you, as a matter of fact. But, like, you've gotta know your audience. Mhmm. You've gotta know what the person that you're meeting with, what they care about.
Speaker 2:So for us, like, our nonprofit, we believe that we're part of the solution for a number of issues. Right? Like, we're helping the kid who doesn't have a dad. We're helping people who are traditionally poor. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:We're helping the single mom. We're doing after school care. We're doing education. We're doing some like there's a number of things. So if I'm meeting with a person and they're super passionate about education, then I'm going to spend time sharing stories about how we impact a kid educationally.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to share about something that that person doesn't care about. But in order to know that, you've got to get to know the person. Sure. So it's like, hey, like, okay. I'm gonna grab grab a meal with Jeff.
Speaker 2:I know what Jeff cares about, so I'm going to share a story that is going to talk about that.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so It's prep too. Right? Exactly.
Speaker 3:You gotta think about it. Like, it's not just showing up and winging it. It's like No. You don't have to take a lot of prep, but, like, taking the 10 minutes to be like, what do I know about this person I'm about to have lunch
Speaker 2:with? Right.
Speaker 3:How am I gonna make that connection? Right. Like, how am I gonna a lot of times, we talk about this. Like, especially, it's it's hard in in digital mass communications, like, you know, emails or things like that to say to to be interested and not be try to be interesting, but that's, like, a really fundamental thing of people who are who are impactful. It's, like, be interested in the person and what they care about, and and don't worry so much about trying to make what you're doing be so interesting.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:Right? And when you show interest in people, not only do you learn about them, but people love to be, you know, quizzed and ask questions. It's it's, like, a part of a a natural human thing. You know? I'm sitting here looking at the literacy lab sign.
Speaker 3:It's, like, I love to read, and I'll I've loved to read since I was a little kid. Right? And so if you're like, you know that, we've shared pictures of our bookshelves before. Right? So it's like, if we're gonna talk, it's like, hey.
Speaker 3:You know, what are you reading? That's how you start that conversation. I know you love reading, and so we're starting this new literacy lab. It's like, what are you reading? You know?
Speaker 3:Like and you you start to prompt, like, this thing that we have shared at common. It's finding that common ground. Mhmm. Because people give to people, you've gotta give them, like you've gotta understand how they are bridged to you. Right.
Speaker 3:Right? Because if they don't think they'll ever gonna see you again or if they don't think that you guys have anything in common, it's like that's kind of a a fragile connection. But just that little bit of interest that you show in somebody, even if you don't know, asking them what they care about.
Speaker 2:Right. Like, what are
Speaker 3:the things you care about? What are they one one interview question I like to ask people as they're interviewing at our company is, like, what's your favorite nonprofit? It tells me so much about them, you know, because, like, people do care, and they'll say, like, my mom had breast cancer, and so I get to this breast cancer. It's you just told me a lot Uh-huh. You know, in just a little bit.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 2:So I had lunch with a guy, and I was pretty nervous because this guy had an opportunity to, you know, really support us. Super successful guy. Nice guy. And I just asked him. I was, like, hey, man.
Speaker 2:Like, tell me why you are fascinated with what we do. And, I mean, this guy, suit and tie, very professional, and he started telling me about his dad and about how as a kid, his dad gave his life to serving at risk kids. And whenever he was 6 years old, they moved from their house into an inner city apartment. And for the next, you know, couple decades, not only did they serve those kids, but they lived among those kids. So all of his childhood experiences had to do with kids who were exactly like the kids that we serve.
Speaker 2:And just from that story, that told me so much about his heart, told me so much about what he cares about.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And it gave me an opportunity for him to partner with what we were doing.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so just I mean, asking questions, like, becoming the best question asker possible, that's gonna help move the needle in regards to building relationships.
Speaker 3:Totally. You know, they, I think that's something that we feel very that actually comes pretty naturally, but we feel very insecure about it. It's just like conversation. Yep. And, you know, I know sometimes, like, I mean, the the starting at 8 conversations, the fundamental building block of getting to any sort of fundraising relationship, right, to be able to talk to someone.
Speaker 3:And maybe helpful, Zach. I mean, maybe what we should do is try to compile a list of just, like, conversation starters, like, for for new fundraisers. You know? We've we've already named a bunch of questions here. Like, tell me about your favorite nonprofit.
Speaker 3:Tell me about the what I like to say is, like, when's the first time you ever heard of someone giving a gift? Right? I was trying to remember this the other day. Like, what was the first time I ever saw my parents give money? And for us, it was, like, the collection plate at church.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Like, what is that thing? Where's that go? You know? You start thinking about that.
Speaker 3:And I remember this. Our church growing up used to have a this is, like, you know, the prototype of, like, a fundraising thermometer or something. They used to have, like and a lot of, like, you know, I I grew up at the church of Christ, like, a lot of Baptist churches and things like that had, like, this week's attendance, last week's attendance, money raised. You know what I mean? It's, like, what a weird thing to put on a Yeah.
Speaker 3:Wood sign. Yeah. But just, like, starting to get people talking, like, getting people telling their experiences. People love to tell their own stories. And so, like, being interested enough to hear those and, you know, not trying to force the the conjoining with your story.
Speaker 3:Right? But just, like, being interested in people.
Speaker 2:Well, so I had a guy once who, you know, he sold cars. And he asked me what I did, and I got to share with him. And he's just like, dude, like, that's so awesome. I wish that I could, you know, do the same thing as you. But I'm over here just selling cars, you know, just seems like, you know, da da da da.
Speaker 2:And I was like, look, man. You sell cars, and you make money, and you make more than me. But guess what? I can't do my job. I can't invest into the lives of these kids without people supporting me, people like you.
Speaker 2:So you selling cars. Exactly. So, dude, here's here's my challenge to you. You go sell cars, and you be the best car salesman out there, and you make a ton of money. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And I will be waiting here, and I'll be doing my thing. And when you have those funds, then we can partner together to advance the Lord's kingdom. You can support me. You can fund me. You can make it possible for me to do my job by, you know, you doing your job well.
Speaker 3:You just hit on something that is maybe the most important thing that we'll talk about, which is I say this all the time. You know, I believe fundamentally that we have a calling to give our resources away. Like, it's very clear in
Speaker 2:scripture. Yes.
Speaker 3:Right? And we live in a society that tells us just to hoard our resources or, like, be a slave to our desires, like, obey your thirst. Right? And as a fundraiser, you get the opportunity to give people meaning to do something with their dollars because, ultimately, there's a finite amount of of dollars that someone has in their bank account or in their income as it's coming through, and they have other obligations like rent or bills or whatever. Right?
Speaker 3:And we live in this, like, boujee society that can, like, deliver any meal to your doorstep. You could, like, you can have everything you ever wanted, you know, delivered to you within 10 minutes, and it will not make you happy. And it will not, like, it will not fill that that hole, right, of they they talk about being a God shaped hole, but it's, like, also, like, when you are in line with God's will and his desires, you feel like you're you're you're you're being obedient to something that you're called to, and there's a there's a sense of security and direction and clarity that comes from that. Right? So, like, above asking and and fueling your own nonprofit, you are giving a massive gift to the people who you are giving the chance for them to give their money away.
Speaker 3:Because if they don't have that chance, then they're gonna go spend it on, like, Netflix and ordering things off Amazon and clothes and these things that will not fulfill them. Right? And you get the chance to, like, align people with God's will for their money. And that is, like, one of the most powerful ministry things that you can do regardless of what ministry you're in. It may that's you know, that has nothing to do with mentoring kids.
Speaker 3:Right? But, like, your opportunity gives people the chance to do that. And if they don't have that, you don't know. They may not being at they may not be being asked by anyone else.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:Right? And so just the just the concept of, like, giving people something to do with their money that is greater than themselves. Mhmm. Right? Because you are battling forces of every advertising opportunity they see, every billboard, every internal desire, fleshly desire they have to just, like, fill their house up with stuff Yep.
Speaker 3:Or fill their life up with subscriptions. You know? And it's like, you get the you get the chance to give to something much bigger than that. And I think it's fascinating. It's like the common grace of of God.
Speaker 3:Like, it feels good when you give. Mhmm. Like, people who don't know the Lord or far from him, it still feels good when they give. Right. And you get to give people that good feeling that may actually that's a that's a blessing in itself.
Speaker 3:Right. Right.
Speaker 2:And I know for me, like, whenever we get someone's gift, I still have work to do.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And what I think is the most important thing is once they give, you need to share stories often
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:About, hey, this is what your gift did.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so every time you send an email, every time you send a text, every time you meet with someone, you don't have to ask for money. But instead, just share stories. Hey. This is what your gift did, or this is what you can help us do more of. And so, like like, I really make a hard, clear ask about 4 times a year.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then every other email, every other time that I meet, it's just tossing out seeds.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And and just like all of these things, Jeff, like, telling the story, networking, like, how to market. It's caring about the person, not how much they give. It's people give to people. It's knowing your audience, having different ways of telling the story, clearly making the ask, following up, not taking things personally, sharing stories of success, of what God's doing. That's changing the fundraising mindset.
Speaker 2:Totally. And guys like, you don't have to walk out in fear. Instead, you can walk out in joy knowing that your job is to share about what God's doing. Mhmm. You are worthy.
Speaker 2:Like, you have and you work for and you get to do something that is worth giving to. Like, you're giving people the opportunity to advance the kingdom, and you're giving God more opportunities to move. Like, how how cool is it that the Lord lets us be involved with what he's up to? Like, that's so awesome. And and you can have confidence in asking, knowing that you're not in control, but that God is.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think that knowing that you are doing a service to that person when you ask them as well. Yeah. You know, you are giving them I think about this. We're talking about budgets and community group the other night.
Speaker 3:Someone had this app, and it's, like, encouraging you to budget all your money. Like, put it somewhere. Right? Don't have, like, this unbudgeted funds. I was like, do we ever think about budgeting?
Speaker 3:Like, how much more could I give? Because I don't think that we're wired to do that in a human way, but what if think about asking for, like, a monthly gift for 4 400 and, like, what that inject into someone's budget. Yeah. Right? Every month, they're gonna have this thing hit their credit card or their bank account, and they're gonna drag that into that budgeting line.
Speaker 3:It's, like, you have the opportunity to take the 100% of someone's monthly budget and just chip away at it. And, like, let them do something more meaningful than you know, if they're gonna allocate every dollar and they have a $100 left, they're like, well, what else can I spend my money on? Right. Instead of saying, what else can I give my money away to? And that's why you, as a minister of not only the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the gospel of fundraising.
Speaker 3:Right? And, like, the the ministry of fundraising, if you will, which is a response to scripture, what God has told us to do with our money. That's that's the opportunity you have. Yeah. So That's
Speaker 2:awesome, Jeff. Well, thank you so much for sharing today about just some of the keys to in person fundraising to just how to share the story. People give to people, man.
Speaker 3:No. Thank you for giving me a chance Oh. To respond to God's call on my life for my money.
Speaker 2:Of course.
Speaker 3:I get money to forerunner over the years.
Speaker 2:Of course. And if you are tuning in to this podcast, you probably got something to do with mentoring. And you can't mentor without mentors and money. So fundraising is important. If you don't take away one thing from this episode, let it be this, you can mentor.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Have a great day. See you.