Taking Baby Steps and Big Steps to Invite Generous Partners into Your Mission to the Campus
1. Develop ATTITUDES that develop connections between you, alumni and friends, and current ministry:
-Be curious about the history of your school and ministry.
-Be generous (to students – small scholarships & tell the source)
-Be grateful and make that gratitude contagious with your students.
-Be prepared to pass the baton (“Your vision should outlast your tenure.” David James).
-Be a planter.
Where do you fall?
“If given $50,000, would you lean toward hoard it or now is the time to spend it all?
“I can ask anyone for anything or asking scares me to death?
2. Understand common EMPHASES of development professionals:
-Raising support begins with clearly knowing and communicating the purpose of your ministry and calling of your life.
-Right now there are people who believe in what you are doing and these people would give to meet needs and fill gaps, if they knew about those needs and gaps.
-Few people give money because of publicity, but fewer give without it.
-Do an annual ask (like a case statement or campaign) because this creates the habit of giving.
-Your most likely donor candidates are those who have given before.
-Commemorate and celebrate people, history, and milestones.
3. Develop ACTIONS that engage givers with opportunities to invest in what you are doing:
-Visit, find a connection in the alumni office of your university.
-Do Detective work to find alumni (asking past staff and alumni).
-Alumni and friends newsletters
-Identify past givers.
-Google map alumni, plan individual (or group) alumni visits.
-Identify upcoming needs and a “dream big” list.
-Develop a giving invite for 2020.
-Identify, enlist “champions of your cause” (possibly advisory board, Matrix, etc).
-Plan reunions – by class, region, sports, big events for anniversaries.
-Website – add giving option, “gift test” your site.
-Build, update your database – noting givers.
-Cultivate monthly givers (How can I help?/Direct ask).
-Thank you’s.
-Parent letters
Adapted from a presentation by Darrell Cook, Baptist Campus Minister at Virginia Tech, to the Arkansas Baptist Collegiate Ministers on January 26th. Virginia Baptist Convention Campus Ministers must now raise a portion of their salaries.
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