Fundraising for churches

Graham Richards: Richmond Archdeaconry Children’s & Youth AdviserGraham Richards: Richmond Archdeaconry Children’s & Youth Adviser

Pennies from Heaven?

An introduction into fundraisingfor churches


Most important lesson of the session:

Why do people support charitable causes?

Because someone asked them!








The second lesson is similar:

People are more likely to give, and give more, when asked by someone they know…

…so ask others to ask others to ask others…


The third point to learn is that:• Fundraising is all about Passion• Passion is what sells the need to the

potential donor• If those asking are passionate about

their cause, they will express it• Help people to feel that they “own” the

project too• They need to feel that it represents

their values & beliefs


So what have we learnt so far?

• The most important thing is to ask

• People like familiarity, that is, to be asked by people they know

• We need to be passionate about our cause

• We need to help people identify with our cause


A few glossary terms I might slip in without thinking:

• Warm contacts = people with some connection to us

• Cold contacts = people we have no previous links with

• ROI = return on investment (You can only raise £ by spending £)

• Any others – stop me and ask!


Let’s look at the very basics, where you have to start from before raising funds:

•What are you fundraising for?

•Equipment?

•Activities?

•Staff?

•Facilities (capital projects)?


How much do you need to raise?

• How much have you already raised from within the church community?

• The total needed will determine what type(s) of fundraising you need to undertake

• Is it all needed at the same time?

• Can it be phased in stages?


• What is the project’s timescale?

• When is it needed by?

• What progress has already taken place?

• What are the stages the project needs to go through?

• Is there a deadline for making decisions?


What is your evidence base?• What quantitative evidence do you have for your

project?– Numbers/statistics/costs/future forecasts/etc

• What qualitative evidence do you have for your project?– People’s views, opinions and beliefs– Gathered through interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, etc

• You need to show clearly your sources for the above (how you gathered the evidence)

• Have you carried out a STEP analysis? (These are external factors beyond your control)Social

TechnologicalEconomic

Political


What are the projected outcomes for your project?

• Quantitative & Qualitative

• Need to show clear outcomes

• Need to show how this evidence will be collected & measured

• Need to present this evidence after it has been gathered (i.e. Annual Report, newsletters, updates, etc)


What is Plan B?


Basics two:• Who are your target audiences?• You need to identify who the people are you are going to

approach for funding. This may vary according to the type of funding you are after. For example:

• Large capital projects: Trusts, wealthy individuals, corporate businesses, landfill tax credit companies

• Medium-sized projects: Trusts, wealthy individuals, regional businesses, landfill tax credit, other significant individuals

• Small-sized projects: local trusts, local businesses, your own church membership, the local community (neighbours, schools, organisations


A useful tool to help identify who all your stakeholders and potential donor targets are is this:


Types of FundraisingThree of the most common types of fundraising:1. Trusts• These specific types of charity give grants to other charities• They each have a Trust Deed

– Determines their criteria for making grants– Says what they can and can’t fund– Look for those who state: “General charitable purposes”– A few will give to religious purposes, most specifically say they don’t

• Use the services of your local Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) to find trusts– Most offer a “FunderFinder” service (for free or a small charge)– It matches your need criteria to trusts’ grant-making criteria

• There is a right way and a wrong way to write Trust applications– National average rejection rate is 90%– One third of applicants are ineligible!– If in doubt, seek professional advice and support


Types of Fundraising2. Major Donors• This refers to wealthy individuals who can be

approached to make a significant donation• It is a highly specialised area of fundraising• Unless you have someone managing your campaign

who either has warm “rich” contacts or knows people who know them, seek professional help

• These people, along with trusts can make or break an appeal

• An appeal only goes “public” once a significant proportion of the funding has been raised


Types of Fundraising3. Events• What most people associate with fundraising• They take a lot of time and money to put on and

the ROI (return on investment) isn’t usually that good compared to trusts, major donors, etc

• They are needed in the public phase of an appeal as part of the getting people onboard

• However, they are great for smaller fundraising projects & can be very creative!


4. Don’t forget to

• Worth an extra 28p per £1 (will go down to 25p per £1 in April 2011)

• You can only ask for it if you are a registered charity or church with charitable status


Fundraising books and online servicesFundraising for Churches by Jane Grieve (now Revd Jane Grieve)Pub: SPCKFrom: www.amazon.co.uk used from as little as 1p + p&p!Successful Fundraising by John BaguleyPub: Bibliotech BooksFrom: £13.50 on www.amazon.co.ukCapital Campaigns by Trudy HaydenPub: DSCFrom: £17.59 on www.amazon.co.ukMajor Donor Fundraising by Margaret M Holman & Lucy SargentPub: DSCFrom: £21.80 on www.amazon.co.ukFind the Funds – a new approach to fundraising research by Christopher CarniePub: DSCFrom: £4.50 used on www.amazon.co.ukThe Porcupine Principle & other fundraising secrets by Jonathan Farnhill Pub: DSCFrom £4.50 used on www.amazon.co.ukThe directory of Grant-making Trusts 2010 -2011Pub: DSCCost: £125

Check out the Directory of Social Change’s online bookshop at: http://www.dsc.org.uk/PublicationsA great source of books on all aspects of fundraising, project development & management for charities and voluntary groups


Online Trust Databases• DSC’s www.trusfunding.org.uk is an online database

with annual subs starting at £287.88 for one user• FunderFinder’s similar service is at: http://

www.funderfinder.org.uk/gin.php You need to subscribe to Groups in Need (GIN) and not their PIN service. Costs £185 + VAT for up to 500 browser sessions. They also offer a handy 24 hour unlimited search option for £10 inc VAT

• (Don’t forget your local CVS may have FunderFinder and offer a service to local voluntary organisations)


Fundraising – the Christian approach• There are strong biblical precedents to follow:

– Tithing– First Fruits– Regular Giving– Sacrifice

• If the fundraising you need to do is to repair the church building, then that is a public matter. The community “own” the local church, not the Christians* who use it. *They themselves are The Church. So go public, ask the community to support your appeal.

• If the fundraising is for something that The Church wants to do, it is a spiritual, Christian concern. We should not expect Joe Public to foot the bill.It is up to The Church members to raise the funds, mostly from within The Church (locally or nationally).

• If the project has community implications too, that is, the local community will share the benefits of the project, then it is fair to ask them to support those aspects that they will benefit from.


The first example of regular committed fundraising?

Paul motivates his church donors

As he travelled round the eastern Mediterranean on his missionary journeys during the 50s AD, Paul heard about the severe famine that was affecting Jerusalem. So he appealed to the different churches to collect money to send off. In his first letter to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 16, 1-4) he asked them to set aside a proportion of their income each week, so he would get a better result than a single one-off appeal. He explained that this is what the church in Galatia (central Turkey) was already doing - and that was a much poorer and war-torn region than the prosperous Corinth seaport.

In his second letter (2 Cor 8-9) Paul provides a much lengthier theological rationale about Christian generosity and the grace of God. This time he compares the Corinthian’s initial efforts to those of the churches in Macedonia (northern Greece), even though the latter were also suffering ‘extreme poverty’.


Learning points

1. A clear fundraising objective – the relief of the famine in Jerusalem.2. Using comparisons with other fundraising groups (churches) – peer pressure.3. The sacrificial giving of churches despite being in hardship and poverty.4. Using regular (weekly) giving to build up a bigger final total. 5. Putting fundraising first in people’s spending priorities (‘On the first day of every

week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money…’ And, ‘Give first to the Lord.’)

6. Developing the ancient Jewish tradition of giving a proportion of income (‘a sum of money in keeping with your income …’ . Jews were taught to give a variety of donations to God’s work, including the regular tithe (10 per cent of income) and other one-off or annual gifts.

7. Thanking the Corinthians for their past generosity – and encouraging them to do even better in future.

8. Providing someone reliable (Titus) to oversee & take the collection to Jerusalem.9. Encouraging the Corinthians to send their own people to Jerusalem to monitor that

the money was spent effectively (accountability).10. Teaching that donor’s gifts should be motivated by God’s generosity in providing their

physical wealth and well-being, and spiritual salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.


Giving Volunteer Fundraisers Ideas• There are lots of other causes with some amazing pages on their website giving ideas for their

fundraising volunteers. Why not have a glance through a few before coming up with your own ideas... here are some of the best I have found:

• Blue CrossAn A-Z of fundraising ideas for their event fundraisershttp://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/Fundraising/AZFundraising.asp

• Youthnet20 general fundraising ideas (including Social networking)http://www.youthnet.org/getinvolved/challengeevents/fundraisingideas

• MacmillanHave a little green book of fundraising ideas... downloadable from..http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Fundraising/FundraisingIdeas/FundraisingIdeas.aspx

• Red Nose DayIdeas in a nicely presented way for their 2009 eventhttp://www.rednoseday.com/do_something/fundraising_ideas

• World Lane TrustAnother list of 20 ideashttp://www.worldlandtrust.org/education/top20.htm

• Princes TrustAnother handy listhttp://www.princes-trust.org.uk/support_us/fundraise/fundraising_ideas.aspx

• Charity ChallengeOne of the most comprehensive lists comes from Charity Challenge, the active event companyhttp://www.charitychallenge.com/pdf/A-Z_of_Fundraising_Ideas.pdf


Thank you for coming

I’m happy to answer questions afterwards if there is time

Fundraising for churches

Self Improvement

Transcript of Fundraising for churches