Any fundraiser today that is doing his work by some "rules of thumb" is soon without work.

Our craft is based on on-going testing of everything from matching gifts to size of fonts.  Every file is a little different from another.  Segments within a list are different.

We do far more testing in a month than these guys did to write this article. If someone wants to know what works in fund raising they should invest in the right database and people who can establish the tests, read them, and help drive strategy.

And by the way, tax rates under Bush are lower than they were in the 70s, and giving is at an all time high.

I've operated by a fairly simple, maybe too simple, maxim in my experience with Churches and non-profits.  I believe money follows vision.  Gimmicks may have some measurable impact in terms of enticing behavior.  When you're looking for regular contributors, not just hit and run type stuff, the key is to lay out a vision clearly that people can grasp, see as possible and desirable and then will get behind and want to be a part.

People don't get excited about giving to meet a need if they don't see that need tied to a vision.

Sitting in the pews for the past few years after having been involved on the inside has only helped reinforce this for me.  My own Church is having difficulty meeting the expenses of a recent expansion done after a major building project which itself was underfunded.

Recently they published in the bulletin, a list showing the number of giving units in the church and the ranges they give in.  Guess what it showed?  Over half the giving units in the church give nothing or less than $1,000 per year.  Apparently the motive was to shame those not giving into giving more.  Maybe it will have some impact, but I doubt it.  The impact may even be negative if some of the larger givers see the reality of most of the others in the church not carrying their weight.  The reality is that this is true of all churches and pointing it out without reaffirming and telling the story to people as to what they're giving for, has little value.

Media based ministries I understand are operating on a different model.  The goal is raise the funds necessary to keep the broadcast in place (assuming that's the model in place) and the vision is circular back to the show itself.  People either have to see the benefit of the program to themselves (teaching, encouragement, personal growth, a sense of being a part of something greater than themselves, etc.) or they have to raise to the level of seeing a gift accomplishing something they can't that they value, such as reaching others with the gospel, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, etc.

It's not hard to see what the models in some ministries are.  Proffer a theology that giving to God (who apparently is personally associated with that ministry) will plant a seed to release blessings in your life (financial apparently) and you have God as the formulaic coke machine.  Put a dollar in and get $100 back.  Not hard to see the motivation there as to what makes people give in that context.

Guilt and Shame can make people give, for a while anyway, but that doesn't seem to match the Biblical appeal for a cheerful giver.

I still believe it ties to vision and how effectively that vision is communicated, assuming that it is a worthwhile vision that people get excited about.  How well that measurea against the methods in this article is another matter.

Today an email went out that we are $33K in the red, and almost three months behind in our rent.  The church will fold before summer if God does move a lot of hearts and money.

Everyone wants what they want, but they don't want to pay for it.

 You can do all the gimics you want in fund raising with premiums and recognition, motivate with guilt, panic and fear, the real problem is we aren't teaching Biblical Stewardship and our responsibilities to give!  Check out Deuteronomy 10:14!  Great ownership passage.  Or Philippians 3:20 for where our focus should be!  I hope your church makes it and the people step up!

Just a thought. Tom

During this time of economic difficulty, what does the NT say about giving?  First off, John the Baptist said give to one another if you've got an extra coat or meal.  Hm… One another.  Then Jesus said to love God and each other, sort of with co-equal emphasis.  Yet NEVER, NEVER, NEVER have I heard this simple concept preached about giving.  It's always…. give to the preaching machine!  Not much is said about giving to each other.  So… wouldn't the earth be more heavenly if we regularly gave (and received) from plain old each other?  If we did this, we might be led of the Spirit to directly give to some neighbor who prayed to the same Great Spirit for help.  Works for me!  But the Big Preaching Machine, how is it going to give that coat, meal, car, job or love to my neighbor?  And when I need something like that, how is that Big Preaching Machine going to give me the same?  Answer:  We can actually help each other, perhaps, a lot more than the Big Preaching Machines can, but they are so consumed in self-interest, they might never tell you this fact.  There's a lot of facts based on common sense and on scripture that the Big Preaching Machine ignores due to self-interest.  So the biggest revival wake up call is not the unwashed masses, it's the unwashed, self-interested Big Preaching Machines.  For example, the Big Preaching Machines disavow the OT when it conflicts with self-interest concepts they promote from the NT.  But they reverse gears and bring out Malachi 3:10 to bolster tithing as a FIXED rule.  But the Big Preaching Machine seldom if ever quotes Christ in his three red-letter denouncements of people who tithed wrongly, showing that tithing is not a FIXED blessing.  So a good place to start in analyzing fund raising in Christianity is to review what Christ was modeling in maturity for us moderns.