Three Toxic Phrases Good Fundraisers Never Use

By Scott Morton

Last week, I accompanied a missionary friend I am coaching on a fundraising appointment. As I listened to him present his dazzling vision, it occurred to me that I did not hear the three toxic phrases. It was refreshing.

How about you? Do these toxic words come out of your mouth or your computer?

1. “Share my need”
Though popular among missionaries, this phrase communicates you are looking for charity rather than an investment in your calling. The word “need” lowers fundraising to getting your bills paid. Good fundraisers ask partners to join them in their dazzling vision—not to meet “needs.” “Need” connotes desperate circumstances. You might get a one-off sympathy gift, but you will not get a serious commitment.

2. "Give to me (or us)”
Asking donors to “give to me” implies the gift is horizontal; however, biblical giving is vertical-for the advance of the Kingdom. In 1 Chron. 29:9, we find a tiny, overlooked phrase. Can you spot it?

“Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced.”

The phrase “to the Lord” is key. Biblical giving comes from that which God has put into our hands and is given back to Him—vertically. Your giving goes to heaven. I say, “Will you pray about a gift of $_____ to $_______ for this discipling ministry God has called us to?” This puts my appeal (and their decision) as an invitation to Kingdom ministry and not a gift of charity to me.

Besides, in the U.S., the government has decreed that charitable gifts are controlled by the mission agency to be distributed according to their purposes. That’s an additional reason not to ask “for me.”

3. "Any amount is fine"
Don't undermine the asking range you have already suggested. It communicates desperateness.

In your fundraising, do you give people a specific amount to pray over? You should. If you don’t suggest a specific amount or don’t have a clue as to why you suggested that amount, then you are leaving money on the table. After the donor has said, “Yes, I will pray about it,” I say, “Thank you! However God leads you is just right.” My favorite verse on giving is 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Every man (person) as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Whatever you do, I hope you give as unto the Lord with a cheerful heart. When I use this language, my donor friends invariably nod their head and sit back in their chairs seeming to say, “Makes sense.” Even their body language relaxes.

Summary: I’m not implying that successful fundraising relies upon avoiding certain toxic words. We’ve all said goofy things and still the donors gladly gave. Let’s keep in mind 1 Corinthians 14:8: “If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?” Was that taps? Or reveille? Or are we supposed to charge? Hmmmm…

JANUARY 2011

Does This Look Familiar?

Support Raising Symposium
(for Support Raising Coaches/Trainers)

When I Stopped Asking for Money, the Money Came In!

I have been a full-time staff worker in Japan and the U.S. for many years, but I mistakenly thought I was doing funding ministry because I needed money. I confess that I felt uneasy and slightly guilty asking for money to meet my needs. I sometimes even felt like a welfare case. I’m sure others sensed my tenseness and detected my true motive.

Things began to change when I started seriously meditating on the funding passages in the Scriptures. Scott Morton and I began to help Japanese Navigator staff with funding. Scott had us do a significant amount of Bible study on funding before we got together. And when we met, we meditated deeply on passage after passage to see what the Bible says about funding. As a result, in my daily devotions, I began to run into passages about funding ministry. I saw timeless principles of funding that I had not seen before. Slowly, I realized that I am not begging for money to pay my bills. I am inviting friends and acquaintances to co-labor with me in the greatest challenge in the world—advancing the Kingdom!

One helpful Bible passage was 1 Kings 17, where Elijah asked the starving widow to put God first by investing in God’s work. When she responded by faith, out of nowhere, God provided for the widow and her family for a long time. The widow learned if she put God first, God will visit her with blessing. Also, I saw that when I invite friends to join me, I am not “burdening” them. Biblically, it is an honor to become partners with what God is doing. Rich and poor alike can participate.

The more I meditated on these Scripture passages, the more freedom I felt, and the more relaxed I became. My ministry partners feel relaxed also. As a result, more friends are joining our support team.

Yuji Uno-san works with Scott Morton in coaching Japanese Navigator staff in funding ministry. He and his wife, Sumie, are reaching and discipling the Japanese in Los Angeles.

Betty Barnett YWAM	Ellis Goldstein Campus Crusade	Scott Morton The Navigators	Mike Riggins North American Mission Board	Steve Shadrach SRS Editor The Bodybuilders

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