Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

Table of Contents

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

Assessment Pack

/ Assessmentspage
Sharing Common Values
by Pete Sommer...... 2–3
A Variety of Sources
by Scott Kirby...... 4
Making Your Case
by Pete Sommer...... 5
A Better Donor Letter
by David C. Forward...... 6
Outside the Box
by Greg Asimakoupoulos...... 7
Fanning the Flames
by Richard Lewis...... 8–9
How Tall Are the Hurdles?
by Paul Borthwick...... 10
Honest and Above Board
by Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission...... 11
Additional Resources
Further Exploration...... 12
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Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ Sharing Common Values
Short-term missionaries and their donors should share the same essential values.
1 Corinthians 1:10

All gifts come with strings attached; what matters is that those strings are values that you hold in common with your donors. Use this assessment to find out how in touch we are with the values of our donors.

Does our ministry stand for a value personally important to donors? Do we know… / We know / We’re learning / We don’t know
How they see the world /  /  / 
How they became believers—if they are believers /  /  / 
Their educational experience /  /  / 
Their vocations /  /  / 
If they have children /  /  / 
Where they spend money, time, and talent /  /  / 
What joys and tragedies they have known /  /  / 
Does our work make a difference in the lives of people?
Do we know… / We know / We’re learning / We don’t know
How their gifts help advance the values they hold /  /  / 
If the giver shares the vision and accepts the values of the ministry /  /  / 
If the need for their financial support is obvious or will make a substantial difference /  /  / 
Whether their ability to give is properly assessed /  /  / 
If they are confident their contributions will be managed well /  /  / 
If there is recognition of their support with public acknowledgment /  /  / 
Whether there are concrete results that are visible because of their giving /  /  / 
Do donors have a sense of ownership? Do we know… / We know / We’re learning / We don’t know
What kind of relationship they want with the causes they support /  /  / 
What kind of relationship they have with the missionary /  /  / 
Whether they volunteer with the organization /  /  / 
Whether they expect to meet with leaders, hear from people affected by the organization, or get regular newsletters /  /  / 
Does the case for your ministry makes sense? Do our donors know… / We know / We’re learning / We don’t know
What God has called our organization to do /  /  / 
That it has a credible plan to reach its goal /  /  / 
What’s being asked of the donor and why /  /  / 
Why funds are needed at this time /  /  / 
Who else endorses the work /  /  / 

Discuss

How does the demographic mix of your church affect the values held by its people? How well are we reaching each of our demographic groups?
Do we have a statement of values in writing to show our donors? Why would this be a good idea?
If we are unsure of the values of individual donors, how can we learn what these values are?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ A Variety of Sources
Why keep dipping into the same well when we can seek help in multiple ways?
Numbers 7:3

There are four general sources of funds for short-term missions. How often does our church utilize these sources or methods?

Individuals pay all or part of their way out of their own pockets.
oftensometimesnever

Projects are fully or partially funded from the church mission budget or from special offerings.
oftensometimesnever

Here are some common practices:

Percentage. The church might normally grant a certain percentage of the cost—anywhere from 10 percent to 100 percent.

A set amount. The church might give all team members, regardless of the cost, a certain predetermined set amount.

Scholarship according to need. These awards are given for the balance needed after team members have first sent out a prescribed number of support letters in a timely manner.

First-timer scholarship. Set a scholarship percentage or flat amount for first-time short-termers.

Special offerings. This may be in a particular church service or ongoing through the use of envelopes in the church seats.

Pastor and church staff. Pastors and church staff who go on trips are often funded directly from the church missions budget or from another church budget source.

The church stages fundraisers.
oftensometimesnever

These fall into three basic categories:

Sell things: Flowers, wrapping paper, pumpkins, discount coupon books, yard sale items. and so on.

Sell services: Babysitting, housework, yard work, general house maintenance, car washes, and so on.

Sell food: Bake sale, men’s cake bake, spaghetti dinner, romantic formal dinner, pancake breakfast, chili or barbeque cook-off, dinner with your mission destination theme.

Missionaries ask others to help through support letters.
oftensometimesnever

—Scott Kirby; adapted from Equipped for Adventure (New Hope Publishers, 2006). Used with permission.

Discuss

What percentage of short-term mission funds comes from each category?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of people paying 100 percent of the cost of their own mission trips?
Which of these categories raise the most money for our short-term missionaries? Why?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ Making Your Case
Each short-term missionary should follow these guidelines when communicating with donors.
Acts 13:3

Short-term missions work best when the short-term missionary gets sent. It’s hard to do this without a local church. This means that the missionary must take certain steps to establish a good relation with donors. Does each missionary follow the essential steps to develop and maintain this relationship?

I understand the church’s fundraising guidelines.

If working with an agency, I use its fundraising materials.

I ask for support far enough in advance of the trip.

I frame my case as a project. (What’s the need? What will you do to help meet the need?)

I have put all the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of my networks on a master list.

My trip budget includes important one-time charges such as travel, costs of an orientation program, supplies, and a budget to transport them to the field.

My budget has a dollar figure based on the percentage of time needed to accomplish each segment of the project. This includes the cost of food, housing, insurance, and materials.

I have not under-budgeted. I have taken my minimum budget and added 20 percent to each line item.

I have sent a first letter to potential donors explaining the project.

I plan to send at least one letter from the field every six weeks I am there.

I will send a report letter after my return.

I will send a handwritten expression of thanks to every donor.

If I am to be gone more than a summer, I have a volunteer stateside to manage my mailing list.

I have recruited a prayer leader who will gather a small group each month to pray for me.

Discuss

Does our church have a set of fundraising guidelines for short-term missionaries? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such guidelines?
How far in advance of a trip should missionaries begin to seek funds from the church and its members?
Why is a budget listing time spent on each segment better than one that lists the stipend, expenses, and overhead?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ A Better Donor Letter
Are the fund-raising letters we send focused, personal, and compelling?
Proverbs 25:25

A popular method of raising money for short-term missions is for team members to write to friends, family, and even other church members, asking for support. Crafting such a letter is both an art and a science. Use this assessment to evaluate the skill level of your fundraising letters.

The elements of a successful fundraising letter include: / We’re doing well / We need to work on this
Keeping your letter to one page /  / 
Making it personal, not a form letter /  / 
Discussing in advance with your team how to avoid sending more than one request to the same person /  / 
Using a P.S. (which always stands out and is often read first) that contains the deadline, the action you are seeking, and any specific amount you are requesting /  / 
Avoiding long words and sentences. Shoot for words averaging five letters and short, conversational sentences and paragraphs free of technical or jargon words /  / 
Mentioning dollar amounts several times in the letter /  / 
Going beyond quoting Scripture and sharing statistics /  / 
Telling the story of why your mission team is going /  / 
Sharing the dreams of your team /  / 
Visualizing the need by describing the people /  / 
Telling potential donors how they can help you reach those goals /  / 

Your best chance of getting mission funds is to ask for them in the right places. Your mailing list of friends, family, and church members is the right place. And the results, after proper preparation and prayer, will show God’s involvement in your ministry.

— David C. Forward; taken with permission from The Essential Guide to the Short-Term Mission Trip Moody Publishers, © David C. Forward, 1998.

Discuss

What is the best short-term mission fundraising letter you have seen? Why was it successful?
How could these elements of great letters be used to improve in-person funding request presentations?
Who else could be included on a mailing list besides friends, family, and church members?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ Outside the Box
Is our church supporting missions fundraising from a large enough pool of ideas?
Romans 12:2

I have noticed that the following ingredients have combined to create enthusiasm for missions in my church.

The Example of the Pastor
My family and I took a six-week leave of absence to volunteer among the Eskimos of Western Alaska. This helped our church learn that the Great Commission is doable. If our family (small children and all) could brave the frontier for six weeks, so could theirs.

Which of our pastors and staff have taken such a trip?

Early Education About Missions
Our church has programmed missions awareness into our children’s ministries. During the year our Super Church (ages 4–9) channeled its weekly offerings and prayers toward mission projects of their choice. Our Vacation Bible School included a mission focus.

How have we involved our youth like this in missions?

Missions Trips for Youth
An increasing number of our kids in junior high school and high school prefer going someplace where they can make a difference in their world versus having a good time at a comfortable conference center.

Where have our youth taken these kinds of trips?

Regular Publicity for Short-Term Missions
Ever since we returned from Alaska, we have trumpeted the need for volunteers in Nome. In my conversations, newsletter blurbs, sermon illustrations, and flyers in the narthex, I have kept the opportunity for service before our people.

How have we publicized short-term mission activities?

Adoption of a Project
People need to sense that a project is possible. For our church, this has meant adopting a Mexican village. Through numerous visits, our congregation has discovered a means of hands-on involvement with national Christians on a regular basis.

Has our church adopted a missions project? Where?

Discuss

How could each of these activities be used to boost overall funding for short-term missions activities?
If our church has not engaged in any of these activities, where would be a logical place to start?
What other missions “angles” could be used to raise enthusiasm and funds? What have other churches in our area done in this regard?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ Fanning the Flames
Is your church on fire for short-term missions giving, or ready to pour water on the idea?
Exodus 35:21

Short-term mission work does not have to be boring. But churches can be prone to attitudes and behaviors that dampen or ignite enthusiasm for missions. How often have we seen these attitudes in our church?

Sprinkle Out the Exposure
Dampener: Have missionary speakers every six weeks or so, which keeps missions before the people, but can also make the topic overly familiar.
Igniter: Use one special series on the topic a year: the missions conference. For 51 weeks your church is geared for that one week in November.

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Blend Missions with Other Emphases
Dampener: Include missionary presentations with many programs that have nothing to do with missions.
Igniter: Make your mission presentations be the main attraction as a ministry of special importance.

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Use Missionaries to Raise Other Church Funds
Dampener: Invite presentations on missions when there is little in the church budget earmarked for that topic, or to raise funds for other purposes.
Igniter: Adequately fund missions in the budget and make sure presentations are targeted to that particular line item.

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Involve the Young
Dampener: Missions are “adult” activities that only include adults.
Igniter: Find ways for kids to learn about short-term missions and the mission field. For a missions conference, assign each Sunday school department a particular mission field and then have the children present a short program on their topic.

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Meet the Missionaries
Dampener: Have your short-term missionaries only speak in the formal Sunday service, where they will have a few minutes.
Igniter: Take every opportunity to let your people know their missionaries, including presentations to classes, at missions conferences, and one-on-one (including in homes).

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Give More Than Money
Dampener: Limiting “fundraising” to hard currency.
Igniter: Encourage donors to do something personalized for your missionaries. You could list needs for a trip on a whiteboard and ask donors to purchase the items, and then erase that item from the board.

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Discuss

Considering all the items above, what is your church’s cumulative “heat index” rating for short-term missions giving?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of concentrating missions exposure to a yearly conference, rather than spreading it out over the entire year?
During our yearly budget discussions, how excited are we about funding short-term missions?

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions/Assessment

Fundraising for Short-Term Missions

/ How Tall Are the Hurdles?
Every church faces obstacles to missions comprehension and fundraising.
2 Corinthians 6:3

The task of building a vision for short-term missions in the local church is full of obstacles that demand unique solutions. There are four main varieties of obstacles that can prevent people from giving to missions. How tall are these hurdles to jump for your church?

low / medium / high
The Task Is So Big
The person in the pew will shun missions simply because the task is mind boggling. This person thinks, what difference could my puny efforts make in the total picture? So they shy away from it, believing their own worlds are the only places where they can make a difference. /  /  / 
Zealots Poison Attitudes
There are often a few in the church who catch a vision for missions and become totally devoted. But these people can also be problems if their energies aren’t directed. Zealots can aggravate the problem of missions being perceived as only for the specialists rather than a church-wide challenge that involves every member. /  /  / 
Missions Seems So Outdated
Franklin Graham wrote that as a young person, his impression was that missionaries were people who were “always out of style.” We all know the stereotypes: out-of-focus slide shows with a predictable closing sunset shot. /  /  / 
It’s So Easy to Give Up!
It can be hard to get people interested in being world Christians when other needs nearby distract our attention. With all the pressure to be more community minded or to attend to pressing needs at hand, it’s easy to give up on a missions emphasis. /  /  / 