Fundraising doesn't need
to feel ackward or icky.

Donors need relationship and ministry far more than we need their money. If we don’t see ministry to the donor as our higher calling, our donors are destined to be mere objects and the connection between them and our ministry will be sadly unsatisfying.

Donors of all sizes deserve to know the difference they are making. Henri Nouwen reminds us that fundraising is all about creating a relationship between those who have resources and those who need them, in order to advance God’s Kingdom. 

“We will find ourselves begging for money and they will find themselves merely handing us a check,” he writes. “No real connection has been created because we have not asked them to come and be with us. We have not given them an opportunity to participate in the spirit of what we are about. We may have completed a successful transaction, but we have not entered into a successful relationship.”

The Three Characteristics of the Cheerful Giver: Fundraising as Ministry outlines the key desires of donors and how churches can meet those needs.