There’s Significance in Numbers

By Ruston Pierce
Fundraising and Capital Campaign ManagerThere’s Significance in Numbers  

Are you struggling to make your annual fund or end of year giving campaign meaningful? Long-standing giving campaigns can tend to get dry or monotonous over time. They become obligatory, and it’s difficult to keep them as a focal point for your constituents. Lack of excitement leads to apathy about supporting your giving program. Apathy toward supporting your mission is a difficult obstacle to overcome.  

All schools with established giving programs run into this issue. It’s a normal problem to tackle. We try to re-invent our annual funds to make them exciting. We use graphics and visuals to enhance our giving programs. However, sometimes we are just putting lipstick on a pig. Our families are over it. They don’t always understand why our annual fund matters. They ask questions about the purpose, or they don’t support it because it’s just white noise to them. We have a hard time explaining how our giving programs support our mission in tangible ways. 

Schools without established giving programs sometimes aren’t sure where to start when building an annual fund, or even just determining what to ask people to give to support their school. They feel awkward asking for money above and beyond tuition. Administrators sit in meetings and make excuses for why they should not have to ask for support. The fear we have in taking the first step to asking impedes our growth as a school. It also limits our ability to truly tell people why our mission matters.  

There’s an interesting solution that is being used around the country. The goal of any giving campaign is to create supporters who are passionate about your mission. Most missions in Christian schools revolve around people. Because of this, wouldn’t it make sense to create our annual giving program theme based around something of significance to our people?  Instead of asking people to give an arbitrary amount to your annual fund, why not tell a story and ask them to give a number of significance from that story?  Some examples are below: 

•  A beloved, veteran teacher is retiring. The annual fund ask could be that person’s total years of service.

• The school is celebrating a milestone anniversary. The annual fund ask could be the total years of existence.

• Your school wants to start a special needs program that will support 75 students. Your ask can be for an annual or monthly gift of that amount to support this program.

• You are starting a building campaign. The new building will increase your enrollment by 275 students. Tell the story of how those 275 lives will be transformed as a result of coming to that building every day and use that number to support your mission.

• Your students recite a certain scripture every year in chapel. The verse has become synonymous with your school. Use that reference number to tell that story and create an annual fund to advance your school’s spiritual formation program.

• Our Board members have a combined 67 years of service. In honor of the servant leadership our Board has demonstrated to protect the mission of our school, we would like to ask all of our families to consider a gift to the annual fund of $67.

 Be creative! What is unique or important about your school to your constituents? Don’t be afraid to tell your story and expect people to want to support your mission.  Have confidence that God brings people who want to support your mission. I love this quote from Henri Nouwen about giving in his book A Spirituality of Fundraising:  

“When we approach fundraising in a spirit of gratitude, we do so knowing that God has already given us what we most need for life in abundance. Therefore our confidence in our mission and vision, and our freedom to love the person to whom we are talking about donating money, do not depend on how that person responds.  

In this way, gratitude allows us to approach a fund-raising meeting without grasping neediness and to leave it without resentment or dejection. Coming and going, we can remain secure in God’s love with our hearts set joyfully on the Kingdom” 

 Don’t let your preconceptions about asking effect your constituency’s ability or desire to give. Confidently approach the ask with gratitude knowing that God will supply all that we need. Show your constituents all the areas of your school that enforce your Kingdom mission and make you special. Joyfully celebrate those areas by finding numbers that illustrate them and use those numbers to drive excited support to your mission! 

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