Fundraising for Christian non-profit organizations

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Before starting out on how fundraising should be done, it is important to understand thehistory of Christian fundraising. In the field there are two opposite poles of thought: Thosewho say organizations should never request donations and those who say thatorganizations should.Christian organizations in South Africa are often viewed by outsiders (as well as thoseworking within these organizations), as unprofessional in their fundraising efforts. Properplanning for the organization as a whole and in particular for its fundraising efforts is notdone. If this is the case and an organization is not effective in its fundraising, theorganization is doomed to failure because funds will not be forthcoming to do the work.In preparing for fundraising the most important aspect is effective planning. Experiencehave shown that, although most Christian organizations do day-to-day planning (and planhow the donations received will be spent on the work being done), very little time isdevoted to future plans. The organization also needs to embark on an encompassingstrategic planning exercise, which differs from planning in scope, importance, resourcecommitment, time frame and purpose.After preparing for fund raising the fund raiser must determine the sources of revenue. It isa misconception that the buildings, personnel and programmes of an organizationconstitute an organization. Those whom the organization 'serves are the heart of theorganization and it exists only because of them.From a Christian organization point of view, it is logical to assume that if a Christianorganization's primary goal is evangelism and missionwork, its constituency is alreadynarrowed down to mostly Christians. Only after the constituency has been identified canthe organization identify sources of revenue within their constituency. For mostorganizations there are three sources of revenue: Individuals, corporations and trusts, ofwhich individuals are by far the largest source of revenue for Christian organizations.If the fund raiser does not know how to cultivate those sources the organization will keepon struggling or even worse, it will not succeed. This is where many Christian organizations fail. They do not believe that methods used in business can also apply toChristian organizations. In fact many of them go so far as to say that these methods offundraising are wrong and un-biblical.Methods that can be used successfully within Christian organizations to solicit funds fromindividuals are relationship fundraising and personal support raising. On the other hand,the other method is applicable to obtaining revenue from a variety of sources: Specialevents, where many different sources are utilized to make the event a success. These-three methods are probably the methods most used in Christian organizations.It is imperative that the organization realizes that the diversity of funding is the secret offinancial stability. To be successful the organization needs broad-based, diversifiedfundraising, in other words, it needs to utilize all possible methods available - keeping inmind its Christian roots.Other methods discussed, to solicit funds from corporations and trusts and how to docapital fund raising, are technical and the organization may need professional help to makea success of it. Corporate and trust fund raising are methods that are source-specific, andwhich can be used only for a specific source while a capital campaign solicits funds from avariety of sources.In all these methods the strategic plan and in particular the case statement of theorganization is very important. Without those tools these methods cannot be used withsuccess.To be successful in these methods creative writing is a seminal aspect of fundraising, as itis needed in nearly every aspect. Without creative writing skills the organization is unableto communicate effectively and this has an inevitable impact on success rations.For Christian organizations doing fundraising in an environment where many secularorganizations use every means at their disposal to raise funds, no matter what the cost, itis sometimes difficult to make the right choices. Ethical decision-making goes muchfurther that just what is legal. It goes beyond the enforceable. It is a moral and religiousissue that needs to be addressed. Finally, it is important to mention that the organization that is serious about fundraising,has to create an environment that is both professional and positive.The empirical analysis aims to highlight implications of the findings of the study done onChristian organizations and the fundraising done within their organizations. If problemareas are highlighted these organizations can deal with it and improve theirprofessionalism - and thereby their successes.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University