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Part One | The Socratic Ministry of Major Gifts Fundraising — Transcript

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0:00Hello, friends. Welcome. My name is Doug
0:02Bows. I'm with Canopy and I'm your host
0:06for this webinar today, the Socratic
0:08Ministry
0:10major gift fundraising with Professor
0:12and Dr. Russell James. Um as you each of
0:16you registered for this webinar, we
0:18invited you to share a biggest challenge
0:21that you face in donor conversations.
0:24And I spent time reading every response.
0:28There were hundreds of them.
0:30What stood out to me, and I think it's
0:32so fascinating, very few of you were
0:34asking technical questions about things
0:37like
0:38charitable gift annuities or
0:41charitable lead trusts or how to sell a
0:44how to sell a business [snorts] and and
0:45help a donor or help a donor make that
0:47transaction happen.
0:49What you all said overwhelmingly were
0:51things along the lines of confidence,
0:53knowing what to say, how to have
0:55conversations that feel genuine and
0:58rather than transactional. One of you
1:00simply said or used the word nerves.
1:03Another said, "I have a fear of being
1:05rejected by the donor."
1:07A third used the word timidity in terms
1:10of their approach to asking donors to
1:12make major gifts.
1:14I got to be honest, frankly, I just
1:15appreciate the humanity of those
1:17responses. We all want to be and feel
1:20like we are experts in our field, but
1:22the reality is often that I think we
1:24wonder if we even measure up.
1:27I think you'll find that is exactly
1:29where Dr. James' research has something
1:31unique to offer today.
1:32Uh just a word about Canopy. We have
1:34served faith-based nonprofits from a
1:36variety of Christian perspectives and
1:38traditions since 2003.
1:41We also serve many of what we like to
1:44call values-based nonprofits in a wide
1:46range of sectors including colleges and
1:48universities, animal welfare, hospice
1:50organizations, affordable housing, and
1:53so much more. Uh we're a plan giving
1:55growth company and our mission is
1:57enduring impact for every nonprofit. Uh
2:00we believe that happens best through the
2:02power of gifts in the will,
2:04and is really accomplished through
2:06long-term vibrant donor relationships.
2:09Since our founding, we've helped
2:11nonprofits like yours add over 2 and 1/2
2:14billion to their legacy pipeline.
2:17As folks continue to log on, I have just
2:19a couple of housekeeping items. There's
2:21two buttons to be aware of at the bottom
2:22of your screen. Uh one of them is a chat
2:24window. I'd love to invite you to open
2:27that and engage with each other as we go
2:29along. And in fact, I have a prompt or a
2:31question uh to get that going, and I'd
2:33like for you in a word to say, what do
2:36you hope to leave from today's webinar
2:39with? So just one word, what do you hope
2:41to leave today's webinar with? I'd love
2:42to hear from you. You can start putting
2:44that in the chat right now. Um and yeah,
2:47just look forward to seeing what's
2:48there. And then secondly, there's a
2:49question and answer box at the bottom of
2:51your screen. We have set aside some time
2:53for questions at the end of the
2:55presentation. So if you have a question
2:58you'd like addressed live, I invite you
2:59to put that in the question and answer
3:01box, and we will address as many as we
3:04can in the time we have at the end.
3:06And then yes, this webinar is being
3:08recorded. A recording's going to be made
3:11available to everyone who registered for
3:12the webinar. So if you have teammates
3:14who aren't available to be here live,
3:16you have an opportunity to share that
3:17with them.
3:19Uh great to see the words that are
3:21showing up here. Confidence, I see a few
3:23times. Knowledge, tips and tricks,
3:25conviction, I love it. Ideas, questions,
3:28reinvigoration.
3:29So great to see those words popping up
3:32and to hear from you that way.
3:34Well, it is my pleasure to welcome back
3:38our guest today, Professor and Dr.
3:40Russell James. Uh for some, he needs no
3:43introduction.
3:44Um but a LinkedIn connection of mine in
3:47the industry recently hailed him as the
3:49Taylor Swift of plan giving, which is a
3:52name I think he says he's willing to at
3:54least try to live up to. I don't know
3:56quite he can say more about that.
3:58But I also learned this year that he
4:00likes to run ultra marathons, which
4:02means you run multiple marathons over
4:05many days. Um So uh
4:08love great to hear about that. But when
4:10he's not trying to emulate Taylor Swift
4:12and he's not running marathons, uh he's
4:14doing his thing as a chair professor in
4:17the School of Personal Financial
4:18Planning at Texas Tech University.
4:21Uh and there he directs on-campus and
4:23online graduate programs in charitable
4:25financial planning.
4:26Um he's also the author of several books
4:28including The Storytelling Fundraiser,
4:30The Epic Fundraiser, The Primal
4:32Fundraiser, The Socratic Fundraiser,
4:34which we're going to talk about today,
4:35um Inside the Mind of the Bequest Donor,
4:37and Visual Planned Giving.
4:39Uh Dr. James has worked as the director
4:41of planned giving for Central Christian
4:42College in Moberly, Missouri prior to
4:45this role um for 6 years and then later
4:47served as president uh where they
4:48completed two major capital campaigns
4:50and more than tripled enrollment.
4:52Dr. James, welcome. So glad to have you
4:54here. Thank you for being with us today.
4:57>> Well, thanks so much. I appreciate the
4:59opportunity to share and I'm uh looking
5:01forward to sharing some ideas on the
5:03Socratic Ministry of Major Gifts
5:06Fundraising. Now, let me start out by
5:08saying that uh as Doug mentioned that we
5:12are going to uh record this and uh
5:14everything that I share, I share for
5:16free. Uh and so uh
5:19the reason I say that
5:21is we're going to be bouncing through a
5:23lot of ideas and a lot of slides in a
5:26very short amount of time. Now, part of
5:28that is my fault because look, folks,
5:31I'm here at a university. I teach the
5:33TikTok generation. If I don't change
5:35their visual field every 30 seconds,
5:38they're gone. So we will be bouncing
5:40through a lot, but do keep in mind that
5:43all of this is available uh in as deep
5:46of a dive as you might have interest in.
5:49Uh, all
5:50that is free at
5:52encouraginggenerosity.com.
5:53That includes Biblical Fundraiser in
5:55Modern Practice, The Biblical Fundraiser
5:57in Ancient Words, also Joyful Wealth
5:59Management Series, and The Socratic
6:01Fundraiser as Doug mentioned. Now,
6:02that's the secular version of what we'll
6:04be talking about today. Uh, but this is
6:07not what you're going to get today. You
6:09will not be getting the secular version.
6:12So, let's talk about from a scriptural
6:16perspective, what is our goal?
6:20Well, unfortunately, we've got this word
6:21fundraiser that was invented in English
6:23in the late 1800s. Uh, it just means
6:26money getter, right? Fund is money and
6:28raiser is getter. It's not very helpful.
6:32Um,
6:34it's uh,
6:35look, every occupation gets money,
6:37right? Doctor, lawyer, drug dealer,
6:39prostitute, farmer, whatever. But, that
6:41says nothing about the work itself. So,
6:43I think fundamentally, to do the right
6:44work, we've got to start with the right
6:47goal.
6:48So, so what's the right goal?
6:51Well, I want to argue that uh, God wants
6:54a specific kind of giving. Uh, so if we
6:58look at New Testament passages, God
7:00clearly wants joyful giving, right? So,
7:03in 6:17, we get party time enjoyment. In
7:072 Corinthians 9:7, it's hilariously
7:09joyful, hilaron. Acts 20:35, it's happy
7:12and blessed. In 2 Corinthians 9:8, it's
7:14a three times super hyper contentedness.
7:18And then 2 Corinthians 8:2, it's
7:20overflowing from the abundance of joy.
7:23But, not only does God want joyful
7:24giving, God wants joyful giving from the
7:27heart. Of course, we see this in 2
7:29Corinthians 9:7, each one must do as he
7:31has decided in his heart, not
7:33reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
7:35loves a cheerful giver. This is nothing
7:37new. You can go back to Exodus in the
7:39capital campaign for the tabernacle. God
7:42said to Moses, "Tell the sons of Israel
7:43to take a contribution for me from
7:45everyone whose heart moves him. You
7:48shall take my contribution."
7:51Moses then later said to them, "Take
7:53from among you a contribution to the
7:54Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart is
7:57to bring as the Lord's con-
7:59contribution." Uh when we had the
8:01capital campaign to celebrate uh the uh
8:03temple uh generations later, then the
8:06people rejoiced because they had offered
8:08so willingly for they made their
8:11offering to the Lord wholeheartedly,
8:14and King David also uh rejoiced greatly.
8:18Uh so again, God wants joyful giving
8:20from the heart. Now, in the New
8:22Testament, a generous gift uh the word
8:25is haplotas. Uh it actually doesn't mean
8:28necessarily a big gift. It means
8:30reflective of the heart. That word means
8:34sincere, single-hearted, simple.
8:36Literally, it means not folded. Now, in
8:382 Corinthians 6:18, donors are directed
8:41to be rich in good works. But this word
8:44for good actually means beautiful as an
8:48outward sign of the inward good, noble,
8:52honorable character. Good, worthy,
8:54honorable, noble, and seen to be so.
8:57All right. So, to this point in the
8:59presentation,
9:01I'm hoping that I'm getting some head
9:03nods at this. Like, yes, okay, we we
9:06know this. This is uh uh this is the
9:08idea. This is um uh you know, these are
9:11the uh the things that we're attempting
9:13to accomplish. Um but here's now where I
9:17get uh a little bit more stepping on
9:20people's toes.
9:23This
9:24is not a them problem.
9:26It's an us problem.
9:29God wants joyful giving from the heart.
9:31If this is not the goal of our
9:34fundraising,
9:36then we're doing it wrong.
9:38Do you regularly consider
9:40what gift would be most enjoyable for
9:42this donor?
9:44What gift would best express their
9:46personal values, life story, or internal
9:49identity?
9:50Is that what we're doing, or are we just
9:52money getting?
9:54Look, let me get really offensive here.
9:57If you've got a budget, and you've got
9:59line items in the budget, and you know a
10:02donor who would be really excited to pay
10:05for this specific line item in the
10:06budget, you've got a major donor who's
10:09interested in that,
10:11it's a little bit more hassle for you to
10:13say, "Okay, this money does this." But
10:15from an accounting perspective, it's the
10:16same as unrestricted
10:18gifts, because you're going to spend
10:20that money anyway.
10:22If you're not willing to go through that
10:24extra step
10:26to allow this donor to fund this
10:28particular item of the budget because it
10:30would more directly reflect their heart,
10:34and would be more joyful for them,
10:37that's not a them problem.
10:40That's an us problem, because we don't
10:43have the right goal for our ministry.
10:45So, what am I saying?
10:47Quit blaming the donors and start
10:50ministering to them. This is the
10:52greatest frustration that I have when it
10:54comes to Christian ministry fundraising,
10:57is you get this idea that, "Well, if
10:59only our donors were better people, then
11:01they would give more, and they would
11:02enjoy it more. How do we make them
11:05better people?"
11:06No.
11:07Wrong.
11:09How can I provide joyful giving
11:12opportunities that reflect and grow the
11:17positive aspects of my donor's heart?
11:20You see, this ministry process
11:22identifies those good, honorable, or
11:24noble features of a person's inward
11:27character,
11:28their identity.
11:30It then connects those identity
11:32characteristics with a beautiful,
11:34visible, outward impact. That's the
11:37philanthropic victory.
11:39And it uses this connection to motivate
11:42the action. That is why they will accept
11:45the challenge. Because that promise that
11:48challenge will promise a victory, and
11:50that victory will be personally
11:51meaningful for them because it connects
11:53directly back to their identity, to
11:56their heart.
11:58How do we get to joyful giving from a
11:59heart? Well,
12:01we start with the positive aspects of
12:03their heart. This is their character
12:04identity from their values, their
12:06people, and their life story.
12:08We help build a giving outcome, a
12:10victory that is a joyful expression of
12:12their heart. This helps grow those
12:14positive aspects of their character
12:15identity, and then we encourage or
12:18challenge them to make that happen now.
12:20So, let's start with the positive
12:21aspects or heart or character or
12:24identity of the people we're trying to
12:26motivate. Who did this? Um here's a guy
12:29who did this.
12:31Paul, when he was before the pagan Greek
12:32Areopagus, so Paul stood in the midst of
12:35the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens,
12:37I see that you are very religious in all
12:39respects. For while I was passing
12:41through and examining the objects of
12:43your worship, I found an altar with the
12:44inscription to an unknown god.
12:46Therefore, what you worship in
12:47ignorance, this I proclaim to you now."
12:50Understand, Paul was not excited about
12:53all of these objects of worship. He was
12:55really upset by it, but he used that as
12:59a way to start with
13:01this is a positive characteristic of
13:03their identity. Let's start with that
13:05positive characteristic and then use it
13:08to motivate them to the positive action.
13:11He does this all the time.
13:13King Agrippa, I consider myself
13:15fortunate that I'm about to make my
13:16defense before you today, especially
13:18because you are an expert in all customs
13:21and questions among the Jews. We start
13:23with their identity. Oh, or for before
13:25Felix, the governor of Judea, noting it
13:27for many years, you have been a judge to
13:30this nation. I cheerfully make my
13:32defense. Or even when he's trying to
13:34motivate Timothy to stay committed, how
13:36does he start? He starts with Timothy's
13:38identity. For I am mindful of the
13:40sincere faith within you, which first
13:43dwelled in your grandmother Lois and
13:45your mother Eunice, and I am sure that
13:48it is in you as well.
13:50We actually see this in what I've
13:52written a couple of books about now,
13:54which is the ministry to the wealth
13:55holders in 1 Timothy 6:17 through 19.
13:59But notice how it begins with their
14:02identity. They are in the continuing
14:06they are continuing in the ongoing
14:08process of being not high-minded, not
14:10above or separate from the fellowship
14:11community. Also, their life history
14:13values. They have already in the past
14:16not set their hope in the uncertainty or
14:17hiddenness of wealth, but on God. It
14:20also looks at the identity based upon
14:22their values.
14:23God is the one who richly supplies us
14:26with all things for the purpose of
14:28enjoyment. Now, the fundraising in 1
14:32Timothy 6:17 directs that we are to
14:36paraangelate.
14:37Paraangelate. Now, that is a two-part
14:40word, compound word. Para means to come
14:42alongside, right? If you've ever heard
14:44of paraclete, Holy Spirit, come right
14:46alongside.
14:48And then angelate, that's angel,
14:50authorized messenger. We are coming
14:53right alongside the wealth holder with
14:55an authorized message. We have that
14:57confidence because it is an authorized
14:59message.
15:01Now, I notice that one professor speak
15:03describes this word in not in noun form,
15:05explains that it can take on the mild
15:07sense of exhortation or counsel. And
15:10that actually fits the way that Paul
15:11does his fundraising back in 1
15:13Corinthians 8:8. He he starts with
15:17I am not saying this as a command and
15:19continues with I give my opinion in this
15:23matter for this is to your advantage.
15:26And I love one translation of this verse
15:28reads, but in this matter I give you an
15:31opinion for my doing this helps forward
15:35your own intentions. I think that's a
15:38great description of what the fundraiser
15:40does. So how do we do that as a
15:44fundraiser? Well, here's an idea.
15:46Ask some questions. One thing is even
15:49more powerful than telling this story to
15:51the donor, it's getting the donor to
15:53tell this story about themselves. So
15:57here's what we want to do. We want to
15:59ask questions and I'm going to give
16:01those to you here in a moment. We want
16:03to ask questions that elicit the donor's
16:07identity connections. Now when I say
16:10identity connections, those are going to
16:12be people, values, and life story.
16:16So we're going to elicit those identity
16:18connections with perhaps very broadly
16:21with generosity, with impact. Maybe then
16:24gradually we will in this sort of spiral
16:27will connect them with a specific cause
16:29or maybe an organization. Then we can
16:31connect them with a specific project or
16:33work within the organization. We review
16:36and confirm each step in the cycle at
16:38the proposal and then we reference each
16:41step in the cycle at the end point,
16:44which is the ask itself.
16:47So this is kind of this ongoing spiral
16:50conversation.
16:51This is these steps in this story are
16:54repeated, circular, and our Socratic
16:57fundraising progresses from broad
16:59general ideas, uncovering where their
17:01heart is, to then specific narrow as to
17:05the kind of impact that they want to
17:06make.
17:07Now before we jump into the questions, I
17:09want to do one more dive into scripture
17:11and that is Hebrews 10:24 directs this,
17:16which is a good encouragement for
17:18fundraisers, let us think of ways to
17:21motivate one another to acts of love and
17:25good works. That's the exact same phrase
17:29that we see in that fundraising passage,
17:32the major gift fundraising passage of 1
17:34Timothy 6:17-19.
17:36This is the same beautiful good works
17:38reflecting the inward good character
17:41that we see there. So, what are we
17:44supposed to do? We are to spur on one
17:48another, stir up one another, provoke,
17:51encourage one another. Now, this word
17:55for
17:57the a cognate of it is a provocation,
18:00which literally jabs, cuts someone so
18:04that they must respond.
18:07That's a pretty aggressive position, and
18:10yet scripture says that's what we're
18:13supposed to be doing in order to
18:15motivate one another to these acts of
18:19love and good work.
18:21So, I want to take a bit of a deeper
18:22dive
18:23because this word for let us think of
18:27ways, or let us consider,
18:30what is what does it mean? And again,
18:33just lifting these definitions from a
18:35dictionary. So, the Greek word means
18:38properly to think from up to down to a
18:41conclusion, to consider exactly,
18:43attentively, decisively, to concentrate
18:46by fixing one's thinking. But, here's
18:48what I missed for years.
18:51What are we thinking about in this
18:53intensive way?
18:55This verb
18:57actually motive modifies one another.
19:02We are thinking deeply about the other
19:05person
19:07for the purpose of motivating them. Now,
19:09in English, it's a bit clunky. So, it it
19:12actually is more like these translations
19:14and let us consider one another
19:18in order to provoke love and good works
19:19or the KJV and let us consider one
19:21another to provoke onto love and to good
19:24works. This is deep thinking about this
19:27individual person.
19:29What would motivate or encourage or stir
19:32up or provoke this particular person?
19:36Let me put it in simple terms.
19:39The key to major gifts is not to better
19:44explain your mission.
19:47It's to better understand
19:50the donor's mission.
19:52And then we can understand perhaps how
19:55they might use our organization as their
19:58instrument of impact to help them
20:01accomplish their philanthropic mission.
20:06Okay, so let's get practical. What are
20:08the steps in this Socratic fundraising?
20:10We want to justify asking questions,
20:13then we want to ask questions that
20:14connect to the donor's identity,
20:16history, people, and values. Then we
20:19want to help the donor to define a
20:20personally meaningful philanthropic
20:23victory. Finally, we're going to ask
20:25questions that make that challenge. How
20:28do we justify asking questions? Well, it
20:30can be very straightforward. I'm
20:31interested in your story. That's a
20:33social motive or hey, I need your help
20:35or advice. That's an honor or impact
20:37motive or I can help or advise you. I'm
20:40providing value. We want to ask
20:42questions that connect the donor's
20:44identity and help them to define a
20:46personally meaningful philanthropic
20:48victory. So, we ask opening questions,
20:51then we'll follow up, we'll confirm
20:53after reflective statements that we are
20:55getting the right idea, and then we're
20:57always spotting solutions. Where should
20:59they be more involved in our ministry?
21:02What particular uh funding project would
21:05would be most excited to fund? And then
21:07ultimately, we ask questions that make
21:09the challenge. We ask for permission to
21:11ask, permission to present some options
21:14for them to consider, and we continue
21:16the gift with the full story cycle,
21:19restating and confirming their identity
21:21connections, and then we finally make
21:23the ask.
21:25Now, since Doug mentioned that there was
21:27and also just seen a number of the
21:30comments here, some of the concerns with
21:32confidence, um let me just jump to the
21:35end here, folks. Let me just jump to how
21:38do I ask people?
21:41Number one, before we jump into this.
21:45How do I ask people for money?
21:49I want to suggest
21:51that that's not what you're doing.
21:54Okay?
21:56You're not asking people for money.
21:59You're asking people to do good things
22:03that happen happen to cost money.
22:05Okay?
22:06If you're just asking people for money,
22:08you're doing it wrong. If you're just
22:10asking people for money, you're just
22:11making a naked challenge. Give me money.
22:14We're so great. Let me tell you how
22:15great we are. Give us some money. No,
22:17no, no.
22:18We want to have the full story cycle.
22:20Now, we can do this before the ask. You
22:22know, we can confirm, describe those
22:25donors identity connections, why they
22:27care, why this
22:29philanthropic victory would be
22:30personally meaningful for them, how
22:32they've been connected to the cause, and
22:33you know, we can even show how, you
22:36know, this challenge ultimately will
22:38lead to this victory. You know, maybe
22:39that's a proposal document, why whatever
22:42the project is that's needed, why now,
22:44how exactly it will work, what's it what
22:46it's going to cost, but ultimately,
22:49you got to make the ask.
22:50So, how do you make the ask?
22:52I'm going to give you
22:54the three sentence ask that is the story
22:58cycle ask that
23:01makes sure that you have all of these
23:03elements where you are asking them to do
23:06good,
23:07not just asking them for money.
23:10Now, I'm going to make this very
23:11formulaic, and I'm going to give you
23:12several examples of this.
23:14When it becomes formulaic
23:18and standardized,
23:20you get more confidence. It's like
23:22shooting a basketball, okay?
23:24If you're shooting a free throw, you
23:26learn how to do this by I'm going to
23:28bounce it three times between the knee,
23:30I'm going to go back like this, and
23:32every single time I'm going to do it
23:34exactly the same way. You don't get
23:37better at shooting free throws if every
23:39time you shoot, you're kind of
23:40freestyling it behind the head here and
23:42under the leg and all of that. No, no,
23:44no, no.
23:45I'm going to give you the rigid
23:47three-sentence
23:49sequence. Use it every time. Because if
23:52you don't, you're getting nervous, and
23:54when you get nervous, you start
23:55jabbering, and then the donor gets lost,
23:58and I don't know where where we're at
23:59now. Three sentences, max it at 15 to 17
24:03words.
24:04And it's going to have this structure.
24:06You're going to start with the identity
24:08connection. You have and then you
24:10describe the connection with the donor's
24:12identity. Then you're going to go to the
24:15victory question. You understand and you
24:18describe how that particular
24:20philanthropic victory that you're
24:22talking about today would be meaningful
24:23to them. And then you're going to
24:26connect the challenge you're making with
24:28that victory. Would you consider a gift
24:31of blank dollars to
24:33and then describe the impact. And then,
24:36by the way, hopefully you know this, the
24:37four step is always the same. Shut up.
24:40First person to talk loses. Okay, so let
24:43me give you some examples, and these are
24:44all going to be just simple secular
24:45examples here of how this might sound.
24:49Sentence number one. You have been a
24:51friend of this library for over 20
24:54years.
24:55That's the identity connection.
24:58Sentence number two. You understand how
25:00a new regional history collection would
25:02preserve our shared heritage.
25:05That's the victory connection. You see,
25:07it explains how that victory is
25:09personally meaningful to them because it
25:10connects back to their identity.
25:13Would you consider a gift of $50,000 to
25:16lead the campaign to make this a
25:18reality?
25:19That shows how the challenge that you've
25:22just now presented to them promises that
25:25personally meaningful victory. Let's
25:27look at some other examples.
25:30You have done so much to improve care
25:32for others since your own diagnosis with
25:34breast cancer. Identity statement.
25:37You understand how lives could be
25:38changed by offering free early
25:40screening.
25:42Victory impact statement.
25:44Uh would you consider a gift of $100,000
25:47to help fund next year's screening
25:49clinics? Identity statement.
25:52Yes, Jody. Uh there is uh everything I
25:55share for free, encouragedenerosity.com.
25:58If you want to get the slides
25:59themselves, this is part of the Socratic
26:01Fundraiser book, uh and you can go
26:03through it. It has all of this text. So,
26:05don't worry about keeping up. Just
26:06trying to give you a flavor for these
26:08things.
26:09You have always had such a heart for
26:11supporting the arts in this community.
26:14Identity statement. You understand how
26:16this new exhibition could make a real
26:18impact for art lovers in the whole city.
26:22Uh
26:22would you consider a gift of $50,000 as
26:26our lead campaign donor to make this
26:28happen? And last example, and then we'll
26:30move on. Uh uh from a university, you
26:34have been such a loyal alumnus of this
26:36department since you graduated years
26:38ago.
26:39You understand how important
26:40scholarships are in giving students the
26:42chance for an education.
26:44Would you consider a gift of $100,000 to
26:47fund a permanent named scholarship to
26:49help others like you become proud alums
26:51in the future.
26:53By the way, notice this was the first
26:55ask where they're actually entirely
26:57funding the item. All of the others,
26:59they're going to be a lead campaign
27:01donor, or they're going to help fund
27:03next year's or they're going to lead the
27:05campaign. So, it doesn't have to be a
27:07fully funded, but here's the thing.
27:09If you understand this is the goal, I'm
27:12going to make this story cycle ask,
27:15it kind of makes it foolproof. What do I
27:17mean by that?
27:18Let's suppose you're getting ready to
27:20have that donor meeting, and you're
27:22writing out your three sentence story
27:24cycle ask,
27:26and you realize, I don't actually know
27:29how this donor's personal story or
27:32values connect to the challenge I'm
27:34about ready to make.
27:36That you can't do step one.
27:38Or maybe you're just going in and you're
27:40just going to ask for money. You're not
27:41asking them to do good, you're just
27:43asking them for money. You're not
27:44promising a specific impact. Well,
27:47you can't do step three.
27:49And if you don't know why that gift's
27:51impact would be personally meaningful
27:53for this donor,
27:55you can't do sentence number two. That
27:57step two is impossible.
27:59So, the reason that I'm starting at the
28:00end
28:02is for you to recognize that if you're
28:04not ready to make the story cycle ask,
28:06you need to back up a step.
28:08We need to have some more conversations
28:10with this donor of capacity.
28:12So, let's get practical on how we do
28:14that initial step. What are these real
28:17world ways to make these story
28:19connections to from a scriptural
28:21perspective to help the donor understand
28:24their heart? What is the most personally
28:28meaningful philanthropic victory for
28:30them?
28:31We're going to look at 200 examples. So,
28:33that's why Jody, don't try to keep up. I
28:36just want to give you a flavor for
28:37these. These are all available for you
28:40for for free at
28:41encouragedgenerosity.com.
28:43But, in these 200 examples, and these
28:45are examples that are pulled from the
28:46most effective major gift fundraisers.
28:49Uh and so I I'll actually uh have uh
28:52citations to who I stole all of these
28:54questions from as we go through.
28:56But don't miss the point.
28:58This is a ministry to the donor. The
29:00goal is to open a ministry conversation
29:03with the donor. We want to help the
29:05donor discover their own most personally
29:07meaningful, enjoyable good works. We
29:11want joyful donors. We want joyful
29:14giving that reflects the heart.
29:16So, let's jump into it.
29:18Uh so, how do we connect with the
29:20donor's identity? Well, we've got to
29:21connect with their people, their values,
29:23or their life history. How do we do that
29:25with life history? Um so, here's an
29:27example. Uh we might ask about the cause
29:29or charity origin story. When did you
29:31first get interested in this cause?
29:33Would you mind telling me how you became
29:34connected to the organization? How did
29:36you first find out about us? What first
29:38brought uh your attention to our
29:40organization? Uh how did you first get
29:42involved with the organization? How did
29:44you get connected to the organization?
29:46Can you tell me what brought you to this
29:48charity in the first place? How did you
29:50get or come to be involved with our
29:51organization? How did you decide to
29:53first start supporting our charity? What
29:55first made you interested in supporting
29:57this hospital? What got you started as a
29:59donor to this organization? What led you
30:01to make your first gift to the
30:03organization? Where did We can ask about
30:05their philanthropy origin story. Where
30:08did you learn to give? How did you learn
30:09to be so generous? What's your first
30:12memory of an act of generosity? What was
30:14your first memory of when you knew it
30:16was important to give back and help
30:17those people or organizations in need?
30:20Hey, if you're at a school or camp, we
30:22can ask about that origin story. What
30:24are your best memories of your time at
30:26the organization? What experiences were
30:28most meaningful to you during your time
30:30as a student? What were your favorite
30:31moments as a student? What's your
30:33favorite place on campus? What was the
30:35best thing about your experience at our
30:37school? Did you participate in any
30:39activities while a student? Or of
30:40course, my favorite question, "Tell me
30:42about your favorite faculty member." Uh
30:45we can talk about the post origin story
30:47journey. "Tell me about your journey
30:49since you graduated from the
30:50university." "Tell me about your journey
30:52since you were first diagnosed." "Tell
30:53me about your journey since you first
30:55became involved in this cause." Um we
30:57can also ask about the cause or charity
31:00life history review. Um "How has this
31:03cause or charity been important in your
31:04life? Tell me your ABC charity story."
31:07"How has this cause or charity impacted
31:09your life?" "How has the organization's
31:11work affected you personally?" "What
31:13have been your past experiences with the
31:15organization?" "If you were to tell
31:17others about your care at the hospital,
31:18how would you describe it?" "What have
31:20been your most positive experiences at
31:22the charity?" "What is the most
31:23meaningful experience you've had through
31:25your involvement?" Now, folks, I'm
31:27curious as to your votes as to what your
31:31favorite type of question would be to
31:33connect with the donor's life history
31:37identity. So, if you're on the chat,
31:38just type in A, B, C, or D. Do you like
31:42A, the cause or charity origin story? Uh
31:45do you like B, the philanthropy origin
31:48story? Where did you learn to give?
31:49How'd you learn to be generous? Do you
31:51like the post origin story journey? Or
31:54the cause or charity life history
31:56review? And as we're seeing here,
31:58there's a lot of folks for A, a lot of
32:00folks for B as well. Um so, uh as and uh
32:04there's Greg with a D, cause or charity
32:06life history review. We're getting some
32:08more D's here as well. Uh back to an A
32:11for Tim. Uh we got a C finally. Thanks
32:13for that uh on that, Juliana. So, one of
32:16the things I want you to notice here as
32:18people are voting. By the way, I am an
32:20experimental researcher, so I'm actually
32:22experimenting on you now because I'm
32:23curious of this. But, is that there are
32:27different approaches for different
32:29people.
32:30What is the best approach?
32:32It's the one that you will feel
32:34comfortable using. You see, the donor's
32:36not the barrier here. You're the
32:38barrier. Your confidence is the barrier.
32:41Your comfort is the barrier. So, when
32:43you find the things these all are doing
32:45exactly the same story process. We're
32:48helping the donor to tell their story
32:52about their life history connection
32:55with that area that were that cause or
32:59philanthropy or the challenge. So,
33:02thanks everybody for jumping in and and
33:05vote voting for that. Yeah, Michelle
33:07said D works well for church giving. I
33:09think A, B, and C are determined by the
33:12donor or potential donor. Yeah, so so a
33:14lot of these might vary from donor to
33:16donor.
33:17Okay, so let's jump into the other
33:18thing. If we're not connecting their
33:19life history, we can connect their
33:21values. What inspires you to give? What
33:24inspired you to make this gift? What
33:26inspired your first gift? Have others in
33:29your life been affected by this cause?
33:31Is there anyone in your family who also
33:32cared about the cause? How has this
33:34charity impacted your family or loved
33:36ones? Have any of your family members or
33:38close friends been involved with our
33:40organization? We can ask about
33:42philanthropy people connections. Did
33:45your parents or other family members
33:46support any charitable cause? Can you
33:48tell me a bit about who taught you to be
33:50generous or where your generous spirit
33:52comes from? What when you were young was
33:54there anyone whom you considered a role
33:56model for giving? Who are your
33:58philanthropic role models? Hey, you
34:00notice these philanthropic these people
34:02connections as motivation for the
34:05challenge we're about ready to make? You
34:06know who else used people connections to
34:08motivate for the challenge he was about
34:11ready to make? Yeah, this guy. Remember
34:13those people connections getting ready
34:15to challenge Timothy?
34:17Talking about the people connections
34:19with that cause, right?
34:21We we can ask about
34:23other people connections. We can ask
34:25about giving motivations. Hey, broadly
34:27speaking, what is your rationale for
34:29charitable giving? What inspired you to
34:31create your donor advised fund or
34:33private family foundation? How does your
34:35giving reflect your values, your
34:36feelings, and your aspirations? Uh now,
34:39here's something that's scary for some
34:41people out there. Tell me about a few
34:43other causes you support. Why do you
34:45support them? Would you mind telling me
34:47about the causes that are most important
34:49to you? Do you typically give to the
34:50same nonprofits each year? Why do you
34:52support them? Where else do you give and
34:55why? Now, some of you are saying, "No
34:58way would I do this. I don't want to
35:01talk about other causes. I'm there to
35:02sell my product."
35:06Okay.
35:07Understand,
35:09we are trying
35:11to understand the donor's heart.
35:15Because once we understand their heart,
35:18we are an expert on our organizations.
35:22When I learn a bit more about what other
35:25causes they support, ah, they care about
35:28this subject. I bet this project that
35:32we're doing at their or at our
35:33organization would be particularly of
35:35interest to them. They need to come
35:37alongside and learn about what we're
35:39doing over here.
35:41You see, all of this unpacking of the
35:43values is helping us as experts on our
35:47own organization to understand where
35:49they might choose to use our
35:52organization as an instrument for their
35:55impact. But if we don't care what's in
35:59their heart,
36:01if we're just there to sell product,
36:05um then we'll never have these
36:06conversations because we're not doing
36:08ministry. We're just doing sales.
36:11This is why we ask,
36:13"Where does this organization fit in
36:14your overall philanthropic priorities?
36:16Where does our charity fall in your list
36:17of charitable priorities?" Because we
36:19want to understand their heart.
36:23Now, I've been talking about very
36:24specific narrow questions. We can be
36:26open-ended with this.
36:27Uh where it they could respond with any
36:29of these connections. Hey, do you mind
36:31if I ask, what is your connection to our
36:33mission or organization? How could we
36:35connect with you better? How would you
36:36like to be more involved? Is there any
36:38area within the organization you could
36:40see yourself becoming more involved? Or
36:42simply why us? Why do you give to this
36:44organization? Why do you support us?
36:46What's motivated you to be such a
36:47consistent supporter of the
36:49organization? Why have you been such a
36:51loyal donor? Why have you been so loyal?
36:53Why does what we do interest you? Why do
36:55you serve on this committee? What Why
36:56does this cause matter to you? What's
36:59the key thing that persuaded you to join
37:01our cause? Uh why do you care so uh much
37:03that you would sacrifice your time and
37:05invest your dollars to move this mission
37:07forward? Uh when you think about
37:09programs such as ours, what motivates
37:11you to support them? Or I love this one.
37:15I understand you haven't supported our
37:17cause significantly in the past. Tell me
37:19more about that. Notice,
37:22trying to unpack the donor's heart. What
37:25what is it that are those connections?
37:28Or of all the charities you could port
37:31support, why do you support us? And
37:33again, the idea is not for a magic
37:35question, it's to find the question that
37:38you are comfortable using, right? Find
37:41the one the flavor that you like. Now,
37:43again, what's the point?
37:46Does this process lead to major gifts?
37:49Absolutely, it does.
37:51But the real point is to create joyful
37:54giving from the heart. This process
37:58leads to the most enjoyable giving that
38:00accurately reflects the positive aspects
38:04of their heart.
38:06Now, let's define that victory.
38:08What good works will bring the most
38:12enjoyment to the donor? What good works
38:16are those that really reflect their
38:18heart?
38:20We can do this in a lot of ways. Maybe
38:22we define a global victory. What changes
38:25do you believe would make the world a
38:27better place? If you could change the
38:29world, what would you do? How would you
38:31like to make a difference in this
38:33community, in this world? Now, I'm Tom,
38:36I'm going to take that question that you
38:37put in there, and I'm going to narrow it
38:40to a philanthropic impact. In other
38:42words, I want to ask them what good
38:45works, what impact is it that motivates
38:49them?
38:50What would you like to pass on to future
38:51generations? As you look out to the
38:53future, what is the legacy you would
38:55like to leave? What positive difference
38:57do you want to make? Do you have any
38:59lifetime charitable goals? Tell me about
39:01those. If there were no restrictions on
39:04you, what would you like to do
39:05philanthropically? In the best of all
39:07possible worlds, what would you do to
39:09support our charity? If you could do
39:11anything for this organization, if the
39:13sky was the limit, what would that look
39:15like to you? If money were no object,
39:18what would you like to see happen with
39:20our program?
39:21Folks, understand what we're doing here.
39:23We're trying to understand what is what
39:27would be the most joyful good works for
39:30this donor to to do. And yeah, Janet,
39:33we'll be sharing the recording, no
39:35problem. And I share all of my stuff for
39:37free at encouragedgenerosity.com.
39:39So, when we can just take away the money
39:41shackles
39:43and say, "Look, if money were no object,
39:46what would you doing that we're not now
39:48doing? What kind of an impact would you
39:49like your giving to have if money were
39:51no object?" We're thinking deeply about
39:54this other person in order to spur on,
39:58to motivate them to love and good works.
40:01That's why we define what is their most
40:04personally meaningful victory.
40:06What would be your dream gift?
40:08What change do you want to see because
40:10of your giving? What do you want to
40:11achieve with your charitable donations?
40:13What do you hope to achieve with your
40:14philanthropy? What would you ultimately
40:16like to accomplish with your
40:18philanthropy at our charity? What are
40:20your goals for your donor-advised fund
40:22or foundation? What are you trying to
40:24accomplish with your philanthropy and
40:26how might we help? As you think about
40:28making a difference with your
40:29philanthropy, what appeals to you most?
40:31What kind of an impact would you like to
40:32have on this cause or these
40:34beneficiaries? What are your goals for
40:36this gift? What kind of an impact do you
40:39want to make with your gift? If they
40:41already have a current scholarship
40:43endowment, what kind of an impact do you
40:44ultimately want it to have? Or have you
40:47thought about how you would like your
40:49planned bequest gift to be used? We can
40:52talk about, "Hey, a year from now, how
40:54how would you know that you made a wise
40:55move with your philanthropic investment
40:57in us?" If you're going to make a
40:58significant investment in the
41:00organization, a gift in the
41:02million-dollar range, what would you
41:03like to accomplish with that gift? Or
41:05why do you think this project is
41:07important to the community? Or this one,
41:10here's where I'm going to make people
41:11nervous. If you could change anything to
41:14better this organization, what would it
41:16be? Or you've been such a loyal member
41:18of the the organization family and have
41:20supported our mission for so many years,
41:23what are your dreams for where you'd
41:24like to see the organization go in the
41:26future? What are your long-term hopes
41:29for our charity and its mission? If you
41:30had ability to enhance or expand our
41:33organization's mission in a specific
41:35way, what would that be? What could we
41:36do to be more effective in the future?
41:39Where do you think we could improve our
41:40services or programs? Are there any
41:42thoughts you'd like me to take back to
41:44the share with our CEO, president,
41:46executive director? What could What
41:48could we do better in your opinion now?
41:51Some of you are getting frightened by
41:52these questions because the donor's
41:54going to ask to do something that we're
41:56not going to do.
41:57That's okay.
41:59We are in the process here of
42:01understanding
42:02what is that most compelling
42:06victory for the donor.
42:08And as we learn more about that, then
42:11maybe they have a suggestion that is
42:14something we're never going to do,
42:17right? If you could change anything
42:18about this organization, what would it
42:20be? Well, we're never going to do that.
42:22It's fine. We're learning about what
42:25they care about. Well, tell me about
42:27that. Why Why is that important to you?
42:29Because once we unpack those values, we
42:33are an expert on our organization, and
42:35we can start to think about, okay, they
42:37care about this. They want to make that
42:39kind of an impact. Now, we're not going
42:40to do that thing that they suggested,
42:42but over here, this project, that's the
42:46kind of impact that they would be more
42:48motivated by. Uh so, don't be afraid to
42:51ask these questions. Even if there was
42:54one thing you could change about our
42:55charity today, what would it be, right?
42:58We can just ask about their interest.
43:00What were your impressions of the tour?
43:01What intrigued you most? Is there a
43:02particular program that interests you
43:04most? Uh if you were to make a
43:05significant commitment, is there a
43:07particular area you'd you would want
43:09your uh gifts to uh support? Uh and uh
43:13uh what interests you personally about
43:14the problem we're addressing? What areas
43:16of the charity are you most interested
43:17in? What most excites you about this
43:20organization's work work in the world?
43:22Or a little bit more uh comfortable for
43:25you, maybe, what do you think we do
43:26best? What do you think is the best
43:28thing about what our nonprofit does?
43:30What contributions to the community does
43:31this organization make that are
43:33important to you? Or what's the most
43:34exciting thing you've heard about our
43:36institution recently? And then finally,
43:39uh what about What do you think about
43:41the opportunity? What's the most
43:42compelling to you about the project? Um
43:45what were your impressions of that
43:47event? Now, these are all different ways
43:50that they're trying to do the same
43:52thing. We're trying to help the donor to
43:55define their most enjoyable
43:58good works.
44:01We're not there to ask for money. We're
44:04there to ask them to do good works that
44:08happen to cost money.
44:09So, I want you to vote on this one
44:10again.
44:12What's most comfortable for you if you
44:14were having a conversation with the
44:16donor?
44:17Um and and if you want to just type in
44:19the 1 2 3 4 5 or 6 and you can actually
44:22pick more than one. But, I'm curious
44:24what folks like. We got a three and a
44:26five and also a two. Carly with a three.
44:28Finally got a seven. Thanks for that,
44:30Marine. You've read through the list.
44:32Kathy with a five. Loz with a two.
44:35Fours, twos, threes, a six. Folks, look
44:38at what is happening in the chat. We are
44:40getting an almost even distribution
44:43across all seven of these strategies.
44:47Notice and Andy, two, four, and six.
44:49Thanks for that. David, seven, four, and
44:51one.
44:53The point I'm trying to make
44:55is that as you are and continue to let
44:57me know what your favorites are here,
45:00notice how these are all doing the same
45:02thing. This is all the same ministry
45:06goal, okay?
45:09You need to do whatever's most
45:10comfortable for you.
45:12Whatever maximizes your confidence,
45:15that's the way to do it. Why?
45:17Because you'll do it, right? Again, the
45:20barrier here is not the donor. The
45:23barrier here is you. And so, if you
45:26overcome your confidence barrier to have
45:29these kinds of questions, to have these
45:31kinds of conversations, is that you will
45:34then be better at accomplishing that
45:37ministry goal. Remember that Greek
45:39phrase for good works, whether it be in
45:42the Hebrews passage to spur on one
45:45another to love and good works, or back
45:48to the major gifts fundraising passage
45:50of the ministry to the wealth holders in
45:521 Timothy 6:17-19,
45:54that's the same Greek phrase, good
45:57works, and it double emphasizes a
46:00personally meaningful impact. That Greek
46:03word for good is an outward sign of the
46:06inward good character. That Greek word
46:09for works, that is a deed or action that
46:11carries out or completes an inner
46:14desire. The Greek word that's usually
46:17translated as generous,
46:19I didn't mention that before, but that
46:20Greek word had never been applied to
46:23giving outside of the Bible.
46:26It means literally not folded.
46:29Not a false impression or a fake ID, the
46:31donor's giving reflects their real
46:34identity. Now, does this process lead to
46:37major gifts? Absolutely.
46:40But that's not the point. The point is
46:42to create joyful giving from the heart.
46:45We are using a process that leads to the
46:48most enjoyable giving that accurately
46:51reflects the positive aspects of the
46:53donor's heart. Um so, we can unpack
46:57these by asking the donor, "Does your
47:00philanthropy give you joy? What
47:02philanthropic gift has given you the
47:04greatest joy? How is that? What part of
47:07philanthropy gives you the most joy?
47:10Hey, what gift did you make that brought
47:12you the most joy? Why is that? Maybe
47:15tell me about some meaningful gifts you
47:16have made. How do you know when you've
47:18made a good gift? Give me a couple of
47:21examples of good gifts. Why do you feel
47:22that they were good? What means the most
47:24to you personally about what we do? When
47:27you look at your giving, be it your time
47:29or money, what captures your heart and
47:31your attention?
47:33What if this goal was accomplished for
47:35this campaign, what would that mean to
47:37you? What would it mean for you to make
47:38a
47:39an impact on this cause or to have an
47:42enduring impact? Or what makes giving a
47:45rewarding experience for you?
47:47Um again, which of these projects would
47:49be most meaningful or important to you?
47:52And you know, we can list those
47:53projects. Or hey, if you had the money
47:55to fully fund any one aspect of this
47:59project, what would it be?
48:01Now, we can also ask the passion
48:03question. Many fundraisers use this,
48:06especially in major in higher ed
48:08fundraising. What would you like to
48:10accomplish with your money that would be
48:12meaningful to you, right? What would you
48:15What do you want to do? What would you
48:17like to accomplish with your money or
48:19your giving or your philanthropy in this
48:21cause or at this charity that would be
48:23meaningful to you? These are the big
48:25broad questions that lead to the major
48:28life investment gifts. And those are the
48:30big broad questions that are
48:33They're ministry questions. We should be
48:36actually more likely to ask these
48:39questions than other fundraisers.
48:42Now, folks, these of course are just
48:43opening questions. The whole point to
48:46starting with these questions is to
48:47follow up, right? How do you mean? How
48:49so? How do you feel about that? Tell me
48:51more about that. What What's an example
48:53of this? Then we have a reflective
48:55summary and a confirmation. We're
48:58listening for those identity connections
49:01to our cause or our project or
49:03organization. And now we're going to
49:04summarize and confirm that. We're not
49:06going to summarize everything they said.
49:08We're going to summarize those things
49:11that make the connections to motivate
49:13them to those acts of love and good
49:17works. And then we'll say it back to
49:19them and confirm, making sure that's
49:21right.
49:22As we're having these conversations,
49:25that's when we're spotting solutions.
49:27We've been listening. We've been
49:28identifying connections. We've been
49:30confirming those connections. Now, we're
49:32going to match those with donor
49:34experiences or with the gift options,
49:36right? What are the experiences that
49:38would be most meaningful for this donor?
49:41Any particular programs, areas, or
49:43projects? And And then what about the
49:45ask itself? Should somebody else be
49:47there? Are there giving instruments that
49:49match? Maybe an endowment or charitable
49:51trust or an estate gift, or other
49:53instruments. And then, of course, before
49:56we make the ask, you got to ask to make
49:59the ask. This is not a drive-by asking.
50:01We're not asking for a pocket-change
50:03decision here. We're asking for a major
50:06life investment gift. So, that next
50:08step, uh before we get to the ask, maybe
50:10it's just, "Hey, come to an event, or
50:12take a tour." But, ultimately, we need
50:15to ask for permission to ask.
50:18"Would you be open to exploring ideas
50:21to"
50:22and then you describe the impact that
50:24they want to make.
50:26"Would you be interested to hear more
50:28about how you could" describe the good
50:30works that they want to accomplish.
50:33"Would you like to hear about some
50:34possible ways to" and then you describe
50:37that impact they've already told you is
50:39the most meaningful one to them.
50:41"We'd like to show you some ways that
50:43you can make that impact. Would you be
50:44open to hearing some of these ideas?"
50:47Or, "My job is to put together
50:49personalized options for you to
50:50consider. Would you mind if we set a
50:52time to look over some of those ideas
50:54together?"
50:55This is not a quick pocket-change
50:57decision. We need to set that next
50:59meeting, that's the proposal meeting, at
51:01which we're going to present some of
51:03these options. Um and by the way, if
51:06there's some financial objection, well,
51:08that's what Doug and the whole world of
51:11planned giving exist to overcome, right?
51:13They want to do that good work, but they
51:15say, "I can't because of this." Hey, we
51:17love those scenarios in planned giving.
51:20And then, we can present some uh some
51:22options uh for that uh in that. And
51:25ultimately, you know how it ends. It
51:28ends with that story cycle ask. And now
51:30we can make that story cycle ask because
51:33we know how it connects to their
51:36identity. What victory is personally
51:39meaningful for them, uh and why it might
51:42be. So,
51:43at this point, I want to make sure that
51:45we have time to open it up for uh any
51:48comments or questions and
51:51Doug I'll check back with you if there's
51:53anything that's been in the in the Q&A
51:58and
51:59or you're welcome folks you can put them
52:01into the chat put them in the Q&A but
52:03I'll let you organize that Doug.
52:05>> Wonderful Russell thank you so much this
52:08is just
52:09out of the park home run it's just so
52:11exciting to see those questions and and
52:13one of the things that I kept occurring
52:14to me as you were talking is every
52:16single one of those questions that you
52:19asked to help to get to know a major
52:21donor is the very same questions you
52:23could ask to get to know a potential
52:26gift in the will legacy donor they they
52:29just flow one from another and and in
52:31some ways there's the pool and and I
52:33know I'm preaching to the choir here is
52:35is even wider when we think about plan
52:37givers cuz there's so many more people
52:38who could include a gift in their will
52:40who might not even necessarily be able
52:42to make a major gift or a major
52:44investment at this time. So I think
52:47that's just wonderfully rich content
52:49that you offered and and
52:51>> And and Doug let me jump in and say one
52:53other thing that wasn't in the
52:54presentation but
52:56from some of the comments that people
52:58you said people had written in at the
53:00beginning and some of at the beginning
53:02that there is this nervousness now I've
53:04told you this is the steps that lead up
53:06to it this is how you make the ask okay.
53:09I want to change your thoughts about
53:12what happens after you make that ask
53:14okay. Because the way you're thinking
53:16now is
53:19well they either say yes or they say no.
53:21Right either they gave or they didn't
53:23give if they didn't give it was failure
53:24you come back what happened the donor
53:26said no.
53:27That's an end of the story.
53:30I would ask you to adopt Paul's
53:32language.
53:35In his language 2 Corinthians 8 and 9
53:38there are two outcomes for the donor.
53:41The donor is ready to give
53:45or they are not ready to give.
53:47When you adopt the scriptural language,
53:50notice what it does. If you come back
53:51from a meeting
53:53and you say the donor didn't give, well
53:55that's a dead end. Oh, sorry, move on to
53:57the next. If you come back from the
53:59meeting and you say, well, the donor
54:00wasn't ready to give.
54:02What does that do? At least it
54:03questions. Oh, wasn't ready to give.
54:05Well, well, why not? What's what's
54:06missing?
54:08When we get a no,
54:11we take that as a oh, the donor's not
54:13ready to give. I want to know what's
54:15missing. Identity, challenge, victory.
54:17So, let's walk through the things. Um
54:20So,
54:21the last time we talked, you were
54:24telling me how important this this
54:27organization was. Have you Have your
54:29feelings for the organization changed
54:31since then? Oh, okay.
54:32Um Well, and we talked about that you
54:35wanted to make an impact in this in this
54:37field. Do you feel like the organization
54:40wouldn't do a good job of making the
54:41impact? Is that No, no, that's that's
54:43not the problem, right? Um and then
54:45maybe it's a well, maybe it's just too
54:47much, you know,
54:49money at this time. Okay, well, great.
54:51Well, now we're going to start getting
54:53creative with solutions. Because if they
54:54wanted to happen, if it is in their
54:56heart
54:58and
54:59they are feeling like it's too much,
55:01okay, well, start with well, okay, can
55:03we do a four-year pledge? Doesn't have
55:05to be all up front. Or can we get more
55:08creative of of what's causing this
55:09barrier? Maybe a gift that creates
55:11income. So, okay, we can take care of
55:12that barrier. Or maybe a gift in a will.
55:14Or whatever the case may be. But you get
55:16the point that if we adopt Paul's
55:18language, the scriptural language,
55:21that there's only two outcomes from this
55:22ask. It is either the donor was ready,
55:25the donor was not ready.
55:27The donor was not ready, you want to
55:29find out why. Yeah, okay. That's that's
55:31great. Why why not ready? If they don't
55:33trust the organization, okay, let's put
55:35some instructions with that money to
55:36make sure it's going to do what you want
55:37it to do. Right? There's all sorts of
55:39these solutions depending upon what is
55:41uh what is missing. So, I say that
55:42because Rhonda's question here, uh the
55:44best way to ask someone why their
55:46donations have lapsed, um it's that same
55:48process. It's the okay, they're not
55:50ready to give again. So, tell me about
55:53that. Uh I notice it's been a while
55:55since we've uh we've connected. Um just
55:58wanted to see is is this a is this a
56:00cause that's um still in your heart? Is
56:02this, you know, something that uh has
56:04significance for you? Okay, so there's
56:05that identity connection, right? Um how
56:08do you feel about the impact that your
56:09gift would make here? Is there a concern
56:11that it wouldn't do much good? Or No,
56:13no, no. You know, and so then we can
56:15start getting to the parts of the story
56:17that are still there, and then we see
56:18which part is missing because when we do
56:20it that way, then we come alongside the
56:22donor, and now together we're working on
56:25this barrier that's preventing them from
56:27accomplishing their gift.
56:29>> Uh this is great. There's a few more
56:31questions that have come in both on the
56:33Q&A and on the chat. Before we do that,
56:35I want to give just a moment. We're
56:37going to put up a quick poll, and if you
56:39would like an opportunity to learn more
56:40about Canopy, you can check that um box.
56:42Or if you'd like to uh get connected
56:45with uh Professor James through his
56:46LinkedIn and his encouraged generosity,
56:48we will send you the link. He's already
56:50mentioned that earlier today, but um you
56:52have an opportunity just to stay
56:53connected to both both of us through
56:55that poll. Um we'll continue. I
56:57appreciate your uh dealing with Rhonda's
56:59question. Terry had a question um
57:03here. Has anyone seen successful
57:05conference formats where fundraisers
57:07role-play donor visits and gift
57:09conversations live, um including
57:11handling objections? Hearing those
57:13conversations unfold in real time seems
57:16far more instructive than simply
57:18discussing fundraising theory.
57:20>> Yeah, absolutely. So, the So, Terry, if
57:22I'm doing an in-person training, of
57:24course I force you to pick your favorite
57:26and ask your neighbor, and we go through
57:27all of this. But you make a good point.
57:29The reason that I want you to pick your
57:30favorite is not just to pick your
57:32favorite. I want you to practice it so
57:34that then practice it with your neighbor
57:36who's in the cubicle next to you. How
57:38does this sound to you? How does it How
57:39does it How does it feel? Um and in
57:41fact, if you literally will do this with
57:43other people at your organization,
57:46asking them about how they got
57:48connected, right? What What is their
57:51values, connections, all those sorts of
57:52things. They will enjoy that process.
57:54You will get better at that process. You
57:56will do it in real time so that you're
57:59not just discussing theory. When it
58:00comes to handling objections, um by the
58:03way, uh there's a whole chapter on that
58:05called congratulations, you got to know.
58:08Uh and uh so if you if you go to my uh
58:10website and the uh book The Epic
58:12Fundraiser, we have a whole chapter on
58:13that one. Uh and so um so for that,
58:17other people are also asking about What
58:18about doing this on the phone? What
58:20about doing this virtually? The format
58:22doesn't matter. It's always the same
58:23process. We do it on the phone, we do it
58:25face-to-face, we do it virtually. Uh
58:27it's always the same getting the donor
58:29to tell their story.
58:31>> Very good. Do I don't know. I mean,
58:33we're we're coming to the top of the
58:35hour. I wondered about doing a role play
58:38with you and I. We didn't practice this
58:39or anything. I have a charity in mind.
58:42Would that work?
58:44You and me?
58:45>> Oh, yeah. Go for it. Yes.
58:47>> All right. So, the charity I'm thinking
58:49of is uh one of my wife is on the board
58:51of. It's uh they provide housing to
58:53women coming out who've escaped a
58:55violent environment. They've been in a
58:57safe house for a period of time. Now
58:59they need help getting back on their
59:00feet. It's called uh Daffodil
59:01Ministries. There might even be someone
59:03from uh that ministry on the call today.
59:05Um
59:06I might be the uh Shall I I'll be the
59:09charity? Uh sorry, I'll be the donor and
59:11you be the the charity? Does that work?
59:13>> Yeah. So so a couple of the things um
59:15although I can't do that in in 30
59:17seconds.
59:18>> Yeah.
59:18>> What we want is we want the donor to
59:22feel what their gift does. So, if I was
59:25working for that organization, what I
59:27would say cuz you said, "We don't have a
59:28building. We're not going to name
59:29something like whatever." I was like,
59:31"So,
59:32this is the cost of operating this
59:34ministry for 1 day."
59:37>> Mhm.
59:37>> Um that cost covers the entire, uh you
59:42know, down to every paper clip, down to
59:44every late night phone call, down to,
59:46you know, uh food, places to stay, all
59:49of that.
59:50That that's the cost for operating this
59:52for 1 day.
59:55Um
59:56depending upon the level of the donor,
59:58maybe we talk about uh your monthly
1:00:00commitment of this amount would
1:00:04fund a day for, you know, over the
1:00:06course of the year would fund one of
1:00:07those days that you would be personally
1:00:09responsible for all of these things
1:00:10happen. Um now, if it's a different
1:00:12donor, I would say, "This is the cost
1:00:14for a day. This is the cost for a week.
1:00:16This is what it costs for the whole
1:00:18year, and this is the permanent
1:00:19endowment that uh would uh would fund it
1:00:22uh permanently." The point is that when
1:00:24we're describing that victory, we want
1:00:27it to be visualizable and tangible. We
1:00:29We're not just asking for money, we're
1:00:32asking them to buy good work. So, we're
1:00:35describing the work that they are
1:00:37buying. So, with that ministry, when we
1:00:40got to that point, I would describe it
1:00:42in terms of here is the work that you
1:00:45are buying. Uh over the course of the
1:00:47year, you have paid for um a an entire
1:00:50day of this operation or this segment of
1:00:52the operation. Just to make it more
1:00:54visualizable.
1:00:55>> Fan- fantastic. I love that. Well, thank
1:00:57you so much. I really appreciate this.
1:00:59For our listeners today, even saw a
1:01:01question in the chat about it, join us
1:01:03next month for the second part of this
1:01:04series, how to have biblical wealth
1:01:06conversations that inspire major gifts
1:01:08of assets. That's on August 25 at 1:00
1:01:11p.m. Look forward to seeing you there,
1:01:13but thanks so much for being with us
1:01:14today. Professor James, thank you so
1:01:16much for everything that you've shared
1:01:18with us. It is truly a gift, and we are
1:01:20grateful. Uh thanks, friends. Have a
1:01:22great day.

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