Giving in the News: Lottery Winner Gives $3-Million Ticket to Church

A Long Island resident who won $3-million in the New York state lottery gave the winning ticket to a local church, reports the New York Daily News.

“My first reaction was stunned silence,” said Bertrand Crabbe, pastor of the True North Community Church, in Port Jefferson, who appeared at an announcement ceremony August 27 with state lottery officials. “After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I was just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.” Mr. Crabbe would not reveal the donor’s identity.

The church, whose windfall came courtesy of a $10 Bada-Bling scratchoff ticket, will receive at least $102,225 a year for the next 20 years, an amount that could increase if taxes are refunded because of the church’s nonprofit status.

Mr. Crabbe says he intends to purchase a bigger building for the church, which has grown rapidly in recent years, but will donate the first year’s winnings to other charities. A large portion of those funds, he says, will benefit Love 146, a charity in neighboring Connecticut that fights human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

About his parishioner’s charitable gesture, the pastor added, “I hope it inspires other people to be generous to their churches and to charities everywhere — especially in light of the economy.”

To Sell Or To Give?

By Connie Hougland

Likely, this is a question many of your supporters are challenged with more often than you realize – likely, even more than they realize.

You’ve heard us say it before – most giving is done in the form of cash (80%) while the wealth of the world sits in assets (91%).

So, what if more people realized they had the opportunity to invest in something they really care about – your ministry – beyond what their checkbook allows them to do? What if someone told them they could take their stuff – relieve them of the burden of having to sell – and turn it into Kingdom Capital?

You will see more stories in upcoming issues of this newsletter about some unique gifts we’ve had the opportunity to facilitate through SCCF/iDonate. But, let me give you a sneak peek:

• A box full of costume jewelry = $875 to a ministry committed to reaching Muslims for Christ and supporting the persecuted church.

• Star Wars/Battlestar Galactica/Star Trek collections = a Gen-X donor experiencing the joy of generosity and $1500 to Kingdom work.
• Antique Binnacle = $2500 to a local church
• Longaberger Basket Collection = nearly $11,000 to a local church
• Cars, boats, trucks and more = over $74,000 to charities the first 6 months of 2008

Remember, your supporters won’t know about the opportunity to invest in your ministry through non-cash and creative giving unless you tell them you can serve them in that area through your SCCF ministry fund and iDonate.

In future posts on Giving Solutions we’ll talk about tactics, techniques, and ideas for how to communicate and market non-cash giving to your supporters and grow giving to your ministry!

Connie Hougland is Vice President for Servant Christian Community Foundation

Fundraising Tips for Tough Times

by By Ashley High

Despite the economic downturn, a ministry’s fundraising does not also have to decline. In fact, Marc Pittman, founder of Fundraisingcoach.com, says weak economies can be very helpful to non-profits because the organizations are required to become more efficient. Here are three tips for making fundraising decisions in hard economic times.

Do not spend less on fundraising. Fundraising does cost money, however an organization will not make money if their fundraising programs are eliminated. Pittman says he conducted a survey and found that more money was raised when his organization sent out direct mail to more people and did not focus solely on those who were most likely to donate.

Do not be pessimistic. The best fundraisers are those who are optimistic. When the fundraising professional seems uncertain, people will be less likely to give. Donors should be told that the organization they are supporting will continue to make the world a better place despite the poor economy.

Do not apologize when fundraising. Being afraid or apologetic while fundraising will certainly not raise any money.  However, organizations need to be compassionate and understand that people may not be able to give at their previous levels.

The one way to raise less money is to stop asking for donations. Even in difficult economic times, organizations should continue to raise funds and to build strong relationships with their donors. An organization that makes wise investments, stays optimistic, and compassionately raises donations will succeed no matter the economy.

Information taken from: Marc A. Pittman. “Succeed at Fundraising Despite a Recession.” www.stepbystepfundraising.com

Ashley High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations.

New Source for Finding Grants

Many Christian non-profits find the task of identifying like-minded foundations a challenging. Did you know there is a subscription based website designed especially to help you find funders who support faith-based causes?

Christian Foundation Grants (CFG) provides an up-to-date database of Christian foundations and foundations that support faith-based causes. Using the CFG search engine, subscribers may search the database for the best potential sources of funding.

The main purpose of CFG is to provide an up-to-date database of Christian Foundations and foundations that support Christian causes. Using the CFG search engine, subscribers may search the database for the best potential sources of funding. Some of the foundations in the CFG database identify themselves as specifically supporting Christian causes. Others do not identify themselves as specifically Christian, but their grant history indicates that they support Christian causes.

CFG also provides information about: (1) grant seeking in general; (2) applying for grants; (3) drafting a project budget; (4) writing a grant proposal; (5) Form 990s; and (6) other helpful materials. We also supply information about the various types of foundations and how they serve as resources and grant opportunities for Christian nonprofit organizations.

Find out more at www.christianfoundationgrants.com.

Survey Shows Fundraising Help and Technology Top Ministry Needs

By Bill High

An amazing 72% of non profits indicated their need for fundraising counsel/assistance in a recent survey completed by the Servant Christian Community Foundation in June 2008.

When asked “what services does your organization most need,” fundraising counsel was the top choice of Christian non profits. Not far behind, however, were website development (67%) and information technology assistance (61%). These results are certainly indicative of the ongoing need to raise funds for the ongoing operation of the ministry, but also the increasing reliance on marketing and building awareness through technology.

Based upon these responses, it is not surprising that these ministries indicated that their top physical need was first marketing materials (78%) followed by a need for computers (67%). A smaller number indicated the need for physical office space (22%) and office equipment (17%).

In the same way, these ministries indicated their top staffing/personnel needs were as follows:

• Development/fundraising staff—78%
• New board members—50%
• Marketing counsel—39%
• New staff member (unspecified)—22%
• Legal counsel—22%

The survey quantifies the anecdotal findings of the Servant Christian Community Foundation (SCCF). Over the last eight years, SCCF has continued to hear of the ongoing need of ministries to raise funds. They need to know how. But the survey also tells a similar story: ministries need to know how to craft their message. This is reflected in their heavy emphasis and need for marketing materials.

But the survey also shows that ministries recognize that telling their story has shifted from print media to an online world. This emphasis is reflected in the number of ministries with needs in the area of website and technological help. This also validates the efforts of SCCF in working with ministries and providing them ministry development services. These services will continue to grow to meet the ongoing demand shown in this survey.

Bill High is the President of the Servant Christian Community Foundation

New Ministry eNewsletter

We will soon send out the first edition of our e-newsletter: Giving Solutions for Ministry. This regular email is designed with the ministry leader in mind. We will eventually be sending newsletters with insights for both donors and financial advisors as well.

As you know, our heart at Servant Christian Community Foundation is to serve. This newsletter is a reflection of our commitment to you and our desire to help you be successful in your endeavors to grow funding to your ministry and serve your givers. We want to keep the conversation going. We hope you find the information practical, helpful and rewarding. Certainly, if we can be of service, do not hesitate to contact us.

Blessings,
Connie

Connie Hougland is Vice President for Servant Christian Community Foundation