Taking. Donors. Seriously.

What would happen if we devoted more time to building relationships with donors, making asks in person rather than through the mail or e-mail, and making a strategic financial plan for an entire year at a time? These are just some of the ideas that come up in Taking Donors Seriously (TDS) - Young Life's ultimate plan for fund-raising. Many of us have heard the term TDS, but we may not realize how powerful it can be when it is actually put into place in an area. It's all about doing fund-raising the way we do ministry - making our focus on people, not on events.

For instance, TDS proposes that the best use of our time and the best way to build our financial health is not to plan more fund-raising events, but to build our base of monthly donors. Think about it - a hoagie sale, car wash, or luncheon would be doing great if it brought in $1k-$2k. But if you could find just 20 people (committee, family members, friends, etc) to commit to giving $20 a month, you've just raised nearly $5,000 per year. Nice! Plus, instead of pouring your committee's time into a day-long event that they will have to plan again next year - or next month - you've gained both a consistent "income" and also gained a group of people who are invested in and praying for your ministry. It's a win-win!

Another TDS idea is to come up with a yearly financial calendar. How many of us have great intentions for sending out a newsletter or donor thank-you cards, or for sitting down for coffee with that donor who has been consistently giving for years... but we just never seem to get around to it? Check out this sample financial calendar for ideas on how to plan all of your donor interactions and fund-raisers in advance.

One other helpful resource... the Service Center offers convenient - and customizable - contribution envelopes for donors to send in their donations (see picture above). The envelopes even have a place for them to fill out their credit card or bank information for automatic recurring monthly donations. Customize the front with your area address so that you can keep track of donations and pledges, and then send it in to the Service Center for processing!

These are just a couple of tips on implementing TDS. For a much more thorough and very easy-to-follow power-point presentation about Taking Donors Seriously (for yourself and/or your committee), check out the TDS e-Learning course. (Just type TDS in the search box in the top left of the Staff Resources site, click on the TDS link, and then click on TDS e-Learning Course). I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who is looking for ways to become financially stable and healthy.

Let's stop worrying about not having the funds we need and start to do something about it - seriously!

-Posted by Rebecca Asper