Christian Leadership Alliance

The Care and Keeping of Donors

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Fundraising in a Changing World

Change is one of the few constants of modern life. It seems that just as soon as we feel we've got something figured out, it changes. The assumptions we once used need to be continually reassessed. The standard operating procedures we've developed sometimes need to be completely overhauled.

Christian ministries find themselves facing unique challenges. On the one hand, the spiritual foundations of their work never change. God loves us. And he has called us to work with him to redeem the world he created.

On the other hand, the cultural context in which ministries work changes moment by moment. As a result, just about everything other than our spiritual foundations undergoes a continual process of change. Adapting to this ever-quickening pace of change without sacrificing our core principles is the key to moving the work of God's Kingdom ahead.

Change Brings New Challenges

We're living at a time of tremendous transformation, and I believe the five changes described below are among the most important challenges to the health and effectiveness of our ministries this year and in the years ahead.

CHALLENGE #1: Message Overload

Every year, we're bombarded by thousands and thousands of advertising and promotional messages: on billboards, on TV, in magazines and e-mail. They even vie for our attention in church services, bulletins and newsletters.

We see ads on movie screens and on the tray tables in airplanes. We get sales pitches on increasing numbers of video screens, including those on gas pumps and ATM machines. And here in Colorado, skiers see ads on "lap maps" installed in ski lifts.

When people are repeatedly bombarded, their behavior becomes very predictable. They become shell-shocked and distracted. Advertisers know this, but instead of backing off and giving us a break, they ramp up their pitches, using new approaches designed to overcome or circumvent our defenses.

Some companies are investing in expensive ad campaigns that tell us virtually nothing about the features or benefits of their products or programs, but focus instead on how they'll somehow meet our deeper needs for community, intimacy or spirituality.

But no matter what approach they use, the net effect of so much information and advertiser messages bombarding us day after day is chaos and clutter, complicating our efforts to get our own messages out to our supporters and donors.

Donors don't like it any more than we do. And many of them see our ministries' mass marketing efforts as part of the problem. We need to take their shell shock seriously.

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