The Highs & Lows of Fund Raising

I’ve been raising financial support for my upcoming ministry with the Navigators for about six weeks now. This is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. When I was at fund raising training in early June I really didn’t think it was going to be this hard. In fact, when it comes to making the calls and the presentations I really don’t find fund raising to be much of a challenge. Most people have been eager to hear about what I’m doing. But there are far more subtle things that have been fighting for my spirit.

Like I said, making the calls isn’t a big deal. I’ve heard from others that this is the hardest part for them, that the process is awkward and uncomfortable. Thankfully that’s not the case with me. But what I really can’t stand is constantly getting a voice mail. Now, if I’m only making one or two calls and I get one or two voice mails that’s fine. It’s when I sit down to make ten calls and I end up talking to only two real people that kills me. I’ve actually gotten to the point where I’m an expert regarding all the different types of voice mails. I know just by the sound of the automated voice whether it’s one that I need to press ‘1′ to leave a message or if I have to sit through the whole song-and-dance until the beep. But in all seriousness, there’s nothing like five straight voice mails to kill your momentum and your enthusiasm. And while you can ask the person to call you back, the onus is still on me as the fund raiser to get in touch with the person. Unless they’re particularly excited about my ministry they’re probably going to carry on with their own troubles and wait for me to call them back. This is completely understandable, but it certainly doesn’t make my job any easier.

The part of the process that I wish I could skip is the waiting. The general course of any petition goes a little something like this. I’ll send out some sort of announcement letter, either an email or a snail mail complete with all sorts of information about the Navigators. I’ll follow that up with a phone call. During that call I’ll either make a face-to-face appointment if I’m in the area (or making a trip to that area) or, if I won’t be able to see them, I’ll ask if I can talk to them about my ministry over the phone, either right then or later. After talking to that person about my ministry I give the person a week to ten days to pray about supporting me. It’s during that window that I want to pull what little hair I have out by the roots. I go absolutely batty waiting for the day I can call a person back. I wish I could just give them a half hour, an hour tops, and ask for their decision after that. And, of course, the only thing that could make this worse is when, after the time for a call back has finally come, I call and I get their voice mail!

It’s funny how my encouragement level can swing so quickly. A single day of “getting nothing done” (read: raising no money) can kill me. Even if my day of fund raising has left me at an even keel the smallest insecurity or defeat elsewhere gets magnified tenfold. It’s been especially difficult due to most of my closest friends being out of town this summer. Often times I’ve been left to deal with the down days on my own. I hadn’t anticipated that when I signed up for this. I’ve also found that I’m weaker at different times of day, like right before I go to sleep. Many nights I lie in bed thinking about all that still needs to be done rather than focusing on what God has already blessed me with.

So far I’ve made it sound like fund raising is terrible and that there’s nothing redeeming about it, and that simply isn’t true. It’s been fun to reconnect with people that I don’t talk to that often and tell them about something exciting. It’s incredible to see when God gives you an unexpected gift, like when my buddy Josh in Connecticut told me that he’s trying to pull some of his friends together, people I don’t know, so that I can present my ministry and needs to all of them. There really is no greater feeling than to hear from someone that they want to partner with you. I’m not saying that for love of the money they’re providing. You see, with each person that joins my team of supporters that’s one more person saying, “I believe in what you’re doing and I want to be apart of it.” There’s so much room to doubt a calling when you hit the rough patches. Finding out that people were led by God to join in the work I’m doing is such a tremendous encouragement.

On Wednesday night I’ll be flying from Jacksonville to Connecticut where I’ll be fund raising for four very busy days. In addition to whatever Josh sets up for me I’ll also be giving a group presentation to my home church this Sunday and meeting with a handful of people one-on-one. I am very excited and nervous about this trip. I believe that there are a lot of people who will want to partner with me up north, but I know there’s a danger in counting my chickens. I’m afraid to get my hopes up too high and then come home disappointed if things don’t go exactly how I envision them. Please pray for me this week as I make this important trip. I will be there through next Monday. Pray also that I will be able to spend quality time with my family who I haven’t seen since Christmas, that I wouldn’t get so consumed by fund raising that I neglect them. I value your prayers greatly. Thanks everyone.