Fundraising

More has been published about fundraising than on any other topic in the faith-and-money category, and most of what is written has some merit. The fundraising literature, like most how-to writing, tends to absolutize each author's special methods and perspective. This is natural—people put in charge of a fund drive want direction, not philosophy—but it is unfortunate as well, because in fundraising as I have experienced it only one generalization has proved consistently practical: everyone is different. The donors to any church or synagogue all give for their own reasons, and they each respond to different kinds of appeals. Moreover, no technique works forever; one reason fundraising consultants succeed is that each one brings a unique twist to the process, and the novelty helps focus people's attention, at least temporarily.

One writer who understands this is Kennon Callahan, whose Effective Church Finances: Fund-Raising and Budgeting for Church Leaders suggests choosing a different "strategic objective" for each year's campaign. In one year, the goal might be to increase the number of giving households; in the next, it might be to increase the giving of a specific segment of the congregation. Callahan's readable, orderly prose encourages the reader to focus on the congregation's underlying mission and its programmatic vision. The same message—packaged for what Callahan calls "the grass roots" —is found in his companion volume Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church: A Guide for Every Member.

A perennial classic, Lyle E. Schaller's 44 Ways to Expand the Financial Base of Your Congregation is useful for the congregation stuck in the tiresome mud of a stale fundraising style. In his trademark list-making style (I once heard Schaller respond to an audience question by announcing, "I have 14 answers for that question" and then ticking them off!), Schaller covers the bases from generational changes of attitude to effective reminder mailings to the role of the pastor.

Patrick H. McNamara reinforces the idea of variety in More Than Money: Portraits of Transformative Stewardship. McNamara, a sociologist who collaborated with Dean Hoge on the study mentioned above, selected 11 churches that have had unusual success in stewardship. Ranging from a liberal Congregational church in suburban Massachusetts to an African American Baptist congregation in Phoenix, the congregations approach—and even define—stewardship in different ways. Because they are so different, these churches' approaches to fundraising, social outreach, and the identification of spiritual gifts will open almost any reader's eyes to undiscovered possibilities.

Perhaps the best all-around fundraising guide for congregations and religious charities is Ask and You Shall Receive: A Fund Raising Training Program for Religious Organizations and Projects, with both leader and participant manuals. The author, Kim Klein, is a veteran fundraiser who has consulted widely both in secular and religious organizations. Her guide is designed to be used as a training course and would be useful to a congregation interested in revamping its fundraising practices from the ground up.

Of the many "stewardship" guides written for churches, two of my favorites are The Desires of Your Heart: A Guide to Stewardship and the Annual Giving Campaign, published by Christian Community, Inc., and Asking Makes a Difference: A Guide for Stewardship Teams by Jerald L. King. Desires of Your Heart has a pietistic approach and includes a process for creating a booklet of devotions. Asking Makes a Difference is more pragmatic and will appeal to congregations whose language is more secular. Both works stress face-to-face solicitation as the main method of seeking contributions. Despite the recent popularity of "Consecration Sunday" campaigns where pledges are requested and presented at a worship service, the most effective way to raise money still is to ask for it person to person.

For capital campaigns, the standard textbook is Kent E. Dove's Conducting a Successful Capital Campaign. While this book is written for secular nonprofits, its tested methods will be a helpful corrective to some of the bad habits that creep into congregational practice. Another good capital campaign guide, The Complete Guide to Capital Campaigns for Historic Churches and Synagogues by Peggy Powell Dean and Susanna A. Jones, contains both invaluable specifics for seeking historic preservation grants from government and foundation sources and a concise guide to running a capital campaign that would be helpful regardless of the age of the reader's building.

Every few years John and Sylvia Ronsvalle publish a new edition of The State of Church Giving. The current edition, published in 2004, contains data through 2002. This book is an invaluable compilation of statistics drawn from the National Council of Churches' yearbook. The picture it paints is a bit gloomy, as they portray the decline of the "mainline" denominations that once were the American elite at prayer. What this analysis does not capture is the movement of religious dollars into unaffiliated churches and the rainbow of new and unconventional forms of religious organization and expression, showing that religion (if not the old-fashioned steepled church) is alive and well.

Looking ahead, Growing Up Generous: Engaging Youth in Giving and Serving by Eugene C. Roehjlkepartain, Elanah Dalyah Naftali, and Laura Musegades gives guidance for those interested in building a philanthropic spirit in young people. This thoughtful and thoroughly researched book covers both the theory and the practice of nurturing teenagers' impulses toward charitable giving and voluntary service. While not a simplistic how-to guide (who needs more of those?), it is essential reading for youth ministers and leaders interested in moving with the young from faith to caring action.