Question Week: How Much Should You Divulge During Fundraising?
Posted by C. Holland on Apr 08, 2009We’d like to get some dialogue going, so this week is Question Week. Next up:
During the fundraising process, how much about yourself is appropriate to dilvulge?
Here’s what got me thinking about this (see my post from January on “Obama Cost a Missionary Their Support”). The point of discussion that I see here is not about who’s supporting Obama (or not); it’s about public disclosure when you’re a missionary.
When we started our journey into fundraising, I didn’t realise that we would become a (lesser) form of public figure, complete with all the requisite scrutiny. Combined with today’s social media openness, you can learn a lot about a missionary without even talking to or interacting with them. Plus, people in your mission field will research you online. We found this out the hard way, and it can jeopardize your entire mission, depending on the culture.
We’ve done some things in our past that we’re not proud of. One of us used to be a “hacker” back in the day. The other never wanted to be a missionary until God really brought a heart-change just a couple of years before our fundraising. These (and other things) would potentially upset certain personality types, and if we had been directly asked about such things, we would have answered honestly. But bringing it up out of nowhere would have seemed worse.
Missionaries, did/do you find people want to know specific things about you, your family, or your beliefs on specific issues? Let us know in the comments section.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!Related posts:
- Question Week: Tentmaking v. Fundraising?
Question Week: How Much (or What) Should You Communicate Back Home?
Question Week: How Do You Handle Missionary Inquiries?
Missionary Confidential by Email
I jest. Good one!
April 9th, 2009 at 3:45 am
It seems odd, but my wife and I setup http://www.gracesecondaryschool.com and started to fundraise to build a school in the nuba mountains in the Sudan. The PRESS wanted to run the story, “local couple richard and Claire Budd yada yada”. The truth is people give due to our passion and commitment. As more and more advertising is about people, faces and individuals. The main problem is you have to keep a close eye on your own ego, as this can cloud decisions and direction. I feel we have the balance about right – and if we ever get into problems we have the other to point out the error of our ways (or to make a joke about it!!!) focus on the cause.
Richard Budd
April 9th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Good point, Richard. It is all about balance. It’s been hard for me to realise that, while I see my mission about those in my field, some people see my mission tied with me (and my ego!).
April 30th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Thanks for your thoughts on this subject. We are in the process of creating some support-type resources and so Ive been looking around at similar things. I came across one website which had a bar graph detailing the amount of money the missionary aimed to have coming in monthly and the amount that was coming in. When I saw what the missionary was aiming for, I thought: “No way, that seems like a lot of money to live in -suchandsuchacountry-”. Then I immediately checked myself. I thought it was interesting that even though I was bemoaning some of the judgemental attitudes we have experienced in relation to fund raising, that I had a tendency for the same!
April 30th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Hi Liam, I certainly was guilty of that type of thinking in the past. One thing I’ve learned is that, depending on the relational nature or specific needs in the mission field, missionaries may need to raise a bit more than just the bare-bones living needs. In our field, people prefer to socialise and get to know you at restaurants or cafes. Saying, “I’m a missionary; I can’t afford to meet you for coffee” won’t work here. In other mission fields, there could be known financial needs for supplies of some type that would be useful. What good is it to send someone out to missions but restrict them financially from legitimate ministry tools?
Due to the up-and-down nature of supporter giving that we’ve experienced, I would advise those in fundraising mode to overshoot just a little. Realise that you may have some people initially commit that will not follow through, others may fall away after a time without notifying you.
We had several people approach us during our fundraising with concern about the amount we needed to raise. When we explained the issues with exchange rate not being in our favour, plus the high cost of living in our field, most were more understanding. The funny thing? The amount we told people was only 40% of our budget; we have been tentmakers for the remaining 60%.