Not talking about money with your church is like not talking about sex with your kids. Just like a middle-school locker-room, truth will be distorted and God-honoring meaning will be lost if we surrender the conversation. If you stop and listen, everyone else is talkingRead more…
Advice and Tips for Nonprofits on Annual Reports
Creating annual reports are essential for ministries to report on what happened in the year before and look forward at the year ahead. Unfortunately I find that it annual reports are extremely difficult to get from ministries. The website providesRead more…
Road Map to Impact: Setting Communications Objectives
Communication aims at achieving three main outcomes: Raising awareness, changing attitudes and motivating people to take action. Strategies, messages, creative content and engagement activities must all be designed to achieve specific, strategically selected communications objectives. These objectives are described in thisRead more…
Do’s and Don’ts for a Great Annual Fundraising Plan
It’s the slow time of mid-summer, and it’s time to step back from your day-to-day work for a breather. AND – It’s time to look ahead at your fundraising plan for the coming year. I hope you enjoy your downRead more…
Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great
I’m often asked to recommend my top leadership or management book. So, almost on autopilot, I hit play and blather the following: “It’s impossible to pick one leadership book. Everyone’s at different levels of experience and need. That’s why youRead more…
What Every Board Member Needs To Know About Fundraising
If you’re a board member for a nonprofit organization, I bet you are dealing with fundraising issues more often than not. As a board member, you are voting to support (or not support) various fundraising strategies. You are probably allocatingRead more…
Timeline for Planning a Profitable Fundraising Event
Many ministries and churches use events to raise funds. The attached timeline and worksheet might be useful in planning fundraising events.
7 Ways to Kiss Fundraising Goodbye [Slideshare]
Traditional fundraising is broken. It lock nonprofits and charities in an endless cycle of chasing low return activities. A much better approach is to create a sustainable financial model that aligns well with your mission and core competencies. Nonprofits must moveRead more…
Theology That Works: Making Disciples Who Practice Fruitful Work and Economic Wisdom in Modern America
“Theology That Works,” ’Theology that Works’ is a 60-page manifesto on discipleship and economic work written by Greg Forster and published by the Oikonomia Network (http://oikonomianetwork.org/). It includes a flowchart diagram that shows the overall interconnectedness of stewardship and economics. The flowchart andRead more…
How Do You Define Success?
How do you define success in your church or ministry setting? In The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes, R. Scott Rodin, Wesley K. Willmer, and I suggest that most people define success in one of two ways, and thisRead more…