"Where there is a will, there is a way."
I don't know who coined this old adage, but it was a mantra I heard from my parents frequently. It wasn't until I started in fundraising that I knew the deeper truths that these words carry, and its corollary, "Money follows mission."
Fundraising guru Jerold Panas surveys thousands of generous donors every year. He asks them why they support the organizations they give to. The top three reasons are consistent.
"The reason donors cite most often is that they believe in the mission of the organization and the way it touches lives. This far outweighs any other factor. Two other reasons closely follow. One, they feel their funds will be used wisely, and two, they have regard and respect for the staff, often the CEO."
Money follows mission.
Maybe Moses understood that. He was a pretty good fundraiser in his day. Exodus 35 gives a wonderful account of Moses presenting his vision and mission, and then raising the resources necessary to accomplish them.
"Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord's offering," Moses says. And the people responded:
"And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and brought the Lord's offering to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the sacred vestments."
We find out in Chapter 36 that the offering was more than enough, so much so that Moses had to restrain people from giving!
Where there is a will, there is a way.... Money follows mission.... They believe in the mission of the organization and the way it touches lives. Generosity is a matter of the heart.
The Perfect Anatomy of a 21st Century Capital Campaign
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