A Special Appeal allows your organization to invite donors with a specific, timely, and important reason to consider an additional gift. New donors will appreciate the specificity of the request. Many of your regular donors will get excited about the appeal and take part. In this series, GSB Partner Pete Reuss walks through four steps fo special appeals.

It’s easy for organizations to fall into the trap that inviting gifts only happens on specific dates on a calendar. For congregations, it’s typically in the fall. For other non-profits, it’s the end of the year. A solid year-round plan for generosity, building on an annual appeal and end-of-year, leads to lasting results.

When stewardship best practices lead to conflict and anxiety, something in the congregation’s culture around money is the cause. The Adaptive Leadership framework can provide a lens that leads to lasting change.

How you relate to money as a leader will affect how you lead your organization and donors to experience generosity.

Cultures don’t change overnight. Taking small, patient steps can lead to new (and helpful) patterns of behavior. This four part series builds on the learning of the previous roundtables.

When people are uncomfortable enough for long enough, they become open to change long held traditions. This can directly impact your fundraising. This four part series builds on the learning of the previous roundtables.

While it’s easy to act and react, stepping back and gaining perspective will allow for deep reflection that can lead to helpful action. This four part series builds on the learning of the previous roundtables.

When fundraising best practices lead to conflict and anxiety, something in your organization’s culture around money is the cause. The Adaptive Leadership framework can provide a lens that leads to lasting change. This series builds through four sessions.

Most congregational giving charts include a few people at the top. While this is quite normal, the reality is that a significant number of those giving families come from the older age brackets. Growing a strong base of younger givers will sustain ministry even as some major donors leave the congregation (via death, relocation, or other reason). In this Master Class, Rev. Pete Reuss will provide a practical framework of inviting new families to step into this leadership giving role. It includes cottage meetings, current major givers, and the pastoral staff.

Congregations expect their people to give of their time and financial resources and readily share their frustration when people don’t step up. It quickly leads to a narrative of scarcity. There’s just not enough. Yet, at the heart, congregations are volunteer organizations. People willingly show up for worship. They choose to give financial gifts. They share their time. It’s amazing to see. What if we moved from a culture of shame and expectation to a culture of gratitude. It begins with thanking people. In this Master Class, Rev. Pete Reuss will move beyond quarterly reports and provide steps to make people feel appreciated for all they do. People who feel appreciated are more likely to take a further step in their journey of generosity.March Roundtable

Don't bore people with your annual statements. They are a chance to reinforce your message of impact.

Nearly one third of all giving to non-profit organizations occurs in the month of December. This provides a unique opportunity to invite end of the year gifts. We will discuss what motivates these gifts (hint: it’s not your budget).

Why would someone increase their giving to your congregation in the coming year? When people think that you will do the same ministry next year, they will plan to give the same amount. We will discuss how clear ministry goals energize people to expand their generosity to make bold things possible.

When talking about fundraising in a church or faith-based organization, we often hear, "This is the church. We shouldn't talk about fundraising. We're about faith!" Churches and faith based organizations can greatly benefit from the foundational principles of non-profit fundraising without sacrificing a good theology. When they dismiss these principles out of hand, they do it to their detriment. Utilizing the work of Henri Nouwen, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul, this roundtable will provide Biblical and theological connections between faith communities and fundraising. This frees churches and faith-based organizations to grow in generosity without sacrificing their core beliefs.