Description
During 2020 and 2021 Missio Nexus has been endeavoring to help mission agencies have access to additional resources in the areas of fundraising and development. Fundraising has been one of the most identified areas of needed skill and knowledge growth among mission agency leaders. Missio Nexus recently surveyed 30 mission agencies to gain a better understanding of their teams and perspectives related to fundraising.
Thirty-seven percent of mission agencies reported having at least one staff member designated with responsibilities for fundraising and development. For small organizations a CEO may have to wear this as one of their many hats of leadership. It is often hard to gauge when is the right time for an organization in its growth cycle to bring on dedicated fundraising staff. Often an administrator or manager can help significantly before bringing on a full-time development director. Whether it is by one person or a team of dedicated staff, ongoing stewardship of donors is critical to the life of a mission organization.
Most of the organizations surveyed had development directors who had been in there position either less than one year, or more than eight years. It is important to ensure that our staff and teams are getting the training necessary on an ongoing basis to improve, but also to adapt to changing perspectives of foundations and major donors. We have provided a list of resources below to help your team in their ongoing development.
Foundations and major donors have become essential to the financial stability of most organizations. These donors provide great opportunities for larger scale funding but also have some unique challenges that accompany those opportunities. The qualitative answers below reflect common strengths and challenges for working with foundations and major donors.
Make sure you click on the grey bar below for a limited time offer to help you assess your own ministries fundraising strengths.
