Monday, April 24, 2006

Since you guys and gals all gave such great godly wisdom last time I asked, I'm going to run another situation off of you:

As you may have gleaned from previous posts, the Lord really seems to be opening up doors for both of the organizations I serve on a part-time basis, the Players Chapel Program and Tumaini International Ministries. From Kenya to Guatemala in the past to Toronto (AIDS 2006 International Conference) this summer to possibly more opportunities in such countries as the Ivory Cost and Paraguay in the near future along with follow-up in Kenya and Guatemala (where the government wants us to join them on a five-year plan to reach the entire country with our curriculum and eventually the Gospel. This has nothing to do with our skills, I see the hand of God working here, and that is what intrigues me greatly and brings me to this.

Of course, all of this travel and work brings with it a steep cost (yet one after much thought and prayer I have deemed worthwhile). While the Players Chapel had done what it can to raise the funds for the travel, the board of Tumaini has decided we will not take any percent of the child donations to underwrite our operational costs. Therefore, an idea of mine was that I would continue to work at the high school but also raise funds for the work that I do on the side. This would include the foreign travel to train others in the material we offer, attend and present at mission conferences, domestic travel for meetings, etc. Is this right? How would potential donors respond to this? What would be the proper angle to take? I really only have one shot at this, and I am beginning to feel more and more that this is the time. Any insights?

6 comments:

edluv said...

i think donors may respond very well to the idea that they aren't supporting you in your day to day life, but more in the shorter term ministry capacity. this may give them the freedom to contribute for a short time or a specific project.

then again, people may get tired of repeated pleas for 4, which is the drawback of all fundraising.

Anonymous said...

OK A) You never mentioned anything about the Ivory Coast to me! You going there with the Players Chapel program? Umm...they speak French there...I speak French. It's in Africa...I like Africa. We'll talk about that later.

B)I think its not a bad idea to ask for donors because like my best friend "ed luv" said you aren't asking for day to day support but rather flights, hotels, etc. I personally have had issues giving full time support to people so that they can be "full-time" missionaries... full time meaning more like 20 hours a week. So your goal will probably be smaller. Instead of needing 45,000 bucks a year it could be substantially less. I think people will give you credit for still working and just raising a little (I personally think we need more people to work in missionary capacities like that)

C) I think the real key to any support raising is that people know what you are doing and what you are all about. If you really really thoroughly explain what you are doing, why and how much money you need and what for people will be a lot more willing to give. Sometimes people see the sum or goal 30,000 dollars and are skeptical of where all that money could be going...so I think really informing people is important too.

Ok that's all...and I need to here more about this Ivory Coast thing.

edluv said...

in the future, i can just be called ed. the whole edluv moniker goes back to high school, and is sort of a joke.

you see, back in my day, love was some sort of gangster name dealy. i went to a predominantly black school. would i be e-locs (loco), e-love? so, i took on ed-luv. and have ran with it for the last ten or so years.

but really, i'm ed. i thought about changing my blogger name, but it adds a little bit of hidden identitiy.

JPN said...

X-tina, don't think I wasn't thinking of the whole Ivory Coast thing already, I'm way ahead of you. I may have some work for you when you return.

Adam Nate said...

Why not "Vanilla Ed"? :-)

Anonymous said...

YAY! Jason that is SO exciting. I will take whatever work you got for me!!