Wyden Your Horizons!

Happy New Decade! As we begin this second decade of the 21st Century, we realize anew the great opportunities that are before us to share the Good News of the Joy of Generosity, of God's abundant providing, and the inspiration provided by fund-raising through faith-raising.

As so many are suffering throughout the world due to the financial upheavals, we realize that we are all called to respond through our own generous giving and to inspire others to join us in the privilege of giving to help others.  As St. Francis of Assisi said, "For it is in giving that we receive." As we immerse ourselves in helping others, we gain a broader perspective on life, we gain a stronger sense of our own abilities, our sense of self-worth grows, and our faith in God's presence and love increases. As a result, our own problems often seem smaller and more manageable. 

In this edition of our newsletter, we provide guidance for preparing for and carrying out an effective Operating Budget Campaign. We also offer our new booklet, "How to Increase Giving In Tight Financial Times." We are happy to provide these resources to enhance your efforts to enable more individuals to find the Joy of Generosity. If you have any questions about these resources, or would like to have a no-obligation consultation to discuss your fund-raising efforts, don't hesitate to contact us through our toll-free number (888) Bill Van (245-5826)

VanderWyden Consultants are deployed throughout the United States and are happy to provide professional assistance for Operating Budget Campaigns, Capital Fund Campaigns, and Planned Giving Efforts. Our Wyden Your Horizons Operating Budget Program can enable you to increase your Operating Budget proceeds from 15-45%, and our Joy of Generosity Capital Fund Campaign can raise 2 to 13 times your present giving for renovations and new facilities. We have found that when members and donors give because they want to, rather than being pressured to, they give wholeheartedly and far more generously. We are also happy to share the insights of our readers in this newsletter. If you would like share your experiences drop us a line through our email address Bill@WydenYourHorizons.com

Many churches and non-profit organizations conduct their campaigns for the following year's Operating Budget needs during the fall. Often these campaigns are thrown together at the beginning of the fall and then are quickly implemented. Frequently these haphazard efforts produce disappointing results. Implementing an effective campaign requires a lot of advance planning. In fact conducting effective Operating Budget Campaigns needs to be a year round activity!

Beginning in January the campaign committee should gather to conduct an analysis of the results of the previous campaign and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the processes that were used in the campaign. The campaign committee then begins planning the next campaign taking into account the changes that are necessary based on the analysis of the results and the evaluation of the process.

Also in January the committee sends out its first Thank You note to members and contributors. If individuals are promptly thanked for their gift, they are much more likely to give again. Therefore, one of the important year-round activities of an effective Operating Budget Campaign is sending out Thank You notes to all donors each month of the year.  These notes don't  need to be long, just one or two paragraphs, but they do need to be inspiring. The two key points that need to be included in the notes are:

1. "Thank you for your generous giving."
2. "This past month your giving made this happen." Then tell an inspiring story of help provided by your church or non-profit organization to an individual in need or include statistics regarding how many individuals in need were helped during the past month.

Each month your notes can bring attention to a different group that you serve. The key point to make is that donor's dollars are being used effectively throughout the year to help individuals who are truly in need and that the generous giving of your donors is making a significant difference in the world. If you provide these monthly inspiring thank you notes, you don't have to make the case for the effectiveness of your organization in one condensed time period during the fall. By the time you get to the fall, your members are very aware of the effectiveness of your services and that their giving has made a difference in the world, and they are ready to be asked to make increased donations for the coming year.

Effective organizations that truly provide significant help to those who are in need, and who let their donors know that their giving made these services possible, never have a shortage of financial support for their efforts. Even in tight financial times like these, those organizations that make the case for the necessity of their programs are receiving increased donations. This occurs because these organizations carry on a continual program of expressing to their gratitude to their donors, by regularly reminding their donors that there are many in need in these times, and with that their generous giving enables these individuals are being helped. As we always say: "There is no shortage of money."

Also, as you start planning for your fall Operating Budget Campaign, think about the six Ps - Plan, Purpose, Potential, Process, People, and Period.

1. Develop the Plan for your Campaign well in advance of the campaign.
    
2. Be able to "make the Case" for the Purpose of your organization in a compelling, convincing, inspiring statement.
    
3. Evaluate your Potential for increased giving based on the analysis of the results of your efforts the previous year. We can provide professional guidance to enable you to conduct an effective analysis, so that you can focus your efforts on your next campaign.
    
4. Decide what Process you will use in your campaign. The more personal your approach, the greater will be your results. However, even the most personal process has at most a 3-5 year "shelf life", so change your process when the results have stagnated two years in a row. We can help you evaluate the process you are presently using and provide recommendations regarding a variety of other effective processes.
    
5. People - Aim to involve as many people as possible in assisting you in carrying out your campaign. The more individuals you involve, the more awareness these individuals will have of the effectiveness of your efforts. This will give them more ownership in the results of the campaign and in your church or non-profit organization.
    
6. Decide the Time Period for your Campaign. Even though your planning should take place well in advance, your campaign should have a focused time frame during which you ask for increased donations, do some follow-up on donors who may be slow to respond, and then have a celebration to announce the great results of the campaign.

VanderWyden Consultants provide workshops for groups of churches and non-profit organizations on the key points for effective campaigns, which include detailed descriptions of the 6 Ps, and guidance on how to dramatically increase the giving of your members to support your programs and services. We also provide one-on-one guidance for churches and non-profit organizations, which include a complete campaign plan and the professional training required to implement an effective Operating Budget Campaign. This can significantly increase your donors' giving, by as much as 45%! If you are interested in exploring the possibilities through a no-obligation consultation, please contact us through our toll-free number: (888) Bill Van (245 -5826) or through our email: Bill@WydenYourHorizons.com. Top
 

 sIGN UP TO RECEIVE a Free copy of our new booklet - "HOW TO INCREASE GIVING IN TIGHT FINANCIAL TIMES"

If you would like to be sent a free copy  of our new booklet, "How to Increase  Giving in Tight Financial Times," please answer the following questions in an email sent to our office at Bill@WydenYourHorizons.com

Name of your church or non-profit organization and email address
Number of members/donors
Total Giving of Donors/members during last year
Date of last Capital Fund Campaign
Preferred Phone Number -  If you are interested in a no-obligation phone consultation to explore the possibilities of professional assistance for a Capital Fund Campaign for renovations or new facilities, or for assistance with your Operating Budget Campaign. Top
 

ABOUT VANDERWYDEN CONSULTANTS, INC. . .

Our staff has conducted over 350 successful campaigns throughout the United States. Our "Joy of Generosity" Capital Fund Campaign program enables churches to raise as much as 13 times existing giving levels, and our "Wyden Your Horizons" Operating Budget Stewardship program results in increases of 15 - 45%.

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