Leadership 2: COMMUNITY ENGAGMENT PART 1: Fundraising
INTRODUCTION
As we continue to connect the elements of the Next Kid Framework and dive deeper into each element, we move into community engagement. The vision is that every Young Life area is embraced by a diverse community of engaged adults sharing their time, talents, and resources, to sustain the ministry.
When we invite people to join the vision God has given us, we are inviting them to respond with generosity. Generosity has different shapes. In this session, we will focus on inviting people to be generous with the resources God has entrusted them with.
No matter what role you have in Young Life, you are responsible for engaging your community and inviting others into the vision the Lord has for your ministry. As we take on greater responsibility in the mission, we only need to grow more in how we engage others to reach the vision - especially financially. Today we will talk about how we do that.
Evidence of staff demonstrating this objective looks like:
- Has a Biblical understanding of stewardship and generosity
- Understands the “why” behind a fundraising event
- Understands the elements of a good fundraiser
- Can plan and execute a basic local area fundraiser
- Understands how a funding event fits into the overall strategy of funding an area
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
As a leader is helping grow the competencies of the people they are leading (apprentice), it is critical to understand what is needed at each step of their development. The training square is a simple model that shows a path of (1) how an individual (apprentice) develops and grows, and (2) the leader's engagement and facilitation of their development during that same time. Steps 1-4 of the square mark the path from unconscious incompetence → conscious incompetence → conscious competence → unconscious competence. Determining where the apprentice and the leader are in the process is the crucial first step. Then you can decide how to move from there. Does the apprentice need more clarity from the leader on what is being asked? Does the leader need to provide perspective in the time it takes to gain competence? Where the leader and apprentice are exactly in the process will help to clarify the best next steps.
WHY DO FUNDRAISERS HELP US BUILD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT?
An area fundraiser is an incredible way to engage adults in the community. It helps connect us to new adults we might not have known otherwise. It gives us a chance to show what Young Life ministry looks like and the impact it is having on the lives of young people. It is an opportunity to pray together with our teams over our Matthew 9:38 Lists as we invite people to come and think broadly about who we can invite.
Ideally you have some adults in your community who are already supporting and engaged with your ministry. This is a great time to ask them for their input, ideas and maybe even help. If you have an Action Team you want to be working with them to plan the event. If you don’t have an Action Team, this could be a great opportunity to see how some of your supporters jump in to help with this project. Maybe you’ll even see some future Action Team members in action.
SUCCESS STORIES FROM FUNDRAISERS:
Polands Ball:
SUCCESS STORIES FROM FUNDRAISERS:
Walk with Us:
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
There are many questions to ask yourself as you plan your first fundraising event. What should we do? When should we have it? Do we raise money for the general area, or specifically for camp? Who should we invite?
They are all great questions to think over. Talk to the adults in your community who are already engaged in your ministry and get their feedback. Sometimes it is easy to “talk ourselves out” of planning events like this because we say, “This isn’t culturally normal in our country.” You might be right. This might be something different than you’ve seen normally happen in your city. That is not a reason why it won’t work. It just means we need to think through our purpose and our plan well and be sure to work with our whole team to make this happen.
You already know that adults in your community are busy – so do your best to pick a time of year and day of the week that will allow as many people as possible to come. Make sure you are officially inviting people months in advance. The week after your fundraiser is actually a great time to send out the “save the date” card for the next year’s fundraiser!
Whether you take a walk through your city, dance the night away or have a coffee and dessert hour with adults, some key pieces of the event we want to keep in mind are:
- • How will we tell the story of what Young Life does? How do we share our mission? Do we have videos we can show from camp?
- • How will we tell the story of how lives have already been changed because of Young Life? Can we get a campaigner kid to tell his or her story?
- • How will we ask people to respond?
Oftentimes the hardest event to plan is the first one. Your first fundraiser does not need to raise a lot of money. Hopefully it builds awareness of the ministry, it is a time to invite others into your community and share how Young Life is impacting the lives of young people. Yes, hopefully we do raise some money, but often it is in years 2, 3, 5 and 7 that we see more and more money come in. Events like these will often help us connect with new people – people who are passionate to pray, people who want to volunteer and help, and people who want to give. There are many ways an event like this can help us engage more with our community. Our first step is to start putting a plan together.
ACCOUNTABILITY
- I have a Matthew 9:38 List of names of adults in my community I am praying will attend an area fundraiser. (Have)
- I am actively praying for and already inviting these adults and community members to participate in the next fundraising event (from my Mat 9:38 List) and inviting them to “come and see” other ministry activities. (Active)
- My team knows when the next fundraising event is and everyone is involved in inviting people from their List to attend. (Shared)
- Our local giving and community engagement is growing because of our fundraising events and opportunities for adults to be engaged with the ministry. (Growing)
ACTION STEPS
- Complete the Bible passages table above and bring it with you to your next training meeting ready to discuss.
- Bring your Matthew 9:38 List of adults in the community who you would like to pray for and eventually invite to an area fundraiser. Make sure you have at least 15 names (families) on your list.
- Discuss with your AD and/or CD what area nearest you has a fundraising event. Interview staff from that area about how they run their event and try to work it in your schedule to go see it.
- Come up with a plan for a fundraising event for your area. Be ready to discuss some ideas with your trainer at your next meeting.
