Mission Trip Fundraising - Treat Your Supporters Like Sharks

Andy Olsen • Mar 13, 2014

Spring is just around the corner, which means we are well into the season for summer mission trip fundraising.

Many of the questions we get asked at TEAM are about raising support, and there are lots of great fundraising resources out there. But if you’re planning on raising funds for a short-term trip — whether for two weeks or a year — here’s a big idea that many people overlook in their support-raising approach: Your potential supporters are investors. Treat them that way.

We need to learn from the sharks.

If you’ve never seen the popular show Shark Tank on ABC, here’s the gist: Entrepreneurs appear before a panel of wealthy investors and have just a few minutes to make their case for why the investors should fund their business. The investors — the “sharks” — ultimately make their decision on one criterion, whether or not their investment will yield a healthy return.

One of the signals the sharks look for is how much the entrepreneur herself has personally invested in her venture. After all, if the business owner isn’t willing to risk something on the business, why should the investor be willing to? Entrepreneurs who haven’t sacrificed often walk away empty-handed.

When we raise funds, we often make the same mistake. We ask supporters to give toward something we haven’t given toward ourselves.

You may think it’s a bit cold to compare ministry supporters with business investors. But they aren’t so different. Missions supporters don’t seek a financial profit, but they do want their gift to yield Kingdom returns, in cultures and in individual lives. And missions supporters, like investors, are generally bombarded with requests for support and must discern which ones to give toward.

Often, relational equity does the job — supporters give to people they know. But consciously and subconsciously, many also look for signals that a missionary is worthy of their investment.

Here are three ways you can make sure you’re investing in your own missions experience. We can’t promise they’ll sway those on-the-fence potential supporters, but they might. And (hint, hint) these are also qualities that mobilizers at missions agencies LOVE to see when they evaluate missionaries for long-term service.

1. Financial

The most obvious investment you can make in your trip is covering a portion of the cost yourself. Pick up some extra hours at work. Sell some things at a garage sale or put your Xbox on Craigslist. Forgo eating out for a couple of months and put the savings toward your trip.

This type of sacrifice is not about “avoiding” fundraising or second-guessing God’s provision. Quite the opposite, it’s about becoming a financial supporter yourself. It shows supporters that you understand the sacrifice you ask them to make by giving to your trip, and it also has the mysterious effect of helping us value our trip more because we’ve paid for part of it.

2. Service

There are more costly investments than money. Service is one of them.

Imagine you’re going on a trip to the Dominican Republic to work with inner-city youth. What if you committed a few hours a month to befriend at-risk youth in your own community ? If your church doesn’t have a way to connect you with that opportunity, groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters would love to.

Service like that tells financial supporters that you’re serious about the mission of your trip, that they’re not just investing in a 10-day excursion, but they are investing in your lifelong missional and spiritual formation. More importantly, it becomes a way to love others as Christ loves us and to connect the “mountaintop” experience of your mission trip with your real life.

We can all think of something. If you have enough skills to build a house in Kenya, you probably have enough skills to fix leaky sinks and damaged downspouts for shut-ins in your church.

3. Spiritual disciplines

Prayer is the hardest work we can do to prepare for a missions experience. It should be non-negotiable. But there are also less-obvious disciplines we can commit to as an investment in a missions trip. Take any of the practices outlined by Richard Foster in his classic, Celebration of Discipline — solitude, simplicity, confession, fasting, and study, to name a few — and creatively invest them in the outcome of your missions experience.

What if you fasted one meal a week between now and your departure, taking that time to pray for your trip? What if you set aside two hours a week for a focused study on the country or city you’ll be visiting?

Don’t just do these practices, tell your potential supporters about them. Share a story in your appeal letter about the 7-year-old boy you’re mentoring as part of your missions commitment. Write a short anecdote about your time at the library, studying Mexico ’s history and praying through it. Write about the sum of money you’ve resolved to personally contribute toward your trip.

Let’s be clear: This is not the type of “practicing your righteousness in front of others” that Christ warns against in Matthew 6. It’s actually an opportunity for accountability. Tell your supporters your plan, and ask them to check in on how it’s going. The truth is, it will be obvious to most supporters and missions agencies how deep your personal investment runs, whether you write about it or not.

And if you can’t build some or all of these signals into your fundraising approach, perhaps it’s time to face a hard question: Are you asking someone to invest in something that you aren’t willing to invest in yourself?

Special thanks to blog contributors Arnie Adkison and Josh McQuaid for their help with this post.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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