An idea from Joy

Hey Class,
This went out with a postcard and email requesting information back. We wanted to slim down our recently combined mailing list (350 total!) and get updated emails, blogsites, etc. And find out if there was a big enough contingent who would prefer the email/blog version of our newsletter. Since the return rate is so low on things like this, we made a few incentives. We stamped the postcards (extra $40). We also made the catch line: “RSVP and win a trip to France!” See below for the rest of the text. In the first three days, we got 45 enthusiastic email returns. We’ll see how we do on the postcards. Keep on keeping on. Joy

(subject) RSVP and win a trip to France!...
… Alright, not really –but close... all emails that are returned will be entered in a random drawing on November 1. The winners will receive a French cuisine dinner for 4 - made by yours truly! Yes, this means if you live far away, we’ll come and visit.
Your feedback is important to us. In an effort to put into your hands the best form of communication about our work in the CCO, could you please take a minute to indicate your choices in a reply?
1. YES - Please keep me on your mailing list!

Please indicate one or more:
› I like getting “real” mail.
8 I would prefer to read your newsletter in an email/attachment.
: I would prefer to read your newsletter on a blog site with an email alert when it’s been updated.
2. Could you please fill in any/all of this information so we can update our records? We won’t share it with anyone shady!
Name/address:

Preferred phone:
Email:
Web/blog site:
Alma Mater/date of graduation (if you went to college):
Other:



3. Please take me off your mailing list.


Thank you so much.

The best thing that happened this week...

Okay, since no one else has posted about Cami's latest question and I just found out about Cami's question, I'm jumping in and laying it all out on the table. It's time to brag on God.

For the month of September, the Lord provided $960 total from the 1st to the end of the month. That's pretty sweet in and of itself, considering how awesome it is to see the amounts going up in tntMPD.
Recently, because I'm a B, I recieved my contribution report. Actually, I got it on the 19th. Up until that point, from Monday to Thursday, I was checking it about twice a day to see if my report had come in yet. I'm sure you ALL know what that's like, right?

Recap: Total for September was $960.

I see at the top of the Crystal Report Viewer page this number: $4,225.00.
"That can't be a real number..." I said, not believing at all what I was seeing. So I scroll down the page, look at all the contributors until I hit the bottom of the page.

The number was the same, my friends. $4,225.00. WHAT???
Now before we get too excited, that's not a monthly deal, just what came in with two brand-spankin' new annual gifts, a handful of one-time gifts, and a handful of monthly gifts. Guys and gals, brothers and sisters, can I tell you something that isn't really that big of a secret? GOD. IS. AWESOME!!

If you're feeling down and out because you're struggling with support, here's a story for you. Since I got back from New Staff Training, I had struggled on and off quite a bit with raising support. Not in the sense that it was too awful for me to ask people, but in the sense that I kept hitting voicemail, after voicemail, after voicemail, after voicemail for the same people. Far too many of the people I know are my own age, and are either still in college or have just recently graduated college and have no steady income. My church is a hard place to go to for support because my church is a church-plant in a small community. I was getting discourged because I thought I was beginning to run out of options.
Because I thought I was running out of options, I got even more discouraged and sometimes would question if this was the place God wanted me to be. I wanted to work with art students in Philadelphia for Jesus' sake, and I still want it in such a terrible way. Despite discouragement and doubt, I kept making phone calls and sending out letters and emails. God's been providing all the way, which has encouraged me abundantly. This time around though? It's kind of like God was saying to His kid down here on earth, "And you thought I wasn't going to provide for you..."

Listen up, guys, because GOD IS GOOD, and GOD WILL PROVIDE! Jesus said that if we believe that we already have what we ask for, He will give it. I'd been praying that the Lord would provide in amazing ways, whether it got me out to Philadelphia by November, or in six months. I resolutely have decided that I don't care how long it actually takes, I want to serve the LORD and reach out to art students for Him.
September left me with about 18-ish%.
I figured out the math, and I'm pretty bad at math, but if I'm right then just half of this month the Lord bumped that up to about 33%.

God will provide for all of us. Ask Him to provide, believe that He will (and HAS), and keep chugging through phone calls and letters!!! Continue to be faithful to your ministry and do the support raising that allows you to DO ministry. If God provided for me in such a big way, and I don't deserve it, I know He's going to provide for you in a big way too!

What was the best thing that happened to you or your PMA this week?

One new supporter per week

I've talked to a couple folks who feel badly that they didn't do the number of phone calls they set out to do in a particular week -- yet they ended up with a new supporter. I'm sure that you have different expectations and goals than what we have set up -- but for the class, you are right on target! We are celebrating that one new supporter with you!

By the way, remember how Patrick asked a supporter to give $5000 this year? Well, the supporter thought about it and responded that he and his wife would do $500 per month...you do the math! God is Good!!

Success Story - the large ask

Exciting things are happening around staff supportraising work -- and the Supportraising Learning Module folks are leading the way. Every week I receive calls from the leaders of the peer accountability groups and I have been hearing reports like this:

"Chrissy made 25 phone dials, had12 actual conversations, got 1 new monthly and 1 new quarterly!"
and
"Laura had a dessert with 18 people there!"
and
"Bekah had 4 phone conversations and two face to face meetings!"
and
"Sean met with 12 people during his two supportraising trips!"
and
"Maxine got two new supporters!"

This is exciting stuff! Keep at it! We are setting a tone for the entire organization as we continue to set and pursue our goals with the help of our accountability partners.

I know we are focusing on our learning module class, but I thought this story would be worth sharing. At the end of September Patrick Emery, 2nd year CCO staff person at Geneva, wondered if it was time to ask a particular supporter for an increase. He got some feedback from the SR Training team and his AD and decided to go for a big ask of $5,000 for this year.

How did he go about making such an ask?

Patrick wrote, "I spent some time working on a script, called him up (to find out he was eating lunch in Las Vegas), and asked him to increase his gift to $5,000 annually. He could probably tell I was reading from a script, but it would have definitely been a disaster if I hadn't written it out. I was very disarmingly honest, and it felt really good to say some of what I was thinking to him. He said he would talk about it with his wife and I'm calling him this week to get his answer.
Of course, I hope he says yes. But even if he doesn't, it was still really good to make a huge ask like that. That's definitely more than I've ever done before.
I'll let y'all know how it turns out.."

I was going to finish the story right now, but on second thought why don't you check back in on Tuesday and find out what happened.

Welcome to our Supportraising Learning Module blogspot! This will be a place for us to share our success stories, as well as our questions. It will be a place to give one another encouragement and suggestions - and receive those same things. Sarah, John and I will check in regularly...but our greatest hope is that all of us will share in this resource as a group of peers, all seeking to successfully reach 100% and beyond!