Fundraising: A Vegetable Parable
A young man was hungry and desired to eat. He considered his options: plant a garden with seeds and wait for the plants to produce vegetables, or go to the grocery store to make a quick purchase. He weighed the length of time that each option required before he could satisfy his craving. The young man chose to shop at the local market to buy vegetables prepared by others. He did so, returned to his home, and ate those items. The next day, the young man became hungry again…
You may wonder to yourself how this parable relates to fundraising. Stay with me as I unpack this. Fundraising is a philosophy that consists of multiple paths to pursue when seeking to raise capital for a campaign. To be concise, I will touch on two main streams of thought—the short-term and the long-term philosophies. Both can be successful; both have pros; both have liabilities.
Many leaders choose the short-term path to fundraising, consisting of approaching potential donors with a compelling presentation of why funds are needed for the campaign. Donors expect this approach, as it is often used by organizations and individuals who seek their tax-deductible contributions. This path can be likened to the young man seeking to meet his immediate needs by going to the grocery store for vegetables. His hunger pangs drove him to quickly appease the urge. Did he accomplish his mission? Yes, temporarily. Did he pay more than he should have? Yes, most likely. The young man paid for convenience and immediate results. Yet, his strategy was short-sighted as he would face hunger pangs again a short time later. He may even blame the food, the store, or the unfairness of life for this frustrating circumstance.
The lesser-used approach to fundraising consists of a long-term vision, likened to planting vegetable seeds and growing your own food. The young man could have planted seeds at a fraction of the cost of purchasing fully-grown vegetables, then nourished those seeds with water, soil, fertilizer, sunlight, and time. Does this path require more labor, attention, and time than the other? Absolutely. But look at the fruits of his efforts…Or should I say the vegetables of his efforts? He grew an exponential number of plants with many individual vegetables on each that would produce more seeds that would generate harvests for years to come.
Fundraising as a long-term strategy is effective but does take time. It consists of building relationships, nourishing them with attention and intentionality. We don’t expect a plentiful crop to grow overnight. But when the time of harvest arrives, it will be bountiful! We must not rush the process.
The first $1,000,000 donation that I received in my fundraising career came through relationship-building over a five-year period with one couple. In the first year they donated $2,000 and shortly thereafter another $2,000. In the third year, they gave $5,000 and then $25,000. By year four, they decided to give $249,900. This was followed by a $1,000,000 gift from their relative and another $100,000 from a sister. The couple’s final gift was $10,000,000 in year four! It is important to note that after every donation, I wrote a personal “Thank you” card, whether a small or large amount was given. Expressing gratitude is an integral element of raising capital—sowing seeds through personal relationships. Fundraising, for me, is all about building relationships, building trust, and building a vision for others to experience through you over time.
We sow seeds in others and water them over time through long-term relational investment. Highly fruitful fundraising, therefore, cannot be accomplished like pulling through the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant or a brief stop at the grocery store. Harvesting a crop of 100-fold will follow the disciplines of patiently sowing seeds, nourishing the soil, watering the plants, preparing for the extension of roots, and cultivating the surrounding environment. At last, you observe blossoms and then finally…Fruitfulness. It is indeed the longer-term commitment between the two options, but I believe it produces the greater harvest.
My admonition is this: Patiently invest your time in people, share your vision with genuine passion, commit to long-term relationship-building, don’t fear to make “the ask” when you sense the time is right to reap, and trust the Lord to grow the seeds. There is no room for worry when you decide to leave the results in the hands of the Heavenly Gardener who makes seeds blossom in His time.