Faith-based groups of all sizes and denominations are the backbone of the nonprofit world, providing a loving hand, safety net, and sense of community to others. They are not only driven to make the world a better place, but also feel a calling to help others who are less fortunate. Many of these groups get so caught up in fundraising, however, that their message of a higher mission is getting muddled. This week, we highlight how faith-based groups have used a mission-based system to reconnect donors to their missions and bring faith back into their fundraising.

Benevon works with faith-based groups of all types, denominations, and sizes—large seminaries, small ministries, inner-city community ministries, international relief groups, Bible translation groups, and many more. In 2004, Benevon actively trained and coached dozens of faith-based groups, from international groups—such as The Salvation Army, Alpha USA and Alpha Canada, and Hand-in-Hand Ministries—to smaller groups, such as Concordia Lutheran School and Columbia Theological Seminary.

The following represent a few of the hundreds of faith-based organizations that have begun to build sustainable funding for their missions with the Benevon Model.

The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, with its large army of volunteers, is one of the most recognized charities in the country, lending a helping hand to those most in need since 1865. The Texas Division of The Salvation Army felt that, somewhere along the way, the community's perception of their mission had become confusing, so they turned to a mission-based system of fundraising.

Nineteen corps of The Salvation Army attended a customized Benevon 101 Workshop in Dallas last summer and they have since been busy holding monthly introductory Point of Entry^® Events.

"We are grateful and our units are grateful to do this and to have such a well-written and well-defined guide to follow. I think one of the things that excites us most is that the [Benevon] Model is bringing us back to our mission," said Kelly Drawdy, director of public relations and marketing for The Salvation Army Texas Division.

Concordia Lutheran School
Concordia Lutheran School in Tacoma, Washington, has been part of the community for more than 100 years and never really did much fundraising beyond parent-teacher projects. But six years ago, when the K–8 school teamed up with the newly formed Mt. Rainier Lutheran High School, they launched a capital campaign to raise money for the land and property. They brought in $6 million but didn't have any money for operating expenses, which is why they turned to the Benevon Model. In fall, 2003, the school sent a team to a Benevon 101 Workshop, and the next fall, a team went to a 201 Workshop.

"For us it's a perfect model, especially being a Christian school, because it's all about developing long-term relationships with people," said executive director Paul Bethke. His team raised $325,000 in gifts and pledges at their first Ask Event.

"The model has not only brought in revenue for our annual fund and operating expenses, but it has been a very powerful way for us to show people what it is that we do here—people who don't know us," said Bethke.

Alpha Ministries USA and Alpha Canada
Alpha Ministries offers a ten-week course that introduces people to Christianity primarily in a dinner-movie format. It's mainly offered in churches but also in prisons, hospitals, college campuses, and private homes.

Don Kinnie, director of operations of Alpha Ministries Canada, found that many people committed to Alpha knew a lot before coming to their introductory Point of Entry Events, so by the time they were invited to the fundraising Ask Event, they were wondering why they hadn't been asked already. At their first Ask Event, they received a $10,000 donation in IT equipment with a retail value of about $25,000–30,000, pledges of $52,000, a $20,000 display booth, and some significant volunteers.

Meanwhile at Alpha USA in Houston, which opened in 2001, a team including executive director Scott Helma attended both a 101 and 201 Workshop. Their first Ask Event was a huge success, bringing in $527,000 in gifts and pledges; the second Ask Event last year brought in another $265,000—nearly $800,000 in gifts and pledges over a two-year period.

Columbia Theological Seminary
Richard DuBose, vice president for development and seminary relations at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, wrote a detailed account of his two-year experience with the Benevon Model in the fall, 2004, issue of Seminary Development News. He wrote that in recent years, annual fundraising had become increasingly difficult and that expanding the donor base was "proving harder than it should for a 175-year-old institution with a loyal alumni base and a great story to tell."

DuBose said at first he was worried about the Benevon Model because Axelrod's "straight-to-the-heart emotional approach might not work so well in the stodgy world of theological education, or in the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

But Columbia Theological Seminary did sign on with Benevon and attend a workshop.

DuBose writes: "We saw dramatic results immediately." Since May, 2003, when they held their first fundraising Ask Event, they have raised $755,000 in gifts and pledges from loyal donors, lapsed donors, new annual fund donors, and new donors.

"Perhaps the most important tangible benefit is that, overwhelmingly, our trustees, alums, and other core volunteers love the events," he wrote.

Hand-in-Hand Ministries
Hand-in-Hand Ministries is a Louisville, Kentucky, group that provides hope to the poorest of the poor through projects such as working with people who live in the Managua, Nicaragua, landfill and providing services for children affected by AIDS/HIV in Belize. They had such great success with their fundraising Ask Event last fall, the group is one of the first to sign on for a five-year program with Benevon. The group raised nearly $400,000 in gifts and pledges with 340 people in attendance.

"I, personally, am very privileged to be part of a fundraising program that I believe gives an organization a chance to express, from our hearts, what and who we are," wrote Hand-in-Hand Ministries development director Susan Smith.

Benevon offers free Sustainable Funding Conference Calls for Faith-Based Organizations on a regular basis for faith-based groups to learn about the Benevon Model and talk with Benevon alumni that have implemented the model. Visit our Conference Calls page to register for an upcoming call.

The Benevon Model was actually developed at a faith-based organization—an inner-city Christian school in Seattle. Read Terry's Story to learn more.