Funding

These materials provide what you absolutely need to know about funding National Conference ’07 and beyond. Please look over this information carefully and consider how you can raise the money you’ll need for the conference and catch up on your regular finances.

Take a look at what the Staff Funding Team has included:

A timeline to help you plan ahead for your National Conference funding needs.
A sample two-page letter with places for you to customize. (Don’t merely photocopy it and send it out as is!)
Partner Progress - Use these sheets to record who has given and to track your thank-you notes.
Anchor Team - List people to whom you could add a handwritten note suggesting they pray about an anchor gift (see P.P.S. below).
Summary of Appeal - Staff Funding would like to track the results of your National Conference ’07 funding appeal letter.
Information on ordering commitment cards preprinted with your name and Nav account number and response envelopes (see Timeline). These are free!

Will a “pre-fab” letter like this work? Yes! Veteran staff Shannon Sandquist used the 2003 Tampa staff conference appeal letter and raised more than the full amount of the conference. Shannon said, “People were excited for us to go to Tampa. Many asked if we were raising enough [money to attend].” The letter works!

If you’re wise, you can use this letter to help you fund not only this fall’s conference but also to help you reach your fully funded budget. This is an opportunity for you to move forward in your long-term funding. And if your funding is where it should be, perhaps you could help other staff in need.

Because so many staff are overwhelmed at starting an appeal letter from scratch, we’ve included a model letter. Take advantage of what the Development Team has learned. We’ve seen that applying a few simple guidelines vastly improves results.

Be sure to insert your own copy at the suggested places, including a ministry “war story” that is meaningful to you. Work with the copy. Make it your own.

However, be careful not to change the appeal paragraphs. We’ve learned from thousands of direct mail appeals that our audience prefers to be asked in certain ways. Don’t worry about it being “too direct.” It’s fine. Clear, direct appeals work best.

Some donors will consider November 1 their giving deadline because that’s the day the conference starts. However, I suggest you give them a deadline of October 1—about a month ahead. An earlier deadline will mean funds are in your account to purchase plane tickets, pay for registration, and will alleviate a last-minute funding “crunch.”

As a rule of thumb, give your readers four to six weeks to respond to your letter appeal. We suggest you mail your letter sometime between August 1-25. Whether you are in the U.S. or overseas, this will give your constituency sufficient time to mail their gift to Headquarters for your conference project account.

Don’t forget to review the enclosed timeline to help you maximize this opportunity.

If you have questions or want editing advice on your letter, please call Molly Gilberts in the Staff Funding department at 1-800-530-8282 or 719-594-2497. You can also reach her via e-mail at molly.gilberts@navigators.org.

See you in St. Louis! Looking forward to our time together.

Scott Morton
Vice President of Development

P.S. Please consider asking for more than your National Conference ’07 costs to boost you toward your fully funded budget goal. Pray about the exact figure you’ll present in your letter, and believe God for the entire amount.

P.P.S. Also, consider asking six to ten friends for a special anchor gift of $500-$1,000-$2,000. Add a note like this...hand-written:

“Dan, in order to reach my goal of $______, special gifts of $500-$1,000-$2,000 will be necessary. I wonder if you’d prayerfully consider helping to anchor the giving team with a gift in that range. I’ll phone* in a couple of weeks to discuss it. Thanks.”

* Call to follow up on these personal notes—even from overseas! A higher phone bill one month is worth every penny for raising support and bonding with friends.