Ulterior Motives: Building Lasting Bonds Through Ministry Campaigns

Synopsis: Every ministry looking to expand their reach considers, at some point, running a capital campaign. Many consider capital campaigns as a vehicle for fundraising. At Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), our Ministry Expansion Campaigns are about much more than just raising money. In fact, our experience tells us that a campaign that’s all about money or even mostly about money does more harm than good to long-term ministry success. Leveraging Ministry Expansion Campaigns for much more than just money can truly accelerate your ministry. 

The Power of “Ulterior Motives” in Ministry Growth 
The Christmas tree sparkled in the corner as we visited with a couple who were certainly capable of a six-figure gift. The campaign was lagging a bit and ministry leaders had invited me to help them ask people to give. Their relationship with this couple had brought many generous gifts to the ministry over the years, but they felt uncomfortable asking for a large campaign gift. The visit was awkward and uncomfortable because their friends had brought a stranger into their home to ask them for money. This was a tremendous learning experience for me and a painful one for the ministry as they did not get the gift they were counting on.  

When you treat a capital campaign solely as a fundraiser, seeing it as all about asking for money, you run the risk of offending your donors. As shared in an earlier article, the leading predictor of generosity is relationships. When you bring in a stranger to ask for money, it’s often seen as a violation of the relationship. As difficult or emotionally uncomfortable as it is for ministry leaders to ask for money, they must step up and seize the moment. 

When we talk about ulterior motives as a positive approach to Ministry Expansion Campaigns what we mean is consider having multiple goals attached to your campaign. Raising significant funds for adding facilities, growing your reach or even eliminating debt should be a celebration. You want to rally the enthusiasm of everyone in and around your ministry. When you pursue a capital campaign, everyone expects to be asked for money. That’s a given. So, don’t be shy about asking for money. At the same time, the excitement of a campaign draws attention. One of the most valuable things anyone can pay you is attention. How will you leverage your campaign to make the most of people’s attention? 

When working with schools, LCEF includes an alumni engagement strategy. Many schools don’t have a fully developed approach to alumni engagement. Some have no plan to keep alumni connected at all. The challenge with marrying an alumni engagement strategy to a capital campaign is to avoid the urge to ask for money. If your first contact with alumni is to ask for money, you do more harm than good. Instead, use the campaign to begin reconnecting to alumni. Those who are already donors and feel connected can be solicited. Those who aren’t connected should be connected over the course of the campaign, so they are fully engaged when the next campaign starts. Alumni recapture is one ulterior motive. 

Another ulterior motive is to strengthen the relationship with your donor base. As mentioned earlier, when strangers come in and ask for money, a ministry often needs to spend time restoring trust and rebuilding relationships. Instead, strengthen donor confidence by approaching your donors from a base of strong relationships and building a sense of partnership in ministry. It’s also important to distinguish between asking for donations to the capital campaign and asking for your regular annual fund needs. As much as possible, never comingle the two. Your communication should explicitly separate annual fund appeals and the special opportunity to give over and above to the capital campaign.  

Making good strategic use of a capital campaign ultimately results in advancing and enhancing God’s purpose for your ministry. It’s never about money. It’s always about ministry. As your ministry partner, LCEF guides your ministry through successful Ministry Expansion Campaigns that accomplish far more than raising money. Together we keep the focus where it belongs—honoring and following God!  

When you’re ready to expand ministry, contact Tim Kurth, LCEF Vice President of Ministry Solutions at Tim.Kurth@lcef.org.