Major Donor Fundraising

Mark 12:41-44

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."

When I began in the wonderful world of development, I learned all kinds of new vocabulary:

Donor: a person who gives some money

Major donor: a person who gives lots of money - more than $1,000 per year?

Gift: money now

Planned Gift: money later - generally after the death of the donor

Development: the act of getting the money

Cultivation: the process of relationship building which results in getting money

Many schools and non-profits have a job called Major Donor Development officer. On its face, the position is straightforward: concentrate time and "development" with the larger donors in order to get the best (financial) return for the effort expended.

Then I was reminded of this story of generosity where Jesus described a major donor in a totally different way. The widow's contribution was proportionately huge.

I don't expect the secular world to understand and follow this teaching, but I do expect us Christians to ask ourselves if we are raising funds in the way that gives glory to Jesus and edifies the donor.

As Christian fundraisers, we must look to the scriptures to guide our work. Of course, it is counter-cultural to give attention to the smaller donors. But, that is the message of the cross: God Himself laid down His perfect life for imperfect beings like us.

What does this truth mean to Christian fundraisers? First, we should start by trying to see the donor as the Lord sees the donor. Can we try to fully appreciate the size of the donation in proportion to what the person has? What if these early and small gifts are the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in his heart to get him excited about the joy of giving? What if these small financial gifts are accompanied by large amounts of prayer and "giving" in other (non-cash) ways? Let's think about how the Lord might be using these "small" gifts to accomplish big things for the Kingdom; we may get a blessing ourselves when we are close to this generosity.

Maybe our "major donors" are not our largest ones after all.