Challenge Grant for Christian School Annual Fund

Next month we will have the formal launch of our Annual Fund campaign. We combine the launch with an evening called the Fine Dessert in which we feature every grade demonstrating some aspect of what they are learning. To that extent, the evening serves as both an introduction, or showcase, for prospective parents. It is one of the few times we can gather the entire school.

This week I had a meeting with the father of one our newer students who wants to make a gift of $10,000, a large gift for a school of our size. He was excited that God has been blessing his business and he is in position to do something significant in response to the Lord's goodness.

He asked how this gift could be leveraged to encourage additional giving. We came up with two ways:

1. Use this gift to encourage other major donors to make a significant commitment.
2. Use the combined commitments of these major donors (10 total) to provide the encouragement and impetus for others at the Dessert to make a pledge or gift to the Annual Fund.

In this past week I had some wonderful conversations with friends of the school who are committing to larger-than-usual gifts to bring this "Challenge Grant" up to a larger amount.

So far, we have over $40,000 in commitments and there are others to hear from. I believe we will be able to go to the dinner with almost half of the Annual Fund pledged. Praise the Lord!

This Challenge Grant is not a matching program. The individuals are going to contribute; this is not a conditional offer, i.e. if you don't get the first $50,000, then you cannot get the matching $50,000.

No, we have a group of families who stand strongly for the school and want to back their words with action. They do not want to be named, their donations will aggregated and anonymous.

Maybe your school has a donor who God is raising up to lead such a challenge.

The Stewardship of Faculty and Staff

It is no secret that Christian schools (and other ministries) do not pay market wages for their dedicated and capable staff. We assume that they are "in it for the ministry". In fact, many are, but that is no reason not to compensate them well for their labors.

Salary is only one component of compensation. Here are valuable benefits that figure into total compensation:

• Free or reduced tuition or trade-off against salary. Valuable and non-taxable (at least for now)


• Health insurance and flexible spending accounts for co-pays and deductibles


• Short and Long-term disability - generally very low cost since teachers tend to be young


• Life insurance - $50,000 in coverage can be very cost-effective


• Retirement plans (i.e. 401K) where the employees' contributions are matched by the school

If your school does not offer these, it could be another way of declaring how you value your staff and their contribution to the school.

Further, you may find an exceptional benefits organization (as have we) who will also provide financial counsel and advice.

Lastly, there may be a donor who sees the need to provide these kinds of benefits who would step up and help underwrite the cost. You don't know until you ask.

Caring for employees is the good stewardship of our most valuable assets.

Christian Fundraisers Need to Dream Big, too

A few weeks back I wrote about a donor to our school who has some lofty ambitions to reach the inner city schools with a classical and Christian education. His dream goes beyond what he can act on right now and even further than our school has forecast in its strategic plan. However, the idea stimulates our thinking to go beyond what we usually think of and it is an opportunity to lay before the Lord some plans that only He can make happen.

We fundraisers should dream, too. Many times it is about a new facility which implies a capital campaign. What if we set our financial sights a little lower and conceived of a new program or two that would substantially change our offering and strengthen the overall education?

Some of these ideas are contained in the school's Strategic, or Long Range, Plans. For example, we have some specific ideas of expanding our music and orchestral program. We can see the day when our athletics program is broader. Our Strategic Plan envisions the day when we can launch an NILD program to help students with mild learning disabilities.

When the rest of the school is occupied with the daily task of training the young minds, we stewardship folks can be projecting a year or two or three into the future and talking to people about projects that create a step change in the school's overall education.

Think about these and when someone asks, "What's new?", you'll have a great story to tell that might just capture someone's imagination.

A Generous Donor Dreams a Big Dream

Yesterday I got to visit with a donor who I've never met in person. He and his wife became major donors when they blessed the school with a gift of $1,000. As with almost every gift to the school I called to say thank you and to inquire as to what motivated this particular one. But, since we had not met in person, I asked for an breakfast appointment.

As we talked he told me why he and his wife were so pleased with the school and how the education provided the perfect incubator to develop their son spiritually, academically and relationally. He has just finished his first year of college and he is excelling there, too.

Given the impact that Tall Oaks education had on their son, they desire to help scholarship a student from a lower-income family who might not otherwise be able to come. They are particularly interested in inner city kids whose parents may have never considered this kind of school.

It gets better. Their really big idea is to have our suburban school mentor and nurture an inner-city Christian school that desires to become a premier academic institution. We only dreamed yesterday about what this could like and the resources that would be required, but it was an exciting conversation to be sure.

What is important is that this donor had the opportunity to "fly their dream" and to express their dedication for Christian education.

We are "donor disciplers" who are called to help God's people bring their best to His table.