eRestorer March 2009
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eRestorer is compiled and edited by Pam Toussaint |
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INSPIREIntercession Makes a Difference in Wisconsin Urban ministry veteran shares chilling tale of victory by Sharon Schuldt |
TRAINMinistry Leaders Offer Their Strategies
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CONNECTTrue Advocacy: Beyond the Protest Sign An Interview with Craig Wong, executive director, Grace Urban Ministries, San Francisco
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CONNECTTRUE ADVOCACY: Beyond the Protest SignAn Interview with Craig Wong, executive director, Grace Urban Ministries, San Francisco
Profile: Long-time CCDAer, Craig Wong is a Chinese-American, attending a church of mostly middle-class professionals in the Bay Area, and ministering in a neighborhood called “The Mission District,” a struggling Latino immigrant community. The founding pastor of the 25-year-old Grace Fellowship Community Church where Craig serves was shaped by the Civil Rights movement in California. The pastor’s dismay at the silence of the white evangelical church during that tenuous era propelled him on an ecclesiological journey—asking the question: What does is mean to be the church? “Were still learning ourselves,” says Craig, executive director of Grace’s CDC and a CCDA board member. “It has been on my heart a lot, spurred on by our congregation’s journey."
Q: Why is San Francisco a unique place to do Christian advocacy? A: I live in a liberal, progressive city. What most Christians think is radical and sacrificial is pretty normative in San Francisco. Many secular organizations and individuals ‘live for justice’ here. There is a great emphasis here on being a ‘sanctuary city’ for the undocumented immigrant. That means we offer them services, health care and other assistance more freely. That also means that the local authorities in SF are not going to cooperate in federal authorities regarding things like sweeps and other such things. This stance has a tone of Christ’s posture towards the person, transcending political quirks. Many of us churches support this and partner with the government to do it. We really hope President Obama will reverse some of the policies [that negatively affect immigrants.] Q: Does this kind of supportive societal environment make it easier to live out CCD principles like reconciliation, relocation and redistribution?
Q: How did you begin to live out advocacy in your church and ministry? A: We seek to be a community that extends mercy and stands alongside families at risk. We have lawyers in our congregation, and we find ways to provide practical tools for the families that we serve by hosting community education workshops, and immigration forums. On Friday nights our KALEO ministry, (which means ‘to invite)’ offers hospitality, food, friendship-building and teaching in an informal setting, teaching ministry. We teach ESL, computer literacy, resume writing; but the family that Christ creates is the most important thing we offer our neighbors. As we do this we must listen, be willing to be changed by them, and learn about the systems that are affecting them. We’re much more inclined to want to fix someone than to join them. We are a congregation largely made up of Asian and white professionals that are being changed and challenged by our immigrant neighbors. We must be in real community--real life. As Christians, we are being transformed in our values and our ways of thinking. This way we can see the injustices that are going on in our city that we otherwise wouldn’t see. As our outreaches draw people into the congregation, we must be continually self-examining.
Q: What challenges do you face doing Christian advocacy within and without the church environment? A: As a result of San Francisco’s strong position in favor of the undocumented, youth violence has risen. For example, a recent shooting was done by an undocumented immigrant from Honduras. What do you do? Should he be punished like anyone else? Should any youth that fit the description of the shooter be turned over to federal authorities, and eventually deported? Our governor says Yes, and now is backpedaling on some of the ‘sanctuary city’ values. As the Church, we would have to say No, and not bow to political pressure, but maintain a posture of living what we worship—welcoming the stranger and practicing Christ’s hospitality. A friend of mine said, ‘Good theology leads to good ministry, and good ministry leads to good theology.’ I would add that good theology also leads to good advocacy. We can talk about an ethic of caring at a societal level, but we must first ask how we are living that out as brothers and sisters in the Christian community and before those who God brings to our church doors. Ron Sider said something like, ‘We do not want to ask our government to live and act in ways that we are not living and acting in the Church.’
Q: Describe how you work with other congregations and community leaders to do Christian advocacy in your city. Why is this so vital? A: We sponsor forums and other events that bring faith and community leaders together. We hosted our first theological gathering on immigration--not to discuss reform, but to draw from our collective theological lenses and understand the implications for the Church in light of the immigration crisis. What it did was bring people together to engage in an important issue, and just practice having theological dialogue. This is a very important part of Christian advocacy. We also coalesced congregation members and leaders, along with the community activists who now meet monthly. More people from different congregations—evangelical, mainline, and Catholic, now attend. It’s essential to rub shoulders with local advocates and agencies, Christian or not, that are engaging the issues and systems that are affecting immigrants. Along with two other congregations, we had a prayer service on the war in Iraq and addressed the rising nationalism that came about after 9/11. It increased our sensitivity to our nation’s use of violence to solve our problems, and showed how counter to the gospel that is. A few years ago a church elder and I also represented our church at a prayer vigil in Washington, D.C. with Jim Wallis. We gave voice and physical presence to what God says is true. It was a demonstration of unity, shalom and the world needs to see and hear that. |
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TRAINTriumphing in Tough Time$Ministry Leaders Offer Their Strategies |
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“Be led by faith and be bold in asking…and see how the Lord will provide.”
Crissy Brooks, executive director, Mika CDC, Costa Mesa. Approximate Budget: $500,000 |
“Get face-to-face with as many donors as possible. Don’t make a goal of asking for money—
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“Clarify your organization’s mission statement. Anything you do that doesn’t fit into it, cut.” Art Erickson, founder and executive director, Urban Ventures, Minneapolis. Approximate Budget: $3 million
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Crissy Brooks, executive director, Mika CDC, Costa Mesa.
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We are being more deliberate and pursuing new relationships—really thinking through the presentation to donors... Be diligent in telling the story, and trust that God will put it on people’s hearts to give. Every week we see the Lord come through. |
This guy called me up and said he just wanted to send us his whole tithe for 2008. Prior to that, he was a friend, but never a donor. We sent that donor a postcard that reminded him about us in November 2008. He didn’t respond then, but he did later. I learned from Larry Acosta—keep reaching out to people. We’re ministers. We’re in relationship with them, so we must care about them, whether they can give or not.
Our monthly income has never been the same as our monthly expenses, so we’ve always had to see how the Lord will provide. Nothing’s really changed—we’ve always lived like that." --CB
Rodolpho Carrasco, executive director, Harambee Ministries, Pasadena. Approximate Budget: $750,000
“‘Friendraising’ is important. Get face-to-face with as many donors as possible. Keep strengthening relationships; don’t make a goal of asking for money. There should be an ongoing relationship even if you had a million in the bank. It’s when you talk that you find things out. Like many people will say, ‘I’d like to come help you. We need to get our people out of the pews.’ You may just want them to give (not come visit), but you need to position yourself to host them, and be willing and inclined to do so.
Make sure the core stuff that’s working, keeps working. There is stuff that we are doing already that brings in funds, then there are the dream things. For us, it’s school tuition and rent. We saw that we needed to be better at collections. We rented out five home-like spaces we had reserved for visiting groups, and we’re now getting a total of $100K a year in rent. We now use the main space (called the Family Room, which is like a gym) for visiting groups. Managing the budget made me see this opportunity, and we already had the space in place. You already have stuff at home that you’re not using—these are your ‘birds in the hand’ (which are worth two in the bush).
Be careful of putting out a lot of energy for a tiny return. There are a lot of supporters out there who give small amounts and we need not ignore them, but to increase that group of supporters you have to have a huge economy of scale and a lot of volunteers. I recently had 20 significant conversations with a group of 20 people in a suburban church, in a five-hour period. For the time put in, I don’t know if that [trying to reach the small donor] would have been as valuable to do.
Strengthen your volunteer coordinator position. This is one of the things you’d think to cut out of the budget at this time, but Nooooo! There needs to be someone who can deal with folks who visit your ministry, because it’s important that they have a good, well-coordinated experience. I can draw people in with my speaking engagements, but now I have someone who can make sure that all types of visiting groups have a great time. There are often groups looking for ‘an experience’ and they know we do that sort of thing. This invariably comes out of the face-to-face. Many of these visiting groups then catch the vision and turn into supporters.” --RC
Art Erickson, founder and executive director, Urban Ventures, Minneapolis.
Approximate Budget: 3 million
“Crises make you do things you should have done before, but didn’t. Have to look at your mission statement and make sure that it’s accurate and clear, make any revisions necessary. Ask: what are the things we do that contribute to our mission? Anything that doesn’t fit in, you must cut. What you’re left with will need more integration, so you will gain more internal connectivity out of the process. Every ministry needs to work together better. There will be some good ideas lying around that you never thought of, kind of like when you’re cleaning your garage, you say, “Ay, this could fit in right here, but I never thought of it.”
Network more with volunteers and work with other agencies-- sometimes we’re all working for some of the same people, but we’ve been isolated. This will force us to get outside and meet folks. Our organization is gathering groups of pastors and heads of other non profits who’ve been in this neighborhood for some time. Half of them don’t know each other because we’re so busy we don’t get out of our little box. People have been very amenable to these gatherings.
Look at your donor list and see if just a couple of funders have been long term with you (the ones who have deep pockets) and could understand that you need help for maybe four years. I raise the budget on a monthly basis now, two to three months in advance. Most ministries have a cash flow problem that they try to catch up with at the end of the year. We have to operate in a business model—businesses look at raw data and make cuts.
I ask donors, ‘What are you giving this year, and when?’ Then I make a schedule of monthly cash flow, not yearly. |
People are going to want a return on their investment now. We often don’t give real clear outcomes, we give more vision, but we’ll need to do more of the former. Large suburban churches that rely on year-end stock gifts didn’t get them last year, so they’re cutting programs they don’t need. In a church setting, the pastor is in front of the congregation each week, but in CDC we reach out with a letter, an appeal, or an event once a year.
What role does faith play in all of this? God is preparing for His bridegroom to come. The collapse of the economy in the perspective of God is not that we rebuild this earth, but that we communicate Jesus Christ and help people give their lives to Him, and that we continue to break the cycle of generational poverty.” --AE
BE A GRANT STAND-OUT
In these times, it's even more important to be strategic and knowledgeable when seeking funds. What can you do to make your grant request stand out?
1) Show ‘em your results
Foundations and corporations like to fund results, not just a bunch of program activities. This is true of individual donors as well. Program outcomes show how the lives of your participants changed because they were part of your program. So if you have a transitional housing program, for instance, clearly document the impact the program has on those families--are they more stable, more employed, or able to complete education?
2) Read the fine print
Read foundation guidelines carefully before you even begin to write your grant proposal. Guidelines detail what kinds of projects the funders supports, where they give, and what needs to be in and attached to your proposal (very important!). You can also research individual donors. Search the internet to find out about their background and where they give and volunteer. Friends and business associates of the donor can provide information on the person's particular interests and passions.
3) Have difficult conversations
I advise my clients to have blunt conversations with their donors about what giving will be like this year. Ask corporate and foundation funders if they are likely to continue giving at the same level. If not, what is the level of support likely to be? Check in with your major individual donors as well. These can be hard conversations to have, especially if you receive bad news, but the sooner you know about donors who will be giving less (or maybe nothing at all), the more time you have to come up with other fundraising strategies.
4) Keep marketing efforts alive
The more well-known your organization is in your community, the easier it is to raise funds. Unfortunately, just when you need to find additional funding (like during a tough economy), it's the marketing that gets cut from the budget. Instead of reducing your marketing efforts, find ways to ramp them up even further. Try to devote a portion of your budget to things like brochures, newsletters, and a well put-together website. Even regular e-mail updates will keep your organization in front of your supporters at low cost.
Joy Skjegstad consults with churches and ministry organizations around the country, specializing in strategic planning, fundraising strategies, and launching new community ministry. joynonprofit@juno.com. For info on her book Winning Grants to Strengthen Your Ministry (Alban Institute)--click here http://www.alban.org/bookdetails.aspx?id=4040
GOT AFFINITY?
The word affinity means ‘similar’ or ‘resembling.’ Affinity marketing partnerships are where you leverage relationships with Christian vendors and others who share your values and empathize with your cause to add to or underwrite part of your ministry’s budget. How does it work?
One way to form an affinity partnership is to research business or trade associations that share a Christian organization’s values and investigate how you can synergize with their already-established annual events. Company golf outings, holiday galas and conferences will often have a special “benefit” component. Why not arrange for your organization to be the beneficiary? Some partners to consider: Christian publishers and bookstores, manufacturers of church furnishings, Christian travel agencies, and Christian promotional product distributors in your area. Be proactive in seeking out these associations to underwrite specific needs or invite them to provide gifts in kind (e.g., new bibles, furniture, hotel accommodations for the next retreat, etc.).
Another way to form an affinity partnership is to encourage supporters to purchase ordinary products/services such as wireless phones or Internet services with the vendor agreeing to giveback a portion of the proceeds from those sales to your organization. It’s a win-win: supporters feeling good knowing they are helping without having to give more, and your ministry benefits from an annuity-like, stream of funds. For example, Mika CDC has an affinity partnership with Goodsearch, a search engine that pays the ministry each time a supporter uses them to surf the web. “It could be a lot more [profitable] if we promoted it and got our network using it,” notes Crissy Brooks, Mika’s ED.
Communicate the affinity marketing partnership with your supporters regularly via a press release, newsletters (traditional or e-newsletters), direct marketing (postal mail or email) and Internet marketing via your website and the websites of allies via links and banner ads.
For more information on ways to raise funds in a challenging economy, visit: www.affinity4.com
INSPIRE Relocation/Reconciliation
Intercession Makes a Difference in Wisconsin
Urban ministry veteran shares chilling tale of victory
by Sharon Schuldt
Last summer, we were planning a "get ready for school” outreach and Bible lesson at the duplex where two Christian guys have relocated on a street behind our church on the northeast side of Milwaukee. We were surprised to have 28 kids and 12 adults (including us) show up. Everyone finished eating the picnic style meal in the backyard, and since there was only one bathroom and a long line, one of the teenagers decided it would be faster to run home than to wait. An adult had just finished talking with him and had also prayed with him. We had just begun separating the boys and girls into teams when we heard what we thought were some noisy fireworks down the street. Well, it wasn't fireworks, it was gunfire.
We rushed the kids behind the basement wall, even though some wanted to hop the fence to the creek to try to get home. All 12 of us adults stood around the 27 kids as a shield. When we knew it was all over we started to let the kids go back to their homes, as their families started to come looking for them.Some of the neighbors were surprised that "those white folks and a couple of blacks" actually protected their kids [during the shooting] more than they did!
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Later, we found out that the boy who had run home to use the bathroom was shot . . .we were told that he could be paralyzed from the waist down.
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After all the kids had gone, the adults just started praying. We learned the next day that there were two guns and close to 18 shots fired. Thankfully, only that one teenager was hit. The next day I called my prayer partner to let her know what had happened. She asked me what time the shooting occurred. I said about 7:10 p.m. She then told us that she and her husband and her mom were getting ready to go out the night before, but the Holy Spirit prompted her to stop and pray for my protection. I asked her what time that was. She said about 6:50 pm. God had not only answered her prayers but ours as well. The sixteen-year old boy that was shot and given a paralysis prognosis was released and walked out of the hospital just three days after the shooting!
Interestingly, the verse we had planned to teach the kids that night was Psalm 46:1, God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. God used the incident to open hearts to the truth of His love, as only He can do. Praise the Lord!
Sharon Schuldt has been doing urban ministry for the past 20 years and has been a part of CCDA since its inception in 1989.
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