Support Raising Tips

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The notes on this page are taken from William P. Dillon’s People Raising, A Practical Guide to Raising Support

Models to Follow

  1. George Mueller – prayer alone
  2. Hudson Taylor – prayer and information, but no solicitation
  3. D.L. Moody – prayer, information, & solicitation

The question is, which model for support raising does Scripture teach exclusively?

Answer: There is no one model. There is no right model and no wrong model.

Some Practical Tips

The following suggestions are for making solicitations!

  • Pray about the process and pray during the process. This is a personal faith builder, and a way God is glorified.
  • The key to raising support successfully is to contact people you know in the most personal and practical way possible. Following are the results of a study indicating (in order) the most effective ways to make contacts:
    • One on one
    • Small group discussion
    • Large group discussion
    • Telephone
    • Handwritten letter
    • Typed letter
  • Develop a list of contacts.
    • Church
    • Family
    • Neighbours
    • School contacts
    • Employers (supervisors, fellow workers, customers)
    • Friends
  • Evaluate (guess) the giving ability of each contact as you may want to ask some contacts for a larger sum than others.
  • Write a letter or speak to individuals or groups.
    • Start with an attention grabber.
    • Give an update on yourself.
    • Convey your burden (why God wants you at The Oakes)
    • Explain a bit about The Oakes giving address and phone details, its vision, and outreach.
    • Explain your need. You are provided room and board only. You need pocket money, but it would be very helpful to The Oakes (since it is a charitable organization) if you could cover the expense of your stay or part of it as well--about £2,000 for the year.
    • Provide a means to respond to your financial need (include an envelope and provide address details of The Oakes.) If people want to help cover the £2,000 expense, a cheque should be made to The Oakes Trust (Sheffield) and sent with a note indicating the amount is to help cover the cost of your stay. If the donor is a UK tax payer, a Gift Aid Declaration form could be completed which would increase the contribution to The Oakes. (Call the office to get more details on this.) If the gift is for your pocket money, cheques should be made payable to you.
  • If you write a letter, keep is simple, short (one page), with lots of white space, and possibly use graphics. Hand sign the letter. You may want to add a handwritten P.S.
  • When speaking to people, be positive and sincere. Show enthusiasm. Ask for specific help and then be quiet giving the people time to think and respond.
  • Thank people. Thank people immediately. Thank people in writing.
  • Keep supporters updated monthly or quarterly, and at the end of the year thank them for their support.
  • Pray for your supporters and ask them to provide you with their prayer requests.