58 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 DAYTODAY FINDING FUNDS Barry Durman Are You Building Relationships Understanding that people want to give to people Barry is director of develop ment for SIM USA. You can contact him at barry. durman@sim.org. T he Bible gives us many illustrations of asking for and giving funds. The one we probably think of most from the Old Testament is King David’s matching gift challenge found in 1 Chronicles 28–29. Then in 29:6 the leaders responded and “made their freewill offerings.” In the New Testament Jesus uses the Widow’s gift in Luke 21:1–4 as an illustration of what generous giving is. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a thank you letter for the financial and prayer support he received from that church body. These are just two illustrations from the over 2,000 verses in Scripture that refer to money. I’m encouraging you to build relationships with your donors, and through those relationships open the door for them to give more often and in larger amounts. People give to people! It’s through engaging in trusted relationships that we can listen for signs of interests (passions) where a donor may be willing to invest more in your ministry. We can also begin to understand their capacity and inform them of projects within their interests that they could prayerfully consider supporting. To do this you need to be with them personally, engaging in purposeful conversations about the ministry. This isn’t something that happens organi- cally; you need to plan appointments with appropriate individuals on a regular basis. The development team should make this a very high priority for their time. The director/ president should also plan on a significant portion of his or her time for major donor visits (more than you would think). The more time spent in this activity, the deeper the relation- ships and the greater the financial partnership. Group events help, but nothing takes the place of face-to-face time. Your agenda should be planned so that the discussion brings the donor into the inner circle and makes them feel like a member of the ministry’s team. Be sure that you outline the part they can play by making a financial gift, which helps transform lives. Then begin visiting! These may be coffee visits, meal visits, or office visits. When visiting a business person in his or her office, ask for a 20-minute visit. This opens the door more often than longer or shorter time requests. Stick to the time limits unless the donor asks you to stay longer. Make sure your plan is accomplished within the 20 minutes. If an ask is to be a part of the discussion, leave time at the end for questions and discussion. And always be sure that your next visit is planned before you leave.