Posted by Fundraising Pro on February 25, 2010
America is the most charitable country on earth. And according to a recent essay by Adam Meyerson, president of The Philanthropy Roundtable, one third of all this charitable giving–$100 billion a year–goes to religious organizations. For churches and Christian organizations that rely on Christian fundraising to meet financial needs, this is great news!
But you may be thinking “Then why is it so hard for my Christian organization to raise money?” Even with modest fundraising goals, many churches and Christian organizations cannot seem to raise enough to meet their financial needs. Here at Samaritan Fundraising, we realized that this was because many Christian organizations were using traditional Christian fundraising methods that were either outdated or not appealing to donors. That is why we created the Samaritan Card!
The Samaritan Card is a new Christian fundraiser, one that your donors will want to buy. The Samaritan Card is a discount card that is revolutionizing the world of Christian fundraising. Marketing a Christian fundraising product to your donors that allows them to save more money than they spend has helped numerous Christian organizations find huge Christian fundraising success.
With $100 billion dollars to go around, your Christian fundraiser needs to be efficient and easy, and appealing to donors. With the Samaritan Card, Christian fundraising will never be the same.
Posted by Fundraising Pro on February 22, 2010
Whether you are trying to raise money for a new church, thriving youth group, or Christian ministry to the homeless, we at Samaritan Fundraising understand that your fundraising is about more than just money. Reaching out to your congregation or community seems like it should be easier, but all too often Christian organizations find themselves short on funds that are so desperately needed to continue their work. And the frustrations involved with trying to find donors and organize a Christian fundraiser seem to be neverending.
Even billionaire investor Warren Buffet understands the importance, and frustrations, of fundraising. Speaking to business leaders about charitable giving today, he said that “the demand is unlimited” when it comes to charitable giving, and that “you really want to make your charitable dollar go as far as it can.”
With both the frustrations and importance of Christian fundraising in mind, Samaritan Fundraising offers your church or Christian organization a new way to fundraise that has already helped many Christian organizations across the country raise the funds they needed. The Samaritan Card is a unique and modern way to raise money for your church or Christian organization, a way that YOUR ministry can begin using today! There is no cumbersome paperwork, and the product, a discount card accepted at over 100,000 retailers nationwide, virtually sells itself.
Samaritan Fundraising knows how important Christian fundraising is to your organization. Visit samaritanfundraising.com to learn more.
Posted by Fundraising Pro on February 15, 2010
If you have ever worked in the world of Christian fundraising, you understand that because churches and Christian organizations rely on fundraising to support their ministries and outreaches, donations are always welcome. This is why successful Christian fundraising is so important to Christian organizations. But many in need of funds are presented with the same dilemma when the times comes to pursue a Christian fundraiser: funds are desperately needed, but the upfront costs of a Christian fundraiser prove to be too risky or too much for their organizatioin’s budget to handle.
When working with a Christian fundraising company, you will be asked for a deposit when placing your order. These are known as upfront costs, and are necessary for the company to continue serving you and your fundraising needs. But when your church or Christian organization is in desperate need of funds, these upfront costs can take a huge toll on your budget, often forcing you to look elsewhere for a cheaper Christian fundraiser with less risk and lower upfront costs.
This is why some companies have chosen to lower their upfront costs, some even letting you fundraise before the upfront costs are due! Samaritan Fundraising is an example of one such company. With Samaritan Fundraising, your upfront costs are only $1 per Samaritan Card, and that balance isn’t even due until after your Christian fundraiser is over! This gives your church or Christian organization ample time to raise money before your deposit is due, creating a truly risk-free fundraiser.
For more info about upfront costs or Christian fundraising in general, take advantage of this free fundraising e-kit from Samaritan Fundraising.
Posted by Fundraising Pro on February 6, 2010
Last Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that charitable contributions to colleges and universities fell nearly 12% in 2009, the steepest drop in three decades! Though not surprising, this news is certainly disappointing, especially to churches and Christian organizations that rely a great deal on Christian fundraising to meet yearly budget goals. You may be thinking “If Harvard can’t even raise money in this economy, how will my church ever make it through the year?”
But here at Samaritan Fundraising, we know that news like this only brings new and amazing opportunities for Christian fundraising. We truly believe that there has never been a better time to ramp up your Christian fundraising effort, and that this year will prove to be your most successful yet!
The Samaritan Card is a prime example of a Christian fundraising product that can help your church or Christian organization find fundraising success in any economic climate. A good product that donors want to buy is essential to any successful Christian fundraiser, but is especially necessary in this bear market. The Samaritan Card, a discount card that can be used at thousands of popular retailers nationwide, removes the need for you to “sell” your Christian fundraiser to your donor. Once your donor realizes that they will save more than they donate, the sale is made!
Don’t let the state of the economy get you down! Christian fundraising with unique products like the Samaritan Card is helping Christian organizations around the country find Christian fundraising success even in the middle of this economic storm.
Posted by Fundraising Pro on February 2, 2010
Entering the new decade in the midst of a recession is obviously not the most ideal economic situation, especially for churches and other Christian organizations whose funds rely largely on giving and Christian fundraising. But there are lessons to be learned about fundraising from the past decade and the perils of the economic recession that can make Christian fundraising in this coming decade more successful than ever.
As the stock market suffered in ‘08 and ‘09, many Christian organizations and churches worried that their funds would diminish as people seemingly had less and less money to give. In this recent article , Tom Freiling of Samaritan Fundraising stated that “Church giving is down in every area, as well as giving for missions and special projects,” as it was reported that giving to churches fell between $3 and $5 billion during the recession. Obviously, fundraising became essential for Christian organizations to continue their mission. Ensuring that your Christian organization has experience when it comes to Christian fundraising is a must for the coming decade, as well as knowing where to turn for help with the Christian fundraising process. Companies such as Samaritan Fundraising offer quick and easy ways to help your Christian organization raise money—even in the midst of the economic recession.
But another thing we learned from the recession is that, though people’s personal finances suffered, many came to the aid of struggling churches and Christian organizations when it came to giving and fundraising. Many churches even saw growth as those hurt the most by the recession turned to the church for relief. People proved willing to give to struggling ministries, and the Christian fundraising process, as Samaritan Fundraising has observed, remains as successful and important as ever. The Samaritan Card, a discount card from Samaritan Fundraising, is finding huge success in Christian fundraisers throughout the country!
Streamlining your Christian fundraising process for the new decade with products like the Samaritan Card can help you prepare for whatever the next ten yeas have in store!
Posted by Fundraising Pro on January 26, 2010
With the new year well under way, churches across the nation are thinking about fundraising: setting goals, making budgets, and exploring options. As you make your plans, be sure to remember that time is of the essence, especially in this tough economic climate. Working with a fundraising company is a great way to raise money, but it requires effective planning. Allotting time for exploring options, ordering your product, selling your product, and collecting your money is essential when planning for your next Christian fundraiser in 2010.
But what many churches find out after experiencing a fundraiser like this is that it simply takes too long or is too cumbersome. With a tight budget, many simply do not have the time to wait for fundraising companies to finish paperwork, return profits, or ship products. Time is short, especially in the world of Christian fundraising. Samaritan Fundraising offers these three fundraising tips that will help you make sure your Christian fundraiser in 2010 is both easy and timely:
First: make sure that your fundraiser is well-prepared. Spread the word and make sure your potential donors know exactly when the fundraiser will be taking place, and how they can participate.
Second: know the deadlines! Make sure that your fundraising goals can be met within the time frame offered by your fundraising company.
Third: get excited! Fundraising, especially with the Samaritan Card, is exciting! Making sure your ministry is active and willing in raising money is the most important element to generating sales quickly and easily.
To help you with planning your fundraiser for 2010, Samaritan Fundraising offers a free fundraising e-kit. Happy New Year!
Posted by Aaron Jeschke on October 12, 2009
We live in a world where companies are continuously jockeying for financial position in order to maximize profits and minimize costs. This is the vision of corporate America but it is not the vision of Samaritan Fundraising. Our goal is to be the “armor-bearer” for Churches, Christian schools, youth groups and other Christian organizations nationwide. What do I mean by armor-bearer? We want to make Christian fundraising as easy and effective as possible so that Christians can spend more time ministering and lest time worrying about Church fundraising. We want to bear your Christian fundraising burden.
It is this desire that inspired the idea of the Samaritan Card. We genuinely believe that the Samaritan Card, a shopping discount card that provides donors with up to 50% off at over 100,000 merchants nationwide, can ease your church fundraising burden and allow us to be your armor-bearer. It really is a fast, easy way to raise the money you need to build ministries nationwide. Our goal is to create a place where Christian fundraising has never been easier.
Posted by Aaron Jeschke on September 10, 2009
One of the most oft overlooked portions of the Christian Fundraising process is the post-fundraiser evaluation. When a ministry evaluates a fundraiser they should be asking a few important questions in order to ensure future fundraising success.
Was the fundraiser profitable? Obviously the ultimate goal of a fundraiser is to bring in funds in order to finance a ministry’s vision. If a fundraiser is not profitable than it is not useful. If you can find a fundraiser that is more profitable than the one you have then go for it.
Was the fundraiser overly time consuming? Often ministries run fundraisers that take countless hours to put together and that are inordinately complicated. Often the profit per hour is low. If this is the case find a fundraiser that is quick. Dollars per hour could be an important statistic when evaluating your fundraiser.
Was the fundraiser easy to put together? The simpler and easier your fundraiser is the less hassle you will experience while enacting your fundraiser. If you found that you got bogged down with order forms and other extraneous details than I suggest you look for something that is simpler and easier. No one wants to be spending much time with paper work and unneeded details.
Were the donors pleased with the product? Many fundraisers involve selling products to a donor that they don’t really need. Clearly many donors are pleased just to be contributing to the organization but I think it is best to reward donors with a quality product, preferably something they can use to their benefit.
Ultimately when fundraising, Christian groups need to find a fundraising idea that is fast, easy, profitable, and beneficial to donors. In the world of Church fundraising such a product is a rarity. I suggest the Samaritan Card. No fundraising product that I have seen satisfies all of the above requirements like the Samaritan Card. Selling the card takes mere minutes and after the initial order there are no further forms or return visits! Not to mention that your profits will be as high as 70% per card. Donors will walk away satisfied knowing that they will be saving us much as they gave and more! Christian fundraising has never been faster, easier, more profitable, and more beneficial to donors!
Posted by Aaron Jeschke on September 4, 2009
A missions trip can be one of the most rewarding and constructive experiences in a Christian’s life. I look back at my own experiences working with underprivileged children in Washington D.C. as some of the most challenging and faith building times of my life. As much as we hate to say it, with missions trips require Christian Fundraising on some level. Very few of us have the resources to finance missions trips out of our own pocket. A typical overseas trip costs thousands of dollars. Most individuals planning missions trips want to spend time ironing out the details of the trip and praying for success and safety. Who really wants to think about raising thousands of dollars when your true passion is for people overseas? What missions groups need is a fundraising product that will allow them to raise money quickly and easily so that they can spend more time planning and less time raising money. Where is such a product?
The Samaritan Card is the perfect missions group fundraising solution. With no order forms and return visits, obtaining and distributing the Samaritan Card couldn’t be easier. Instead of spending hours organizing inordinately complex fundraisers missions groups can sell the Samaritan card in just minutes! Raising money for your missions trips just became that much simpler. Church Fundraising has never been easier!
Posted by Aaron Jeschke on August 11, 2009
How can we meet our fundraising goals and objectives in such tough times? Funds are getting a bit scarcer as it becomes more difficult for Christian families to give as they have in the past. How can we provide for the needs of families and raise the money we need? Find a way to provide a fundraising product that raises money and gives back to the giver.
We believe that that is exactly what the Samaritan Card does for Christian Fundraising. Church members can join your giving team and save on what they give simultaneously The Samaritan Card pays for itself in savings! A one time gift can potentially ease some of the economic burden on the giver because they save every time they use the card. The Samaritan Card is a fast, easy way to engage in church fundraising while meeting the needs of parishioners in a tough econimc environment. If your looking for fundraising ideas I definitely recommend you check out the Samaritan Card.
