The subject of this presentation is our financial resources — how we get money and how we use it.

Many people at first see this topic as an unfortunate necessity, an embarrassment. Really, it is exciting, fundamental, and an integral part of our ministry. If you have never looked at it in that way, perhaps this talk will open your eyes to new opportunities.

This talk is not the wealthy American throwing money before him for all the poorer countries to grab. Nor is it an outline of how you can get money from the Association in the USA. Instead, I will share with you about getting money for your own Association and using it responsibly.

I hope you will find that the talk will be very simple, and you will have many questions. Ordinarily I would encourage you to interrupt me when you have a question, but because of the various languages we must save the questions until the end. When questions come to mind, I suggest you write them down so you can remember them.

Do You Have Enough Money?

Speaking of questions, the fundamental question this talk addresses is, “Do you have enough money?”

I have known people who have said “yes.” But then I ask them to dream about growth and the future, or I ask them if they could use a new vehicle or better computers or more paid staff.… The fact is that we have more work than we have money. Jesus said as much when he talked about praying for workers in the harvest and warned us that we would not have reached all the towns in Israel before he comes.

That question, “Do you have enough money?” summarizes this entire talk. There will be two areas in the presentation:

• Fund raising

Fund raising means getting the money to do God’s work.

The principle behind fund raising is that God will provide for his work.

God does not give us a mission without giving us the means to accomplish his mission. There are three consequences.

– The money is there if you look for it.
– God will give us all we need if we are open.
– Fund raising is providing the resources of our mission

• Accountability

Fund Raising

The first section of the talk, then, is on fund raising. It will have two parts.

Part One
Theology of fund raising

The first part addresses the important question, “Why engage in fund raising?” Since we work for God and the Virgin Mary in the service of the church, our reflection will be somewhat theological.

Part Two
Methods of fund raising

Theology of Fund Raising

• Patron Saints of Fund Raising

In my view, there were two outstanding fund-raisers in the history of the Church. They were Saint Paul and Saint Vincent.

– Saint Paul

– Saint Vincent de Paul

Fund raising is a ministry

Because the financial support of a ministry is an integral part of the mission, fund raising is itself a ministry. It enables all the works of that mission. It enlists and enables more people to participate in the mission as they are able. Invite donors into the apostolate and welcome them as partners through their contributions. God’s work would not be done without them. Indeed, sometimes the poor can proclaim the gospel to the wealthy and touch their hearts in ways that we cannot. The grace of God will do the rest.

Techniques of Fund Raising

Someone once asked one of the notorious American criminals why he robbed banks. His famous answer was, “That’s where the money is.” The lesson is to start where you can get the most money for your mission.

• Major Gifts

First, you look for sources of large donations. Examples are wealthy individuals, corporations, foundations, agencies that give grants, and the government. I’ll say more about this in a minute.

• Events and Collections

  Second, you can carry out activities whose purpose includes raising money for your ministry. Examples are concerts, banquets, bake sales, magazine subscriptions, games and lotteries, etc. This would include taking up collections in churches, schools, or “urna” with the domiciliary visit.

• Industry

  Third, you can earn the money. Thus, if you run a cooperative or a farm or a factory, the profits would go to your organization.

• Direct Response Marketing

  Fourth, and this method is successful in the American culture, you can ask people for it directly. The most common way is through the mail, but it also is done by telephone and on the internet. Related to this method are radio and television programs and all kinds of advertising. I’ll say more about this one later, too.

• Investing

  Finally, investment brings in more money using the money you have. Many times it is advisable to save money for major expenses such as a building project or a computer system or a printing press. It prevents diverting money designated for daily operations into less directly related projects.

  Major gifts

• Affluent individuals

I already mentioned that Saint Vincent sought contributions from the French Court. When you study his life, you discover how he was connected to the network of the nobility. He had access to some of the wealthiest people in France. God gave him this access for the sake of the poor.

With God’s help, the same access is available to us. Even the poorest countries have wealthy people. Because our hearts are with the poor, we must become acquainted with the wealthy. Some who are wealthy share our values and care for the poor. Others may not be so open, but perhaps they are married to someone who is filled with compassion. In fact, in the time of Vincent, the Ladies of the Court often managed the property and finances of the family.

There might be some concern that the wealth came from dishonest dealings. First, the gospel message invites sinners to repentance—remember the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. What better way to return the money to the poor than through the works of Saint Vincent? Second, in America, we say that all money is green—regardless of where it came from. However, this does not mean that we may use dishonest means to get our money, nor does it mean that we can accept what may not be given.

• Grants

  – Foundations
  – Corporations
  – Government
  
  Now I would offer just a word about grants, whether from foundations, corporations, or the government. Although the process is very formal, it is most helpful to know what helps a request to succeed. And for this, it is often good to know someone on the committee, or someone who has applied successfully in the past.

  Direct Response Marketing

  What I call “direct response marketing” may be mostly American—I do not know how this works in other cultures and countries. However, I have known of its success in Europe, Australia, and Brazil.
  
  Although direct marketing can apply to any means of communication or advertising, it applies most properly to a process by which the organization communicates in some way to people, and then a person responds by communicating with the organization. It applies not only to charitable contributions, but also to selling merchandise, election campaigns, etc. Besides having a good cause and an appealing message, its success depends on two things.

• Many small gifts

  1. Economies of scale—Because there are many small gifts, the larger the audience, the lower the cost per person. Of course, the audience must have some basic interest in your message or you are simply creating trash. Most people who respond to a direct appeal will give small donations, so efficiency and large numbers allow more to go to your ministry.

• “Patrimony of the poor”

  2. Satisfaction—For the person to be a loyal contributor or customer, he or she must feel pleased with the transaction. They must like their mission, understand that their gift makes a difference, and feel appreciated. Realizing that most donors are poor, often widows and laborers, giving from their hearts, it is easy to appreciate their generosity. As Saint Vincent said, our money is the “patrimony of the poor.” It comes from the poor and it goes to the poor.

• Different ways to communicate

  In the USA, the most common ways to communicate are the mail, the telephone, and the Internet.

  Use of Funds

  Here is how we in Perryville use the money we receive.

• Pastoral ministry

• Care of our members (the sick and the bereaved, the discouraged and confused)
• Care of others (support of families, ministry of prayer)

• Instruction in the Christian life

• Newsletter
• Publications
• Spreading Mary’s message of God’s love and her care

• Assistance to the abandoned poor

• Through the CM, our sponsors we support seminarians, pastoral works of the province, care of the infirm members.
• The missions of the Superior General include International Mission Fund 2004, and special requests.
• And we assist the Vincentian Family working with the poor in disasters like earthquakes or floods or refugee situations

• Administration of the Association

  • The expenses of fund-raising and some operations are purely administrative.
  • Many activities that appear at first to be administration are actually part of the mission; for example, employees serve members, machines make employees productive, computers store data about members, postage is used for pastoral ministry and instruction.

Distribution of Funds

• Conflict of interest

– The danger of favoritism
– Prevented by separation of roles

Besides the fact that the need is always greater than the money available, the greatest risk is often a conflict of interest. In other words, since we bring in the money, we could appear to be giving it only to our friends. The simplest solution to this problem is to separate the role of collecting donations from the role of distributing them. I have very little to say about who receives the funds the Association turns over to the Congregation of the Mission. Nevertheless, I appreciate an accounting of how they use the money.