See those piles? I’ve just spent a few hours sorting “free” cards into stacks of birthday, holiday, sympathy, touch-base, and blank. They’re sent out in groups with the hope that recipients will recognize the gift with a gift of their own. The Scrooge of Dickens’ early chapter would say, “Fundraising! Bah humbug!”
The Scrooge of the last chapter would say, “I’m blessed and thankful, let me do good with my resources while I can.”
To be honest, I resemble them both.
Here’s an illustration from clown life. I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself. Several of us had finished our day and were headed for the car, still in uniform. So one kid shows up – just one in a big empty space – nobody around but 4-6 of us and him. He asked for one balloon.
We knew the risk. Like spies in a comedy sketch, we looked around carefully. The coast was clear… we made a huddle… someone began folding one balloon for one kid… and WHOOSH! We were suddenly surrounded by kids with their hands out, and we were busy folding balloons for about another hour.
Have you noticed your mailbox looks the same? You give to one group, and suddenly you’re surrounded by hands begging for a bit more. Charity, politics, faith, they all need your help and need it right now. Worse, if you were aware in the late 70’s & early 80’s, several key faces were suddenly bright red or hidden. Swindlers figured out the phrases to get donations – snake oil salesmen without the glass bottles. Sorting out those who had gold-plated faucets from those who scrape by to do good was (and still is) difficult and time-consuming. The thought of them gives me nightmares. I don’t want to be like that.
Then there are the freebies… whether cards, coasters, bookmarks, etc ad-nauseum. The phrase “free with a donation of $__” has always rubbed me the wrong way. If you’re selling something, sell it, and direct profits toward the cause of your choice. One can’t provide pens, mugs, and more without first spending some money to buy them from the people that make them. It’s commonly chalked up to the cost of marketing/fundraising, but to me the money spent on goodies is money that didn’t go to the cause. (Yes, I make a lousy salesperson too – just ask my elementary school fundraising leaders.)
In 2013, I was Divinely assigned to a small ministry seeking to teach the gospel and bible basics to deaf children in the U.S. and worldwide. The variety of skills and stories I carry were needed and have been used. But, how does one get the funding to do good without asking for help or working multiple jobs? I had jobs, increasingly lucrative ones, but they didn’t satisfy two burning needs: eternal impact and reaching deaf folk. Like others before me, I chose the path of Paul, not that of the rich young ruler. Both received Christ’s invitation to leave all and follow, one turned away sad.
My body and ministry schedule don’t allow multiple jobs. I’ve tried, and Jesus’ warning of Matt 6:24, serving two masters, has proven true several times. Still, I’ve been well cared for since 2008 by the grace of others who shared their homes and some of their hard-earned resources. Jesus also said that He notices every gift, down to a single cup of water. (Matt 10:42, Mark 9:41)
Fundraising lessons didn’t hold up under the weight of the previously mentioned nightmares. I can’t tell you an emotional story for why your gift matters. Frankly every organization has those. Gifts received later will matter as much as gifts received now, so there’s no point in setting a deadline (but now is good too). God’s been sustaining me all this time, so I’m not quitting anytime soon. Even then, gifts will still be needed to keep introducing people to saving faith in the biblical Jesus.
That especially goes for deaf children. They actually grow up believing that they’re automatically disqualified from what Jesus offers and He must hate them anyway because He designed them as deaf. There are many layers to a ministry to deaf children, and they include teaching parents and church leaders that these little ones are worth the investment. Jesus was including them when He told people He was the Good Shepherd who would leave 99 sheep to go find one. You might also find Ex 4:11, Lev 19:14, and Luke 17:2 interesting.
Ministry to this group has no visible ROI, no counts of churches planted or people reached, and no obvious differences that make good before and after photos. It’s the purest form of giving to God, because only He can see the impact. We can, and do, say thank you for the gifts. They might get distributed as payment for skill sets we don’t have, hours of work put in to research and writing, or the entrance and travel fees for deaf conferences, whether they’re ministries to partner with or secular gatherings to spread the word.
An hour of my time and energy costs the ministry about $25. By the time the office rental and employer obligations are taken care of, then my own taxes and such, I net roughly $1000/mo for billing up to 20 hours a week. Recently family health and ministry budget have changed my billing to 15 hours weekly or less while I drive between IN and OH. Gifts to the ministry specifically for my salary cover roughly 14 hours a month. Even I don’t know how many hours are volunteered by those of us “scraping by to do good.” I also know that I’m well taken care of. As Paul said in Philippians 4, I am content, yet here is an opportunity for you to give, for your sakes.
So, as you try to figure out which hand(s) to put your hard-earned resources into, consider including mine. See my share page or the Deaf Kids Connect donate page. It would also be nice if you share this article with others who might be interested. The QR Code is below.
And as Dickens’ Tiny Tim says, “God bless us all, every one.”