Fundraising Help

NSG Funding Toolkit – The Resources You Need to Raise Funds to Attend National Staff Gathering

Raise the money. Go to NSG. Revitalize your passion for ministry.

Have questions? Email mpd@navigators.org.

Download the Toolkit

Use the materials in the NSG Funding Toolkit to:

  • Mail a fundraising letter inviting ministry partners to make a special gift to send you to National Staff Gathering in 2023
  • Follow up the letter with a phone call and email giving reminder
  • Track appeals, follow-up actions, and gifts
  • Thank ministry partners

What’s involved?

The MPD Team has prepared tools to help you determine how much money you need to raise for NSG and to guide you through each step of the process.

  • NSG Budget Calculator: Available as a PDF worksheet and Excel file, this tool lists the main expenses related to attending NSG, and when completed, will give you the amount you need to raise.
  • Model Funding Letter: Available as a Word document or PDF file. Personalize this fundraising letter by adding a ministry story, your funding goal, and your contact information.
  • Appeal Worksheet: List 30+ ministry partners to contact. Track your funding appeal letter, follow-up actions, ministry partner responses, and thank-you notes.
  • Sample Follow-Up Phone Script: This script guides you through conversations with ministry partners regarding your invitation and their decision to give.
  • Sample Follow-Up Email: Email this to ministry partners to remind them to pray about your invitation and to provide your online giving link.
  • Progress Tracking Sheet: Fill in this thermometer to track progress toward your goal.
  • Thank-You Note Information: Provides information on ordering Navigator notecards and tips on writing a thank-you note to those who make a gift.

Questions and Answers

Do appeal letters really work?

Yes. Many staff have raised conference and ministry funds over the years using a letter like the one in the NSG Funding Toolkit. The model funding letter we’ve created gives you the core content of an effective funding letter and shows you where to customize the letter with your ministry story, funding goal, and personal information.

For maximum effectiveness, note these important tips:

Don’t change the appeal paragraph. We’ve learned from thousands of direct mail appeals that the Navigator audience prefers to be asked in certain ways. Don’t worry about this letter’s appeal being “too direct.” Clear, direct appeals work best.

State a giving deadline of 4-6 weeks after your letter mails. Ministry partners need just four to six weeks to respond to funding appeal letters. When they have months to respond, letters end up buried in piles on desks and forgotten. Too little time, and partners don’t have the time they need to pray about the request, talk it over with their spouse, or arrange finances.

Some ministry partners might consider the start of NSG in November their giving deadline, but asking them to send their gift early will mean funds are in your account to purchase plane tickets and pay for registration. An early deadline will also help alleviate last-minute funding stress.

Use the postal system. Funding letters that arrive in the mail convey higher urgency and importance than email appeals, which can be lost in spam filters, deleted before read, or buried in a barrage of messages. Social media and crowdfunding platforms could raise a few gifts, but they’re not as effective at raising funds for a conference. Impersonal requests made via email and social media are not as effective in raising funds as a paper funding letter that is followed up with a phone call.

Include a physical commitment card and reply envelope with your letter. You’ll include your online giving link (navigators.org/staff/NavID) in your letter, but it’s wise to include a physical response device as well. It signals your ministry partner there’s something important about your letter and that it’s not a regular ministry update. Order commitment cards and reply envelopes at www.navigatorstore.com > Fundraising > Commitment Cards and Envelopes. You will need to log in to view this page.

IMPORTANT! The Navigators gift processing address changed on June 5, 2023. Discard all commitment cards and envelopes with the “Albert Lea, MN” address, and use materials that direct gifts to:

The Navigators
P.O. Box 50740
Colorado Springs, CO 80949

Ask 6-10 friends for a special anchor gift of $500, $1,000, or $2,000. Add a hand-written note like this to anchor partners (people who have the capacity to give large gifts):

[Name], in order to reach my goal of [$XXX], special gifts of $500, $1,000, and $2,000 will be necessary. I wonder if you’d prayerfully consider helping to “anchor” the giving team with a gift in that range. I’ll phone next week to discuss it. Thanks.

Follow up your letter with a phone call and an email giving reminder. Samples of both are in the toolkit. Personal follow-up is key to raising the funds you asked for in your letter. Average response to a letter with no follow-up is 5-7 percent. A phone call and email reminder spike response to 40 percent!

Should I mail the NSG fundraising letter to my entire list of ministry partners?

NSG costs are relatively small compared to your annual budget. Raising the amount you need for NSG should be possible by mailing your appeal to 30 ministry partners—especially if you:

  • Follow up your letter to these 30 by calling and sending an email giving reminder
  • Ask 6-10 people for “anchor” gifts of $500, $1,000, and $2,000

If, however, you don’t raise the full amount from the first letter, contact another group of 30 ministry partners, including additional anchor partners.

When should I mail my NSG fundraising letter?

If you participate in MPD Made Simple, mail your funding letter and record your completed MPD Made Simple action (navs.me/mpdmadesimple) before August 1, 2023.

Otherwise, additional options would be to mail your letter in August for fiscal year-end or as part of a fall funding initiative.

Will mailing a fundraising letter this summer hurt my year-end fundraising efforts?

No. Raising funds this summer from a small segment of your ministry partners will keep the door open for mailing a year-end funding appeal to your whole mailing list in November or December.