STEP BY STEP FUNDRAISING

Before you write a single letter or make a single call, you need to understand the posture that makes everything else work: friendraising comes before fundraising. The most effective support-raising relationships are not transactions — they are genuine partnerships built on real investment in each other. People who give to you do so because they know you, believe in you, and feel personally connected to what God is doing through your life. That connection has to exist before the ask, not just because of it. This means two things practically:

• When you build your list, think first about who you have already been genuinely investing in — who knows your heart, who you have prayed with, encouraged, or stayed in relationship with over time. Those people are your best starting point. Support-raising works best when it flows out of something already real.
• As you begin to reach out to people in this season, do not open with a pitch. Lead with care. Ask how they are. Pray for them. Follow up on something you know is happening in their life. The ask, when it comes, will land completely differently.

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
— 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Before you contact anyone about support, name the private fears that will sink this process if you let them go unnamed. These are your icebergs — the things lurking below the surface that feel bigger than they are once you say them out loud.

The calling you name today will become the backbone of every letter, call, and meeting over the next 30 days. It has to be true, specific, and yours.

There are two roads available to you as you raise support. The first road is performing — trying to look impressive, name-dropping, inflating your story to attract donors. It tends to plateau quickly and pulls you off course. The second road is simply obeying your call without deviation, trusting that God provides for what He orders. The grace and provision you need are tied to staying on the second road.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:19

Most students carry false beliefs about support-raising before they ever make a single ask. These beliefs cause people to quit before they start, give up after the first no, or undersell what God is doing. Read every myth below carefully — chances are, you have believed at least one of them.

Before you ask anyone for money, make sure there is a clean, professional, and trustworthy way for them to give. Most donors — especially those who give regularly — value two things above almost everything else: a simple way to give online and a record of their donation for tax purposes. CfaN School of Ministry uses Modern Missions as our official giving platform. Modern Missions is a ministry platform that processes tax-deductible donations, issues year-end giving statements, and allows supporters to set up recurring gifts — all through a secure, professional giving page tied to your account.

Today you start building the most important document in your support-raising season: your list. This is not a random contact list — it is a map of the God-given network He has placed around your life for exactly this purpose.

Write down every name you can think of. Do not edit yourself during this step. The time for evaluating names comes after you have them all on paper. Start broad — family, church community, school friends, coworkers, neighbors, past mentors, former coaches, youth group leaders, social media connections who know you personally.

Begin with the people you already identified on Day 1 — those you have genuinely invested in. They go at the top of your list. Then expand outward.

Today you finish the list and sort every name into one of four teams. This categorization tells you who to contact first, who to invest more relationship into before asking, and who you will reach through referrals.

Your letter is not the ask — it is the introduction to the ask. Its job is to create enough warmth, clarity, and curiosity that when you call to schedule a meeting, the person is expecting you and glad to hear from you.

The letter follows a simple five-part structure:

24. Personal greeting — one sentence that references your actual relationship with this person.
25. One true story — a moment from your calling, a testimony from a current student, or a specific experience that shows what this school does. Make it concrete, not general.
26. State the need plainly — what School of Ministry actually involves: two years of hands-on ministry training and active service alongside the CfaN and Nations Church teams, serving communities and sharing the gospel from week one.
27. The specific ask — invite them to a face-to-face meeting (or video call) to hear more. Do not make the financial ask in the letter. The letter asks for the meeting. The meeting is where the funding conversation happens.
28. A clear way to respond — your phone number, your email, and your giving page URL for anyone who wants to give immediately without a meeting.

See Appendix A for a full sample letter with CfaN-specific language you can personalize. Do not send a form letter — personalize at minimum the first line and the story for each person.

Today your letters go out. Send to your full A team and B team — mail or hand-deliver when possible. A physical letter stands out in a world of digital noise, and it gives you something to reference when you call.

Your call has one job: to schedule the meeting. It is not the ask. The ask happens face to face. The call is short, warm, and specific — and it references the letter so the person knows this is a follow-up, not a cold contact.

The sequence is: Letter first, then call within 3-5 days. The letter creates context. The call creates the meeting. The meeting creates the partnership.

Your letters have been out for 2-3 days. It is time to call. Block a dedicated window of time today — not one call between other tasks, but a focused block where this is the only thing you are doing.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds.” — Matthew 7:7-8

Before your first meeting, understand this: support raising and evangelism are the same discipline wearing different clothes. Both require you to share a vision someone cannot see yet, invite a personal response, ask a direct question, and then be quiet and let the person answer. The fears are the same — rejection, awkwardness, uncertainty — and the solution is the same: obedience regardless of the outcome. 

Every meeting follows the same arc: Story, Purpose, Activation — what we call the Three-Beat Ask. Then you ask for referrals in every meeting, whether the person gives or not.

On the Levels of Giving Chart: use it in every meeting. It removes the guesswork for the donor and takes the pressure off both of you. $20/month is a strong entry-level ask — affordable for most people, recurring, and meaningful across two years.

Your meetings begin. Aim for 2-3 meetings this day and every day through Day 15. After each meeting, do the following before your head hits the pillow:

46. Log the outcome in your tracker — response, amount committed, and the referral names they gave you.
47. Send a thank-you within 24 hours — for every gift, every “yes,” every meeting, even if the answer was no. A handwritten note is best. A sincere personal text is acceptable.
48. Add every referral name to your D team list immediately. You will contact them in Phase 3. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9

Thank-yous are not optional courtesy — they are a key part of the relational foundation you are building for two years of partnership. A donor who feels genuinely seen and celebrated is a donor who stays, increases, and tells others.

Most support is not lost to a hard no — it is lost to silence after a soft maybe. A “let me think about it” without a follow-up plan is a gift you are leaving on the table. Today you track down every open response.

You have now asked for referrals in every meeting. Today those names become active contacts. Every referral is a warm lead — someone a person you trust thought should know about your mission.

Keep your meeting calendar full. If your A and B team meetings are winding down, begin contacting your C team and any new referrals. The pipeline should not empty until you are fully funded.

By Day 17 you should have a clear picture of where you stand. Today is a numbers day — not to feel anxious about the gap, but to plan the right next step for Phase 3.

Some people on your list have heard from you once and not responded. Today you go back to them — not to pressure, but to make sure they actually saw what you sent and to give them another opportunity to respond.

Do not fall behind on your tracking and thank-yous. A sloppy tracker means lost follow-ups. Unsent thank-yous mean weakened relationships at exactly the moment they matter most.

Phase 2 closes today. Look at where you are honestly — not with fear, but with clear eyes and a clear plan for the final push.

Social media is a tool, not a strategy on its own. It works best as a supplement to personal relationships — it keeps your wider network aware, lets people follow the journey, and creates moments for people who weren’t reached personally to step in and give. The filter for every post is simple: could this post have been written about someone else? If a post only works because it centers your experience or your needs, rewrite it so that the people being served — or the mission itself — are the subject and you are the witness. Watch for the self-promotion trap. It is tempting to use social posts to build your own image as a way of attracting funding. Resist it. God does not need you to promote yourself, and when you stop trying to, He tends to open doors far beyond what you could engineer. Posts that lead with impact — a story, a moment, a testimony — draw people in far more than posts that lead with a dollar goal.

There are people on your list who have not responded to a letter, a call, or a follow-up text. Today you make one final personal attempt — not mass messaging, but individual, personal contact. Keep it brief and leave the door open.

The people who have already said yes are your most likely source of additional support. They have already decided they believe in you. A personal, gracious ask to increase their gift — or make an additional one-time gift — is entirely appropriate and often welcomed.

Your home church and close faith community are among the most natural support bases for ministry training. If you have not already made a direct, personal ask to your pastor, church leadership, or small group, today is the day.

You have already been asking for referrals in your meetings. Today you go back to everyone who has given — and ask each of them personally for one more name. Someone who has already invested in you is your best advocate.

Today you send your most direct communication of the entire 30 days — a specific, deadline-driven message to your full contact list naming exactly what remains and exactly when it is needed. Urgency rooted in honesty is not manipulation. It is clarity, and clarity moves people to act. And do not be ashamed if this moment feels desperate. Real need — held with honesty instead of hidden — often produces the most genuine responses of the whole season. If your back is against the wall, say so. Sincerity and faith in God’s provision, spoken plainly, move people more than any polished pitch.

“I am [X] away from full funding for my first year at CfaN School of Ministry, and classes begin
[date].”

“I have seen God move in incredible ways through this process — [one sentence of testimony or gratitude]. But I still need [specific dollar amount] to close the gap.”

 

“If you have been waiting to give, or if you know someone who might want to partner with me, right now is the moment. Every gift this week makes the difference.” “Give here: [your Modern Missions giving page link]”

 

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am trusting God to complete this — and I believe He has already placed the provision in this very network.”

If there is a name in your tracker with no final answer yet, today you get one. Not through text — through a phone call. A real conversation moves things that a message cannot.

Today’s social post is specifically about someone else — a testimony, a student story, a moment of impact from the ministry you are joining. Your giving community deserves to see that their support connects to something real.

Today you thank your whole network. Not just donors — everyone who has prayed for you, shared your posts, taken your calls, or simply listened. These people are part of the journey whether or not they ever gave a dollar.

Day 30 is not the end — it is the assessment point. Celebrate every dollar raised and every relationship built. Then look at your gap honestly and plan your next cycle.