August 4th, 2010
Today, more than ever, churches are seeking grant funding to supplement the diminishing income that they once received from parishioners and philanthropists. While this strategy is risky, if successful, it does create an opportunity to diversify their current income-base and thereby withstand today’s economic crisis. However, churches must keep a few things in mind when considering applying for church grant funding.
Foundations and government entities that award faith based grant funding most likely do so with the intent to fund a program that benefits the broader community, not just the congregation. Does your church have an outreach program? For example, do you currently operate a food pantry, literacy program, or senior day services? If you do not, creating a church outreach ministry program may be an excellent way of serving your community. Having programs like these will also make your organization more successful when submitting a church grant proposal to a funding source.
Now that you’ve chosen a church outreach ministry program, you can begin researching foundations that will possibly fund your program. Make use of your resources and search a variety of different locations in an effort to find potential funders. The internet, church members, and community contacts are excellent places to start compiling a list of funders interested in providing support to church outreach ministry programs like yours. Make sure that the funding sources mission or area of interest matches with your organization’s mission statement. Foundations and government entities will state the types of projects that they want to fund and some may even provide examples of projects that they’ve funded in the past. Compare your church outreach ministry program to the information that they provide; if your organization’s mission matches their mission, they may have strong potential as a possible church grant funder.
After creating a list of potential funders you now need to begin contacting them to see if they are interested in funding your church outreach ministry program. Each funding organization has a different method of preferred contact. Many request a letter of inquiry after submitting a letter of inquiry the organization will request a full proposal if you match their criteria. Other organizations ask that the full proposal is the first method of contact. After initial contact with the funding organization, continue following their procedures as they indicate. If your organization does not match with the funding organization’s mission continue to research other church grant funders. Remember as always, grant funding is a numbers game, so get your proposal to as many different organizations as possible in order to increase your chances of receiving possible church grant funding. Submitting your proposal to only one or two organizations is not a successful strategy in seeking any type of faith based grant funding.
The last step in the church grant funding process is to write a great proposal. If the funding organization provides an application form, remember to answer all of the questions in as much detail as possible. If the foundation requires a general proposal, remember to include all of the major components of a grant proposal, including a description of your target demographic, program narrative, and a budget. Funders want to see that you understand your target community and their needs. The proposal will demonstrate this knowledge and show how your organization and/or church outreach ministry program will be of benefit to the community. Since you are a church this benefit to the community must be precise and clearly stated to ensure that you are indeed serving the entire community rather than simply your congregation.
In addition to faith based grant funding, churches should continue to conduct fundraisers as an additional source of income. Grant funding is not guaranteed. For all nonprofit organizations establishing and maintaining a diverse source of incomes is essential in building a financially stable organization that is able to stand the test of time. Thousands of public entities apply for grant funding each year, making it extremely competitive. However, each day, organizations are awarded the money necessary to maintain their vital community services, with diligence, your church may be one of these successful organizations.
Tags: church grant, Church Outreach, faith based grant, Outreach Ministry
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July 27th, 2010
Helping Churches and Faith-Based Organizations to Reach More by Reaching Out
The team here at ChurchNet USA really believes in the power of reaching out to grow your church and better the community. That is why we are so happy to officially launch “Project Outreach“. We want to assist churches and faith-based organizations nationwide in growing their attendance and becoming a staple for their communities. Check out a few excerpts from today’s press release for more details about the program and if it sounds like something your church may be interested in, download the information pdf or contact us!
ChurchNet USA is excited to announce their new program developed to meet the revolving needs of start-up churches and
View our Project Outreach Information Packet!
faith-based organizations. The new program, Project Outreach, includes free consultation and outreach ministry resources designed to help grow church outreach programs nationwide.
“Simply put, if churches want to reach more people, they need to start reaching out. Project Outreach will help them do so,” said Efrain Rodriguez, CEO of ChurchNet USA.
Project Outreach is about helping churches and faith-based organization start outreach ministry programs that will increase church membership, help followers in the community, condition the heart to be receptive for spiritual outreach…
By implementing a successful outreach program, churches will help attract and give help to needy individuals, build relationships and share the faith within their community.
Through Project Outreach, ChurchNet USA assists churches with the planning and implementation of church outreach programs …. Some of the most popular and successful Project Outreach programs that are easy to implement with limited resources include:
-Healthy Living Support Group
-Entrepreneurs & Job Search Workshop
-Youth Programs
-Cooking Classes
-Family Life Center
“We have designed Project Outreach to help churches experience a growth in not only church attendance and monetary income, but also a revived interest in expanding the scope of the church’s vision,” said Melanie Swift, Director of Non Profit Services for ChurchNet USA.
After reading a few of the excerpts, I hope you are as excited about Project Outreach as we are! Have any thoughts? Share them in the comments section below! To view the full press release, click here.
Tags: Church Outreach, Church programs, outreach ministries, Outreach Ministry, outreach ministry ideas, project outreach
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July 23rd, 2010
When trying to decide what route to take your life as a Christian, you should try and consider what your talents are and also, the type of personality you have. When you put a lot of thought and research into your decision, you can hopefully find a good match. At other times, perhaps you should try what is available and see if you can enhance the Christian Business Opportunity you are handed with your abilities.
There are plenty of Christians who decide to apply their skills in a sales job or sales market. It’s nice to know that there are several Christian business opportunities to become a church consultant, but you must have the necessary personality and focus to truly succeed at the job. To thrive at a Christian sales job, typically you must be extremely driven, personable, and informative. In many cases, you are not just making sales, but also acting as a church consultant. As a church consultant, it is up to you to be knowledgeable about what you are offering and what you are capable of. If this doesn’t sound like something you can do, perhaps you should choose another Christian business opportunity.
A great option for those of you who want to be a Christian consultant but not necessarily on the sales end, perhaps you should consider acting as an affiliate. One of the best affiliate program options is to serve as a referral. In this Christian business opportunity, the real key is not so much what you know but who you know! Simply put, you would be the one to provide people a trusted place to go to for their church or faith-based needs and as part of your affiliate contract, you would get a percentage of their sale. This is a great Christian business opportunity for anyone who is a great networker, is active in their beliefs and doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of owning their own small or home business. Plus, acting as a Christian consultant can be extremely rewarding. Not only are you making an integral living for yourself, but you are aiding others in pursuing their passion and growing their communities.
As previously stated, Christian business opportunities can be a great opportunity for you to further excel in life, both spiritually and financially. Need more incentive to choose a Christian business? How about the fact that there is so much integrity involved? Anyone that you would work with most likely has the same goals and ideas as you, providing an extremely worthwhile and beneficial partnership! When you are both Christians and working together, you know automatically what kind of value can be expected. The same expectations can be held for any customers or clients you deal with. Your whole overall reputation would be held at the utmost respect by fellow Christians, which you can guarantee will do wonders for references.
Sometimes the best Christian affiliate program is right in front of you. There are plenty of Christian companies and businesses who use the referral system to generate income and help other. The typical grassroots marketing method of word of mouth says it best –people trust other people’s opinions and tend to listen.
So–what are you waiting for? Get involved in a Christian business opportunity as soon as possible! Start looking for the best Christian affiliate program in your area!
Tags: Christian Affiliate Business, Christian business opportunities, Christian business opportunity, Christian Consultant
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July 9th, 2010
Generation X and Y are seemingly at the forefront of all industries recruiting efforts. As Baby Boomers, who are most likely the majority of your church’s members, grow settled in their respective communities and churches, churches are looking to younger generations to fill their pews. However, attracting this audience will call for a break from the traditional. Generation X and Y require a different approach that focuses on action and technology.
Generation Y’s (born 1980-1997), are referred to as the most tech savvy generation. They are the avid Facebook users, are constantly text messaging, and have their lives saved to hard drives. A survey by Forrester’s 2008 North America Technographics Benchmark reported the following statistics:
- 90% of Gen Y own a computer
- 82% own a mobile phone
- 72% of Generation Y mobile phone users send or receive SMS messages
- They spend more time online than they do watching television, with 42% watching online video at least once per month.
Generation X’s (born 1965-1979) share similar technological savvy.
- During the past three months, 69 per cent of Generation X’s have shopped online and 65
per cent used online banking—more than any other group
- 21% of Gen X are now reading a blog once per month compared to 15% last year
- 61% of mobile subscribers text compared to 49% in 2007
Thus, technology carries over to ever part of their lives. Generation X and Y expect their jobs, politicians, and churches to be as technologically advanced as they are. In order to attract these generations, your church should evaluate its technological capabilities. Do you have a website? If so, does it work properly? Instead of the traditional mailed letters that you may have instituted during direct mail campaigns, have you set up a Facebook account? Can one download your church’s sermons? Generation X and Y find these types of strategies appealing. Increasing your technological capabilities will show the younger generations that they are welcome to your church.
In addition to technology, younger generations also want opportunities to make a change. Unlike, earlier generations that were content with providing financial donations to charitable causes, generation X and Y would prefer to take action. X’s and Y’s are passionate about social justice, have a burning desire to make a difference and donate more time to charitable causes than any other generation in history[1]. This group is responsible for the dramatic rise in volunteer vacations, spending weeks at a time building shelters for the homeless, preserving the nation’s hiking trails and mentoring at-risk children. Therefore, churches should focus on providing hands-on outreach programs for this generation. Allow them to put the Word to action.
Churches must consider the desires of the younger generation as programs are planned, sermons articulated, worship experiences created and marketing collateral developed. Responding to the needs of the younger generation should prove favorable to your church’s future growth.
[1] Johnson, Carol. Don’t Forget Your Gen X’s and Y’s.
www.churchsolutionsmag.com
Tags: church, Church Growth, Church Outreach, generation x, generation y, young church members
Posted in Outreach | 2 Comments »
June 24th, 2010
On average 57 million adult Americans read blogs, which is good news for churches trying to generate awareness about the services they offer the local community. If you’re writing blogs to generate additional donations, you’re not alone. Approximately 53% of professional bloggers are interested in attracting new donors from blogging.
About 63% of respondents say that blogging has led them to become more involved with things they’re passionate about. This is great news for church organizations who can utilize their posts to help volunteers become more passionate about the causes they work with. Hobbyist or persons who are unpaid for the content they generate write about 73% of blogs. Blogs can be a commitment as small as one hour a week to 10 hours a week depending on how often you post.
Technorati has indexed more than 133,000,000 blogs since 2002 and around 77% of Internet users read blogs according to Universal McCann. According to recent data 57% of blog readers are male, 48%, were under 30, and 82% were longtime Internet users or had more than six years’ experience online. Blog writers appear to mirror these trends, as two-thirds are male between the ages of 18 and 44. Over 75% have college degrees and 40% have graduate degrees.
Blogs are decidedly content driven but a growing emphasis is being placed on having more multimedia friendly blogs. Over 82% of respondents say that they post photos to their blog, making images the most popular form of multimedia. Of those who use media other than text, 73% say that that they create the photos, video, or audio they post themselves about half of the time. Only 13% of all respondents say that they never post any images/videos/audio to their blogs, preferring to just use text. With just-text blogs becoming the minority in today’s blogosphere, it’s important to use appropriate multimedia to make your nonprofit blog exciting. Post a picture at a recent fundraising event or a video of a family you just helped. Human-interest stories are really important to make your reader feel empathy in your blog.
Bloggers participate in an average of five activities to drive traffic to their blogs. Which is most successful? Well the jury is still out but Twitter is definitely in the top five. Blogs with greater than 100 page views a day received on average 83% of their page views from Twitter referrals. This referral percentage was constant as the audience size of the blog increased. In other words, the faster the growth of a blog the more important Twitter became in promoting it.
It is important to keep up with your blogs statistics to see how people are finding your blog and how often they are reading it. There are many free blog statistic softwares available to blog writers but the five most commonly used are:
1. Google Analytics
2. StatCounter
3. SiteMeter
4. AWStats
5. MyBlogLog
Blogging is not just about numbers, traffic, or hits to your website but can be a wonderful church marketing tool. Be careful to avoid the trap of writing for search engines rather than human beings. As a church blog, your key objective needs to be keeping the community informed about recent trends in your overall cause or local events sponsored by your church. Build your credibility first and traffic later. Traffic is a direct reflection of writing good content and smart cross promoting of your blog. Contact ChurchNet USA today about setting up a blog for your website so you can take advantage of these exciting statistics.
Tags: church, church marketing, church resource
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June 7th, 2010
Summer is almost here… Don’t you think that now is a great time to devote more energy, attention and detail to your church or outreach ministry?
We do too, so we thought we would turn up the heat with our Sizzling Summer Savings! ChurchNet USA wants to help you get the most out of this summer. We have developed a great offer for all of our special non profit clientelle, so please take advantage of these sizzling savings:
- Spend $299-$599: Get 10% off PLUS a Free Website or Web Service!
- Spend $600-$899: Get 15% off PLUS a Free Website Service!
- Spend $900 or More: Get 20% off PLUS a Free Website & Flyer!
Don’t Wait… For a Limited Time Only Save Hundreds on the Services you Need. Plus, get Free Value Added Solutions!
Have we convinced you yet? If you are ready to start your summer off right, Contact us today and invest in your church’s future success!
Important Details:
*Free Website can be exchanged for a free web service of equal value
if you already have a website.
*Free Flyer inlcudes design only and is limited to a 1hr service.
*Hosting and Setup Fee Applies
Interested in learning why websites are so important to your organization? Join us June 8, 2010 from 3 P.M. – 4 P.M. (EST) for a FREE webinar: Must Have Features Every Website Should Have! Learn how to have an effective, engaging and action-driven website for your church!
Tags: church, nonprofit, outreach program, startup
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June 1st, 2010
Verses from the Bible such as Mark 16:15 “and he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (ESV)” tell us that as Christians we should spread the good news of Jesus Christ to others. Your church can accomplish this in a variety of ways but one of the most effective and rewarding outreach channels can be a children’s ministry and outreach.
A strong children’s ministry in your church can be the difference on whether or not first time visitors return to your church the next week. Many families consider a children’s ministry their top priority in selecting a church to attend. A strong children’s ministry has many facets and this article will hopefully put you on the right track to creating one. By creating a coordinated and successful children’s ministry, you will give both your regular church attendees and visitors a sense of the excitement and fun that comes with growing together in God.
First off, establish an “image” or “identity” for your children’s ministry. Just as professional brands like Coca-Cola and Nike create an identity for their products, so must your church for its children’s ministry. Giving your children’s name its own name, logo, and slogan can be the backbone to creating that brand image. Not only do you need to develop it but you need to promote it as well. Create t-shits for volunteers and ministry leaders, put up signs and other paraphernalia in the area of the church where your children’s ministry takes place. It will give children the feeling that they belong to something special and exciting. Make sure you get the whole church involved in promoting this brand by putting it on the bulletins, flyers, and announcements.
It is always important in your children’s ministry to stay very connected with the parents. After all, in most cases, they are the ones responsible for bringing the children to the church every week. Whenever parents check-in their children at the children’s ministry make sure that you have their contact information so that you can stay in touch with them. Sending out parent letters or cards that say, “thanks for visiting” and “we’ve missed you,” are a great way to show parents that you appreciate them. Again, with all of these materials make sure that you are continuing to promote your brand image and include your logo and slogan on the collateral that is sent out to parents. Because printing and mailing can get expensive, think about using an email marketing software to send out bi-weekly emails to the parents on upcoming events and news about the children’s ministry. Another great way to stay connected with parents is to create a blog specifically for your children’s ministry. Have your children’s ministry leader or a volunteer update on a weekly basis the blog to keep it interested. Topics could include a quick synopsis about what the children learned the past Sunday or just some thoughts on parenting.
It is obvious that a children’s ministry needs children to be considered effective. One way to bring children into your ministry is to put on an event for the community that will attract children and their families. Such events can include a summer vacation bible school, a children’s concert, carnival, or family fun day. When you do set up a children’s outreach event at your church, you will need to take the proper steps to make the public aware of your event. Consider putting up banners on the street and engaging in a direct mail campaign. Another way to market your church outreach event is to print flyers and have volunteers distribute them to the local neighborhoods and it never hurts to utilize local media such as radio and newspaper to advertise. Hopefully, these ideas and tips will have you on your way to establishing an effective and successful children’s ministry in your church.
Tags: childrens ministry, church, ministry, Outreach
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May 27th, 2010
Fundraising is a primary method by which churches can gain the money required to implement the programs needed to fulfill its growth and outreach goals. Fundraising events can also help raise awareness of the church and its activities through newspapers or newsletters, it can help a church establish an internet site, and it can help the church’s target community. However, in order to successfully fundraise, churches should develop a comprehensive plan of action. A fundraising plan provides a description of the fundraising activities to take place during a given time period. It answers the who, what, when, where, and how of fundraising. The following steps can assist your church with developing a fundraising plan.
Developing Your Fundraising Plan
- Set goals for the amount of money you need to raise and what the money will be used for. Will you use it for overhead expenses? To fund an ongoing or new program? To build a new facility? To develop an emergency fund for a future rainy day? To close a deficit?
- If you have more than one goal, develop a fundraising plan for each goal. Goals should be developed with your board of directors, and have the board’s approval. Having your board’s involvement will also set the stage for their participation in the fundraising itself.
Write down your fundraising plan.
- Develop a written plan that states how much you need to raise, from what sources, and how you will do it. Don’t worry; the plan can be revised as you proceed. Not all of your ideas will work out, or you may find new sources along the way.
Estimate how much your fundraising program will cost.
- Most experts recommend that fundraising and overall administrative costs not exceed 25% of your overall operating budget. In other words, three-quarters of your expenses should be spent on doing what you were founded to do.
Identify funding sources
- Will you fundraise by soliciting foundation grants, government grants, special events, etc?
Develop a timeline for your fundraising plan
- Fill in a year’s calendar with specific activities, and identify who will be the lead for each of those projects. Go further by developing timelines for each fundraising activity, such as the direct mail campaign, the online auction, or the planned giving seminar.
Evaluate your fundraising plan during the year
- Plan to evaluate what you are doing every few months. What accounted for the biggest successes? What were the biggest challenges? What fundraising methods should you change, drop, or add?
Tags: church, Church Outreach, fundraising, Outreach Programs
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May 25th, 2010
When developing an outreach program, churches should follow a comprehensive process that will not only ensure that there’s a need for the program but that the church has the human and capital resources to effectively and efficiently carry out the program. The following five-step process can be used to develop an outreach program at your church.
- Assess the needs of your members and surrounding community.
- Survey your congregation on the types of community outreach programs that they would like to conduct.
- Survey the community about the types of programs that they need.
- Educational, Health, Financial Literacy, etc.
- Match the congregation’s needs and interests with the community’s needs.
- For example: Did the majority of the congregation want to start a financial literacy program? Did your community survey indicate that many people are unaware of financial management practices?
Select the need that you are most able to meet given the resources that are available.
- 2. Develop the Goals and Objectives
- What would you like to accomplish through your outreach program?
- 3. Organize the Program Plans
- Describe step by step how the program will work.
- How will you market the program?
- Where will the program be held?
- How often will the program be provided?
- What are the times of operation?
- What materials will you need for the program?
- How much will everything cost?
- How many volunteers will you need per week?
- Who will be responsible for facilitating the program?
- 4. Implement the Program
- Implement the steps outlined during the program planning process.
- Call the Congregation to Action!
- Get the congregation involved by advertising the program during announcements and on the church’s bulletin board.
- Provide sign-up sheets for volunteers
- Alert the local media.
- Provide a press release to the local newspaper, radio station, and online sources to create awareness of your program (and church).
- Provide “top-notch” service.
- Remember that the program participants are also possible church members. Build a strong positive relationship with each person that you encounter.
- Keep the congregation excited about the program by recognizing exemplary volunteers and achievements.
- Provide updates about the program during the announcements portion of your worship service.
- Put pictures of program volunteers at work on the church’s bulletin board.
- Reward dedicated volunteers with a special recognition ceremony.
- 5. Evaluate the Program
- Survey the congregation and community.
- Is the congregation satisfied with the program?
- Are the program participants satisfied with the program?
- Did the program achieve its goals and objectives?
- Has the program met the needs of the community?
- Revise the program depending on the results of your surveys and program data.
- If you went over the projected budget, increase the budget or downsize your program.
- Did the hours of operation conflict with church member’s schedules?
- Were the program materials ineffective?
Following this five-step process will assist your church with developing an outreach program that is truly a help-mate to the community. It will respond to the community’s needs while also serving as a growth agent for the church. Furthermore, an excellently implemented program is much more attractive to a funding agency than one with little planning at all. Keep these steps in mind while planning your outreach program and success is sure to come!
Tags: Church Outreach, churchstartup, outreach program
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