Planned Giving

The Importance of Asking----

Tuesday, 05 October 2010 16:10

A recent survey of a large group of people who regularly give to charity identified these top 10 reasons for giving:

10. Religious beliefs

9. Guilt

8. Interest in the Mission

7. Recognition

6. Self-preservation or Fear

5. Tax Considerations

4. Obligation

3. Pride

2. Pressure

The Number One Reason: Someone asked

When you study the list of reasons, some of us may fall in line with one or more of the reasons cited by others. They are not all bad reasons for giving, in fact many are good and common sense reasons for giving. Some, on the other hand, are not very good reasons at all, and in my opinion, should not even be on the list of donors to a cause such as Eastern Christian School. Without a doubt, the reason that we receive the level of support we do at EC year after year is because "someone asked" . We, at Eastern Christian, are a strong confirmation of the number one reason for giving.

Asking for financial support is not an easy task for everyone. How often don't we hear that someone will do anything for a charity but don't ask me to ask for money? Every year when the EC Foundation Dept organizes a phonathon to seek financial support for the Annual Fund, we have a difficult time getting enough volunteers to be willing to call their fellow parents or grandparents to ask them for their financial commitment. Perhaps it is the fear of rejection or the fear that the potential donor will ask difficult questions, but what ever the reason, it is not an easy assignment for many people. Yet all of the research confirms that personal contact for a donation is the most productive and rewarding way to appeal for funds.

At Eastern Christian we agree with that research and make every effort to reach out to individual donors for their support for our various needs. While it is not feasible to personally contact every donor to Eastern Christian ( we have over 8000 people on our mailing list), we do try very hard to "reach out" to those whose response could be enhanced by the personal contact. The results of the giving patterns of our supporters for the past several years bear out the fact that a direct appeal produces better results.

We are currently in the middle of the Annual Scholarship Fund Drive which we hope will once again receive the support of our constituency at the levels of last year. Our challenge in the Foundation office is to raise a minimum of $ 1,250,000. from the Annual Scholarship Fund and the other fund raising events that we hold throughout the year.

It is a large amount to raise, but not impossible as we found out last year. With God's blessing, hard work, personal contacts and a presentation of the needs to others in a way that confirms that " those with more should help those with less", we are confident that we can achieve this goal in the 2010-2011 school year. If a representative of the school should call you during the next month to solicit your financial support, we encourage you to help as you are able so that Eastern Christian can continue it's 118 year tradition of providing quality and affordable Christian education.

Thank you sincerely for your financial and prayer support.

At what level do you (will you) give?

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 14:12

Charitable giving is an American tradition! Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker of the 17th Century, once made an extensive visit to the United States studying our democratic system and our way of life.

Later in 1835 he wrote about that visit in his book "Democracy in America" where he states "These Americans are the most peculiar people in the world..... in the local community, in their country a citizen sees there is some need which is not being met. What does he do? He goes across the street and discusses it with his neighbor. Then what happens? A committee comes into existence and then the committee begins functioning on behalf of that need.....all of this is done by private citizens on their own initiative."

As my wife and I travel abroad, we have often been made aware of the fact that other countries and cultures are just beginning to introduce and understand this concept of charity. Of course there are many good and charitable people in other countries, but the fact remains that we, as a nation, are by far and away the most charitable people in the world. Surveys consistently find that between 65 and 85 percent of U.S. families make charitable donations each year, and we give away more than twice as much per capita as the citizens of even the most generous European nations. The average American family that gave to charity in 2002 donated $ 1917. It can be safely assumed that this amount has increased over the past 8 years. As impressive as these numbers are, there are still about 30 million American Families that do not give to charities because, as a survey suggest, they are fearful that their contribution will be used inefficiently or that they feel they can't afford to give.

All of the reasons for giving or not giving to charity are also part of the fabric of Eastern Christian School. We are a school community of parents and supporters who are part of a mix of social and economic groups who respond to a financial need in very different ways and at different times. We have been most fortunate to have a good balance of donors, all who give out of a love for the school and at levels which are appropriate for their personal circumstances. Can we do more? No doubt some can, while others feel they have done enough. Henry Doorn, the Executive Director of Barnabas Foundation, in a recent article entitled "Finding "enough" in God", states "one of the most challenging questions Christians face as they plan their financial future is "how much is enough?" While the answer to that question will legitimately differ among believers, it is an important question to resolve. In doing so we can fulfill the vision of 2 Corinthians 8: 13-15, using our plenty to supply the needs of others.

It is a fact that if an individual values the organization that is requesting his or her financial assistance, the motivation for giving is equally increased.

There are a number of giving related questions that have been authored which can help us understand what motivates people to give. Some of the more prominent one's are:

Why do you give—what motivates your giving?
Was there someone in your life from whom you learned the importance of giving?
Of all of the gifts that you have given, what gift has brought you the most satisfaction?
Why do you support our mission?
Among all of your charitable priorities, where do we rank?
How do you determine what initiatives you will support and at what level you will give?

I imagine you can see where this is heading --- getting to know you the donor better so that we can begin a serious dialogue in the near future regarding the potential of a larger and more significant gift to Eastern Christian School. Together let's plan to discuss what a significant gift from you would mean to our school!

Modeling Financial Faithfulness

Thursday, 22 October 2009 09:16

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

Have you ever heard the saying, “We can teach what we believe, but we can only reproduce who we are”?

The most powerful tool we can use to teach our children is how we conduct our lives everyday. It is our responsibility to teach, talk and to model.

In his book “Prodigal Sons and Material Girls”, Nathan Dugan states “You are your child’s best hope for growing up resistant to the consumer culture. We, as parents, have great influence in shaping our kids’ values, priorities and habits. The sooner we realize that virtually every message our children hear about money promotes spending, the more prepared we will be to counter with a message on the value of saving and the joy of sharing.”

While we at Eastern Christian do not solicit our students to participate in our major fund raising initiatives, it is clearly our responsibility and our goal to help them understand financial principles which will help them manage their money but also to become good stewards and future members of Eastern Christian’s supporting community

How can we, as parents and grandparents meet this daunting challenge to model to our children an eternal perspective on life, money and possessions? One of the best ways for us to accomplish this is to show an attitude of thankfulness at all times. Getting our children involved in our giving activities and showing our children how they can save are very practical ways to “model” to our children and grandchildren. Letting our children know that giving isn’t always easy, and that giving sacrificially can be as satisfying as when we give out of our abundance is a life lesson that they will never forget.

The most important thing that we can do is to pass our faith in Christ to the next generation. As parents and grandparents we have a great responsibility to share the practical Biblical truths to our children. In many ways we are in a race against time. Unless our children learn and understand God’s financial principles of sharing, saving and spending, they will not be financially able, or have the motivation to support the Lord’s work in this world.

Our hope and prayer is that we as parents and grandparents will clearly model financial faithfulness to our future generations. May God bless us all in this formidable task!

(this message was adapted with permission from a Barnabas Foundation article “Modeling Financial Faithfulness”)

Foundation Update

Friday, 25 September 2009 11:59

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

Last week, E.C. Head of Schools Tom Dykhouse and I traveled to Chicago ( Tinley Park) to attend the 2009 Planned Giving Conference of the Barnabas Foundation. As you may know, Eastern Christian has been a long time member of the Barnabas Foundation and several EC Association members, including Tom and I, have served on the Board of the Barnabas Foundation over the past 20 years. The Barnabas Foundation benefits our families by sharing their expertise in Planned Giving and Estate Planning Services from a Christian perspective. Over the years many families affiliated with Eastern Christian have taken advantage of these free services and Eastern Christian in turn has benefited significantly from gifts left to the school as a result of the work of the Barnabas Foundation.

Since Planned Giving is a critical component of our fundraising efforts, we were anxious to participate and learn from the presenters at the conference as well as from our peers in other Christian Schools as to best methods to use in both Planned Giving and fundraising. From the dynamic keynote speaker to the various breakout sessions, we were constantly reminded that these are not normal times and we have to approach our donors in a focused and direct manner with appeals that specifically connect the donor to the organization by showing the donors the benefits derived from their giving. In other words, what has been accomplished with the funds received from the donors.

We at Eastern Christian pride ourselves in the fact that we are extremely efficient and prudent with the gifts that are directed to us. We have tightened our belts and have committed ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts that God has directed to us through you our donors. We are constantly amazed at the way our prayers have been answered and how that the Christian School community has responded to our needs. Currently we are receiving the initial commitments to the 2009-2010 Annual Fund appeal and we stand in awe of the blessings that are being showered on us by the faithful support of our donors! It is truly a confirmation that “our God reigns” and that He is in control of all aspects of our life.

We ask that those who have not yet responded to our appeals for the Annual Fund, the Harvestfest celebration and our annual Fashion Show consider how you may participate in one or all of these events. Your support, in whatever amount, will be sincerely appreciated. If you own a business, consider joining us for a free breakfast seminar on Tuesday, October 13th at the Brownstone where our carefully selected speakers will discuss ways that you can strengthen your business and how to protect and grow your business by using time tested methods of planning. We would love to see you there at 7:30 AM for a delicious breakfast and a valuable program.

Attending the Barnabas meetings really “charged our batteries” and we hope to share some of the more interesting ideas and suggestions with you over the next several months. In the meantime if you have a suggestion or idea on how we can raise some serious money for Eastern Christian or how you would be willing to help us raise these funds, please contact me and we will be happy to consider it.

In His service

Garret Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director & Director of Planned Giving
Foundation for Eastern Christian School
September 24,2009