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“Information” may not seem essential to a friendship, but friends share information. 

This is a crucial component sometimes overlooked in ministries’ communications with their donors. 

Especially ministries inclined to say things like: 

“This is exciting!”
“I’m so excited about this!”
“This is a tremendous opportunity!” 

Maybe these descriptions are true. But this can’t be the substance of the case you’re making for a gift. 

Emotion is crucial to the request for help (as we shall see), but it must be balanced with information.  

We must share the FACTS of the situation with which we want the donor to become involved. 

• Share information about the ministry — what it is doing, how and where and when and why and with whom. 
• The best information to share is the information that’s unique to your ministry. How is your work distinct from the work of other groups? 
• The fuzzier you are in communicating the facts about what will be accomplished with the money the donor sends you, the leerier the donor will be about sending you money in the first place. 

Jesus demonstrates the importance of information transmission. Read straight through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and you may get the feeling of “information overload.” 

Jesus never relied on the hyping of emotion as a means of generating response from His audience. 

He laid out His case clearly — He stated facts (we Christians often like to call them “truths”) — but in a way that kept His listeners engaged. 

As a result, Christianity does not require us to check our brains at the door. It is a thinking person’s faith. It is rational and comprehensible. Yes, it’s thrilling — but the emotion we feel is based on fact.  

Jesus transmitted actual information. So should we. 

Want to connect better with your ministry’s donor’s? Contact BBS & Associates today.