We, at The McKnight Group, have been immersed in the church building business for over 40 years. We’ve walked alongside church leaders as they’ve sought funding, developed innovative church designs, and successfully completed many, many renovation and building projects.
Among the professionals those church leaders often work with are church funding consultants. Read on to learn how such experts can improve your chances of success, and about other professionals you may want to consult with to ensure your new project is completed according to your specific church vision.
Why You Should Use Professionals for Your Church Building Stewardship/Capital Campaign
In our prior post, we discussed the importance of finding the right lender for your church building project when you seek traditional funding. Another aspect of the church funding process is often the stewardship campaign. A stewardship campaign lets you reach out to your church community and invite them to invest in your vision for future ministry.
Engaging professional church funding consultants for the campaign makes a big difference. In our experience, we’ve seen that professionally led capital stewardship campaigns can raise two to three times the amount of annual giving pledges over the course of a three-year church funding process. Churches that self-direct their pledge campaigns, on the other hand, typically raise up to one times the amount of their annual giving pledges.
A Further Impact of Engaging Church Funding Professionals
Using professional fundraising services has another, less obvious, benefit. Traditional lending institutions will typically look more favorably on a loan application if they know that professional consultants will be working with the church to raise funds to pay back their loan. This can lead to a more advantageous financing package than a church might receive if it were intending to raise all the funds on its own.
Where to Find Church Funding Professionals
Naturally, finding honest and effective professional consultants can be a concern for church leaders, especially since church funding isn’t necessarily their area of expertise. That’s why we’ve developed a resources list where you can find a number of reputable capital stewardship organizations.
Groups are on this list because church leaders we have worked with have had successful working relationships with them. To be clear, this does not mean that we endorse the organizations, nor do we have any official affiliation with them. Based on the successful work we’ve seen them do, however, we feel they can be helpful resources with which to discuss your church funding needs and what might be a good fit for your particular church building project.
Additional Resources Available on Our Website
Beyond our Capital Stewardship list, you’ll find lots of other useful information on our website’s Resources page, including links to church funding resources, audiovisual professionals, and church health consultants who can support and guide you through every stage of your church’s development.
This is also where you’ll find a link to our i3 webinar page. Our free webinars on the church building process provide you with church design ideas and share other innovations you can use when considering a church remodeling or building project. Visit our webinars page today to learn more and sign up.