The Value of Good Intelligence

Are you walking into your next major decision or campaign without knowing where the potential mine fields are? Is there a way to gain that intelligence? Yes! Read the following to find out how.

When you donít fully know what lies ahead of you serious consequences often await. Such is the case in our current struggle in Iraq. We now know that our intelligence leading up to the Iraqi war was wrong. The threats that we felt were present turned out to be incorrect, over blown or simply misread. Decisions were made on information that turned out wrong. While there is still debate on how this happened and its full meaning there is virtually no one that disagrees that we lacked quality information about what was truly going on in Iraq and what would happen after we were to drive out Saddam Hussein. Better intelligence could have drastically altered the outcome.

In our ministries we are often making decisions blindly or with limited information. The results can be disastrous. In my ten years in this ministry I have seen campaign after campaign blow up because a Christian leader thought he knew what his donor base was thinking and feeling. I would ask, ìIs everyone on board with this?î The leader would respond emphatically yes. It would be only after the commitment process that we would find out the real truth. The real vote of approval is when I commit to financially support the vision or not. At that point the leader is already committed and has to live with the results. Too many campaigns fail for lack of good quality intelligence on what the potential land mines are and the level of support of donors to the vision being advanced.

We have developed a tool that takes the guess work out of where your ministry truly stands in terms of support for your vision. We call it Vision Alignment. One pastor who has done numerous capital campaigns said, ìYour Vision Alignment work for us allowed me for the first time to enter into a campaign with quality intelligence on what my donors were thinking and how I needed to communicate with them.î Another pastor said, ìThe Vision Alignment piece alone was worth the price of the whole campaign fee.î

In this issue of The Stewardship Coach we want to share with you how our Vision Alignment can provide you with the valuable intelligence that will make a difference in your next campaign.

What Vision Alignment is.

Our Vision Alignment takes the guess work out of a campaign. It allows you to start well so that you can end well. Vision Alignment has three primary elements.

Vision Assessment. Our experienced consultants look at your vision like an extra set of eyes viewing the chess board. Through our experience we can give counsel on areas that might be potential land mines with your donors. We have worked on hundreds of vision statements for a wide variety of ministries. We know what flies or flops with donors.
Financial Analysis. We do an extensive look at your current giving to analyze what your capacity could be. We can accurately tell you what your true donor base consists of and the potential range of funds that might be raised. We have found through our experience however that simply looking at numbers on a spread sheet does not tell the full story. Only looking at financial analysis can give you faulty intelligence and could lead to mistakes or false assumptions. You have to probe deeper which leads us toÖ
Pre-campaign Assessment. The Pre-campaign Assessment is designed to assess the level of readiness for a possible capital funding drive. We take the time to actually survey and interview a broad section of your donor base to determine their thinking. The Pre-campaign Assessment helps to:

Test the level of understanding and enthusiasm for the vision that needs funding.
Surface anything (actual or potential problems) that must be addressed before they impact results negatively.
Help to cultivate potential donors.

What Vision Alignment can do for you.

A recent church that engaged our help for Vision Alignment wanted to launch Phase II of their relocation. However after interviewing a significant number of their donors it was apparent that there was no support for this until the existing debt on Phase I was paid down significantly. Ultimately the leadership of the church took an approach that 80% of all gifts would go to debt reduction and 20% would go towards the plans of Phase II. If they did not know what their donors were truly thinking they would have been heading for a disaster. Look at the following reasons for why you should do Vision Alignment:

A reasonable indication of the commitment level; the degree to which supporters are committed to your ministry.
A key listing of members views regarding the ministries present status and future development.
A more defined idea of the potential donor universe.
A heightened level of excitement about the ministries future.
A more realistic view of the dollar amount you can raise.

Our Vision Alignment will help you clarify your vision so that it fully communicates what God has laid upon your heart. It gives you a heads up on how your donors see and sense this vision. It allows you time to correct misperceptions or questions that some donors have. You will have a better view of what lies ahead and be better prepared for success!

Good intelligence can often be the difference between victory or defeat. In World War II good intelligence at the Battle of Midway told our Navy exactly where the Japanese Navy was thus allowing them to score a major victory. This American victory for all practical purposes halted the Japanese advance in the Pacific. It was a turning of the tide in that conflict.

With good intelligence leading up to your next campaign you too can see a turning of the tide towards the realization of your dream. We would love to help be your eyes and ears. Call or email us today to begin getting the quality intelligence that you desperately need. We can help!

Keep dreaming!

Mark Brooks

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