Saturday, August 27, 2011

RESOURCES FOR MISSIONARIES pt1 - Donor Management


Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of your supporters and donations given, as well as where you're at in meeting your monthly budget.  Thankfully a good program (like "Donor Tracker" below) can really help in this area.

Not only is keeping accurate records good stewardship, it also helps you as you communicate with others - for example, when people ask what percentage of support you’re at (not good to be stuck with a blank look on your face at that point!). Good records will aid you in sending thank-you’s and help you pray more specifically.
The program we recommend to do this (for simplicity and functionality) is "Donor Tracker" - it's a free, Excel based program, which is simple to learn and easy to use. You don't need to install any other applications or have a week-long training session to use it!


Download it here:
Donor Tracker 2 (2MB zip file, for Vista, Windows 7, Mac, etc)
Donor Tracker 1 (7MB for Windows XP)

For more detailed info on how to get started with it, click here.



WHAT IT CAN DO:

All you need to do to start is input (a) your estimated Budget, (b) the names (and relevant info) of your donors.
Then each month write in who has given and the amount they gave (or copy/paste if your organization gives you a list).
That's it! Donor Tracker will then show you MONTHLY stats (see pic below)...
  (a) Total donations received, month-to-date
  (b) Percentage of monthly support received, month-to-date
  (c) Percentage of yearly support
  (d) Amount left to raise that month.



On the TOTALS page, you can see your YEARLY totals at once glance:

You will also be able to view:
(a) Complete yearly totals for each donor (both Church and Individual)
(b) Your "Top Ten" donors (see below)...
(c) CHARTS - showing donor giving comparisons, and individual donor patterns (see below)...

There is also a handy "PRAYER CALENDAR" that automatically puts your donor's names in a monthly calendar format which you can print out and use to pray for them each month!
 
Finally, there is a "Resource Page" that gives handy links and info to other relevant resources!



Download it and give it a try!


(Yearly support by donor)



(Donation comparison chart)









Monday, August 1, 2011

GETTING TO KNOW THE GREAT ONE
... .

                                                                       
Wayne Gretzky ("The Great One") retired years ago, but he's still a legend when it comes to hockey. 
He holds or shares over 60 NHL records including most goals, most points and most assists.  One of my favorite stats of his is “most goals for one season” – he comes in first at 92 goals (’81-’82) as well as second with 87 goals in ’83-’84 (and eighth, and tenth...)

During the 80’s you could turn on the TV and watch him play, hear commentators tell how amazing he was, you could follow his stats, collect his memorabilia and chat with your friends how great he was.  In other words, you could know a lot about him…and you could celebrate a lot about him.

But…does that mean you really knew him?
It’s one thing to know about someone and entirely different to really know them, to be counted as their friend.  If I happened to be walking down the street and Gretzky passed me by, he probably wouldn’t stop and say, “Hey man, great to see you again!” 

The unfortunate thing is that many of us treat Jesus like we do Wayne Gretzky (or insert your favorite sports hero here).  We talk a lot about him, we go to large gatherings to celebrate him, we hear commentators talk of his greatness, we collect his memorabilia.  But do we really know him?  Personally?  It’s one thing to know about Jesus…it’s another thing altogether to have a deep relationship with him, to be an intimate friend. 

It’s not enough to know his stats, it’s not enough to read of his records or to celebrate his deeds.  What he wants…what he longs for…is for us to know him deeply, intimately.  His deep desire is that we meet with him on a regular basis so we get to the point of knowing his voice and understanding his heart. 

We’ll spend tons of money and lots of time to stand in line and see sports stars or the famous.  But we bemoan the fact we have no time to spend with God. 

Yet in God’s presence is fullness of joy (Ps 16:11), strength (Is 40:31) and peace (Mt 11:28).  As we wait on him he’ll direct us, empower us, provide and guide us.  As Robert McCheyne once said, “a calm hour with God is worth a whole lifetime with man!

Jesus is the Greatest Ever…let’s make time to spend with him this week!


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