98. 5 Fundraising Myths That Are Killing Your Nonprofit

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast Episode 98

Title: 5 Fundraising Myths That Are Killing Your Nonprofit
Release Date: August 6, 2025
Hosts: Jim Dempsey & Jason Galicinski

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Introduction

In Episode 98 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast, hosts Jim Dempsey and Jason Galicinski delve into the prevalent misconceptions surrounding nonprofit fundraising. Titled "5 Fundraising Myths That Are Killing Your Nonprofit," this episode seeks to equip nonprofit leaders with the knowledge to dispel these myths and implement effective fundraising strategies that foster sustainable growth and meaningful relationships.

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Myth 1: Fundraising Is All About the Money

Timestamp: [04:03]

Jim Dempsey challenges the common belief that fundraising solely revolves around securing funds. He emphasizes, “It is actually about the relationships” (04:07). According to Jim, focusing solely on monetary gains leads organizations to engage in one-off fundraising activities—such as car washes or bake sales—that lack long-term sustainability. Instead, building deep, meaningful relationships with donors ensures ongoing support and financial stability. Jim shares a personal anecdote, highlighting that he and his wife have maintained support from 125 individuals for over 41 years, underscoring the power of sustained relationships over transient fundraising efforts.

Key Insights:

• Friend Raising vs. Fundraising: The hosts differentiate between transactional fundraising and "friend raising," where the latter prioritizes relationship-building over immediate financial gain (06:14).
• Long-Term Benefits: Beyond immediate funds, strong relationships can lead to additional benefits such as publicity and in-kind donations, as illustrated by John Cooper's experience with media exposure (07:55).

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Myth 2: If You Just Ask, People Will Give

Timestamp: [10:06]

Jim dispels the notion that simply asking for donations will suffice. While direct requests can yield some contributions, they often result in minimal or one-time donations rather than substantial, ongoing support. Jim explains, “Just asking is not really going to get you the kind of gift that you want ultimately” (11:04). Effective fundraising requires a deeper connection, where donors understand the mission and feel genuinely invested in the organization's success.

Key Insights:

• Meaningful Gifts vs. Token Donations: Without established relationships, donors are more likely to give minimally or sporadically, primarily to alleviate fundraising pressures rather than out of genuine commitment.
• Strategic Engagement: Building trust and demonstrating the impact of donations encourage larger and more consistent contributions.

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Myth 3: Social Media Is a Solution to Fundraising

Timestamp: [12:37]

The hosts critique the overreliance on social media as a panacea for fundraising challenges. Jim points out the limitations of platforms like Facebook, noting that while they can increase public awareness, they often fail to foster meaningful donor relationships. “Facebook profits off of that a lot because they're processing all that money” (13:33), Jim explains, highlighting the issues of reduced funds due to platform fees and the lack of donor transparency.

Key Insights:

• Transactional Nature of Social Media Fundraising: Funds raised through social media campaigns are often one-off donations without long-term engagement.
• Loss of Donor Information: Platforms handle transactions, limiting the nonprofit’s ability to build direct relationships with donors, which is crucial for sustained support.

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Myth 4: Fundraising Is the Development Director's Job

Timestamp: [15:10]

Jason introduces the fourth myth, addressing the misconception that fundraising responsibilities can be entirely delegated to a development director. Jim elaborates, emphasizing that while development directors play a vital role, the executive director and board members must actively participate in fundraising efforts. “They are responsible for ensuring that the money comes in the door” (20:05), Jim asserts, highlighting the fiduciary duties of board members.

Key Insights:

• Collaborative Effort: Successful fundraising requires a collective approach, with executive directors and board members actively engaging to build and close donor relationships.
• Leadership Engagement: Donors often prefer interacting with top leadership, similar to how congregants seek connection with senior pastors over assistant staff (17:02).

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Myth 5: Fundraising Dinners Do Not Raise Any Money

Timestamp: [22:04]

Addressing skepticism around the effectiveness of fundraising dinners, especially in a post-COVID era, Jim and Jason advocate for the continued relevance of well-executed in-person events. Jim counters the belief that such dinners are obsolete by sharing success stories and emphasizing the unique value of face-to-face interactions in building strong donor relationships.

Key Insights:

• Energy and Engagement: In-person events create an electrifying environment conducive to fostering connections and inspiring generosity.
• Structured Approach: Implementing structured programs, such as the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship, can significantly enhance fundraising outcomes through strategic planning and relationship-building.

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Mentorship and Programs Highlight

Throughout the episode, Jim and Jason promote their mentorship programs, including the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship and the exclusive Winner's Circle. They outline how these programs guide nonprofits through systematic processes to plan and execute successful fundraising events, aiming to double or even quadruple their fundraising results. Testimonials and data-backed results are presented as evidence of the program's effectiveness.

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Conclusion

Jim and Jason conclude by reiterating the importance of overcoming these myths to achieve sustainable fundraising success. They caution against repeating ineffective strategies and advocate for a relationship-centric, collaborative approach to fundraising. The hosts encourage listeners to engage with their programs for further guidance and support in refining their fundraising strategies.

Final Review of the Five Myths:

1. Fundraising is all about the money.
2. If you just ask for money, people will give.
3. Social media is a solution to fundraising.
4. Fundraising is the development director's job.
5. Fundraising dinners do not raise any money.

Notable Quote:

"What is the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." — Jim Dempsey (29:11)

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Key Takeaways for Nonprofit Leaders

• Prioritize Relationship Building: Shift focus from transactional fundraising to cultivating long-term donor relationships.
• Engage Leadership and Board Members: Ensure that top executives and board members are actively involved in fundraising efforts.
• Strategize Beyond Social Media: Utilize social media for awareness but complement it with personal engagement strategies.
• Leverage In-Person Events: Invest in well-planned fundraising dinners to create meaningful connections and inspire generosity.
• Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Stay informed about effective fundraising strategies through resources like the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast and mentorship programs.

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For those interested in enhancing their fundraising strategies, visit fundraisingmasterminds.net and explore their mentorship and coaching programs aimed at transforming nonprofit fundraising efforts.

Transcript

[Jason Galasinski]

You're listening to the number one podcast for nonprofit leaders getting your nonprofit fully funded. This is the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast.

[Jim Dempsey]

If the organization fails, it's the board who's taken to the court. And I can't tell you how many board members just go, I'm not responsible for anything in raising that money. No, yes, you are. If you want to be a board member, if you want that prestige, you want that responsibility, that role, part of that includes raising money.

[Jason Galasinski]

Welcome back to another episode here at the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast. We are super excited that you've joined us today because we are going to be talking about five myths that are killing your nonprofit. My name is Jason Galasinski and with me, my co host, Jim Dempsey.

[Jim Dempsey]

Hey, Jason, how are you doing today? I'm doing good. Love the month of August. This is always a great time of the year.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, if you found us on Spotify or Apple and you are a nonprofit leader, or you starting a nonprofit or you're in the process of running a nonprofit, or, or you're a development director, you are in the right place. The Fundraising Masterminds podcast is all about development and expanding your organization, specifically in the area of, like, fundraising strategy. How do you actually do it? We provide all kinds of resources on this podcast. So if you're just coming in now, we're like episode 98. Go back and listen to some older episodes and get caught up to speed. I think you're gonna learn a ton. And while you're in there clicking around, definitely hit the subscrib button because we have a lot of new content coming that you are gonna love as well. And today, Jim, we're going to be talking about five myths that are killing your non profit.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, so often people don't realize that they are shooting themselves in the foot.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's so easy to just get caught up in the day to day and you know, you just. A lot of non profits just do what they do and they don't know why they do what they do. They're just told, hey, do this. This is what we do every year. And it becomes a tradition.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

But nobody kind of takes a step back and says, should I be doing this?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Wait, is this actually helping? What are we trying to actually do here?

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And that's what we're trying to help you with. The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast is we're trying to help you kind of like remove yourself from the day to day and just kind of think high level, a little and just think about why are you doing what you're doing and is it really helping?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Be able to evaluate everything.

[Jason Galasinski]

Jim, I'd love to learn a little bit more about what you do. Tell us a little bit more about your role at crew.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, Jason, I am the chief development officer for crew. I have been in development for the past 40 years, almost 41 years. And I am. I've been the chief development officer for two years at this point. Wow.

[Jason Galasinski]

And you're in charge of like a $750 million budget.

[Jim Dempsey]

We have a $750 million budget and we. A good majority of that comes through five different divisions that we have, plus all the staff. A good majority of staff raise their own personal support. My wife and I have raised our personal support the whole time we've been with crew. We 125 people giving to us individually. And we crew is. Has 25,000 staff in and 100,000 volunteers in over 100 countries of the world. So we've been in existence since 1951. Wow.

[Jason Galasinski]

So you know a thing or two about development.

[Jim Dempsey]

I think I do. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

We're not just like a average YouTuber, you know.

[Jim Dempsey]

No.

[Jason Galasinski]

Trying to, trying to, you know, get some views and make a couple dimes.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. We didn't just kind of start a non profit and say we are, we're experts on this and because we really.

[Jason Galasinski]

Are doing this because we want to give back, we want to help you guys learn some things that we had to learn the hard way.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And that's why this podcast exists. So go ahead and hit that subscribe button. We'd love to see you in the future, but today we're going to be talking about five myths that are killing your non profit. So let's talk about myth number one.

[Jim Dempsey]

Sounds good.

[Jason Galasinski]

Myth number one is fundraising is all about the money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Oh man, that couldn't be more incorrect. It is not all about the money. It is actually about the. The relationships. Now ultimately, money will come if you develop the relationships, but it's so important to focus on the relationships and not the dollars. Too many organizations exist to get into people's pocketbooks and they will do one off events, they will do car washes, they'll sell cookies, they'll have bake sales. All with the idea to raise money, but not with the intention of developing a long, deep, meaningful relationship.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's not necessarily intentional.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's just kind of like, hey, we're running out of money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right. We got to make payroll.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's like, what Are we going to do.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, it's just. And then, you know, we. We get the team together. It's like everyone starts throwing out their ideas.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Someone Google is like, top 10 fundraising ideas, 20, 25. And you get some YouTubers saying, this is like the trendiest thing. You know, you got to try this.

[Jim Dempsey]

Fund a need or something like that that is out there.

[Jason Galasinski]

And, you know, we're not saying that. That raise money, Right. Certainly.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Fundraising does work.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. And.

[Jason Galasinski]

But the problem is, is that it's not sustainable.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Jason, it. It goes back to the old adage, do you want me to give you a fish or teach you how to fish? And giving you a fish, that's those fundraising things, you may pay, make payroll this week, but I want to give you a system, a structure that will allow you to make payroll for the next 20 years. My wife and I, when we started raising. Yeah. When my wife and I started raising our support, we never in our wildest dreams thought that Those people, those 125 people who helped us from the very beginning, would continue to help us for 41 years. But a majority of those people have never missed a month in the last 41 years. That is solid. And it's because of relationship.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's because you've built relationships, Right?

[Jim Dempsey]

It's because I know them.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. So, you know, a lot of what we say is it's all about friend raising.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Fundraising.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So if you've never heard that term, friend raising before, we have a whole podcast episode. It was actually our third episode. Can you believe that?

[Jim Dempsey]

And we're at 98 now.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. So go back to episode three. It's called Friend Raising versus Fundraising. And there we kind of break down the idea. Basically, what we say, the gist of it is that it's all about relationships.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And, you know, there's so much more you can do with a fundraising event than just raise money. And so one of the things that we do in our coaching program, the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program, is that we teach you how to build relationships, how to build new partners, so that when you do do the vision Dinner, you are walking away with, yes, some money in the bank. But more importantly, you've met a ton of new people who are super charged up about your organization. They bought into the vision, and they're now saying, we want to walk with you through this journey.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And that's going to last way more than just one time. Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

Jason, I think back of our April episodes that we did our $10 million series. And I think about John Cooper from Niagara Mission. I think about Becky Perez from 2911. All of them said that money was. The fact that they raised a lot of money was great. But the PR that came out of that, the relationships that they had from people, the gifts in kind that come from it, it definitely for them was much more than the money. John continues to send us articles that came from reporters that were, at his.

[Jason Galasinski]

Dinner, invited members of the press.

[Jim Dempsey]

Invited members of the press. Now, not everyone can do that, but John was able to do that. And they continue to do puff pieces on him. They call center, they call him. Or sometimes they don't even call him. They just do a great episode about what he's doing, a TV show, because they.

[Jason Galasinski]

They caught the vision.

[Jim Dempsey]

Absolutely. So it is so much more than money. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, Jim, another like, sidetrack of similar to this is that fundraising is all about manipulating and just, you know, it's high pressure. It's, you know, we're trying to twist their arm, we're trying to guilt them.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And. And that's not really what we're wanting to do either.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right. Well, fundraising is about, you know, about manipulation and it is about overdoing things. But friend raising is about motivation and encouraging people. It's about transformation or fundraising is about transactions. It's focusing in on just getting the money. That's fundraising, getting a deep relationship. That money ends up coming. That's what makes it different.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. You see yourself as a blessing broker.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yes, that's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

We're presenting opportunities.

[Jim Dempsey]

And what does that mean? It means we know in scripture that God says that he is going to bless those who give. And we've got the opportunity at our dinner to provide the programs, the projects, the things that if people give, they will be blessed by God. So in a sense, we serve in that position as a blessings broker because we broker those deals to allow people to be blessed by God. Wow.

[Jason Galasinski]

That's just a really eye opening way of thinking about it.

[Jim Dempsey]

It's really eye opening.

[Jason Galasinski]

And there really are people out there who are looking for opportunities.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

I mean, they are. They're looking for. They have the money, they have the resources, but they don't want to just give it to anyone, any old, you know, person.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

They want to give it to someone who's going to use their money well. And so when you do these well organized vision dinners or whatever, you're presenting the opportunity in a way that makes them have confidence in what you do.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right. That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

All right, let's talk about the second myth. Jim.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. The second myth is that you simply ask and people will give. Well, that is. Nothing's further from the truth. You can ask and people will give, but honestly, you're going to get a deeper, meaningful gift. You're going to get more money. If people understand who you are, what you're doing, and that you've developed a relationship, I can go in and just simply ask somebody for money and I might get that. But generally I'm going to kind of get. Get a tip from people or I might get. I'm going to give this money to Jason. So I get him off my back and I get him out of my office. So I'll give a token gift to the person. So you want to get that meaningful gift, you want to get that sacrificial gift, and you want to get the gift over time that. That continues year in and year out. So just asking is not really going to get you the kind of gift that you want ultimately. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Jim, I was recently reading some articles on the Internet and I came across this crazy article. Let me read you the title. It says, an anonymous crowdfunder is asking the Internet to make him a millionaire in 90 days by just having him set up a page.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

He's already raised 12,000.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. And I was just gonna say, and sadly, some people will give money to them. But you know what? People don't know anything about him. They could care less about him. Yeah. And they have no relationship. This will be a one and done and that's it.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, and what I was. And the, the kind of like, if you just create a page.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yes.

[Jason Galasinski]

And put it on Facebook, you're just going to get money. Well, like, all I got to do is just make a page and boom.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, sadly, that is fundraising. That's what I said. You will raise some money. But, you know, I want to build a long term relationship. I don't know any of those people. I won't get any long term benefit from those people. I might be able to make one payroll with that. The rest of the. It's, I'm done. And I spent all that time, I spent all that capital on that. Just. Just a real failure there. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So the myth is if you just simply ask, people will give.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

It is true that if you ask, people will give, but a lot of times people need to know why they're giving to you. They need to know what the money is used for.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, they want to know more.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, and so you might get.

[Jim Dempsey]

You might get an initial gift, but if you hope to get any more gifts from people, which I would think you do. Yeah. That's just not going to happen. Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

All right, let's move on to myth number three. Social media is a solution to fundraising.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Jason Galasinski]

Now this comes from.

[Jim Dempsey]

You put a Facebook page up and everything is gonna, all your problems can be solved. If I put a picture on Instagram and put down in the, read the caption area and it says please give to our non profit, all your problems are going to be solved.

[Jason Galasinski]

And well, I mean, I think it's because we've seen all the viral stuff and so we think like, well, if I could just make this go viral, you know, if I could just get the attention, you know. But then there's people who are just kind of more casual. I know we came across a couple things at year end where people were being lazy and they were just like, throw it on Facebook and hope for the best. And it's like Facebook honestly is the worst way to raise money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And unfortunately people don't realize this, but Facebook kind of of tricks you in a way because they, they have like this easy way to just say start a fundraiser.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, they have this button that you just click and then you just. And people don't realize that. You know, number one, Facebook profits off of that a lot because they're processing all that money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Number two, all the money flows through Facebook.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So they don't actually, if you start a fundraiser on Facebook, they don't, you don't see who gives.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Like they, they collect all that information. Yeah, they, it all goes into their bank account. And then I heard, I don't know if they've changed. Last I heard, it takes months for them to cut you a check.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And get it to you. And when you get it, you just get the lump sum. So if you fundraise who they are, you fundraise $1,000 on Facebook, you get a check for, you know, $925. Cuz they take a percentage or whatever and then you don't. And that's it, it's just a check.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You have no idea who gave you anything. And even, even it might tell you how many people gave, but you don't know who it is. And so it's awful.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

That's true.

[Jim Dempsey]

Development people know that the long term value of someone is the name, not the money, that the dollar itself. Right. And, and they've just Violated that whole rule there.

[Jason Galasinski]

Certainly it is a good thing if you are doing some fundraising to, you know, let people know what's going on.

[Jim Dempsey]

Increase public awareness, get people to hear about the good things that you're doing, expose them to your projects, introduce them to your leadership. All those things are very valuable. But if you think it, social media is just going to be a cash cow for you, that's. That is nothing further from the truth. That is a myth.

[Jason Galasinski]

Myth number four. I'm going to punt this one over to you.

[Jim Dempsey]

Okay.

[Jason Galasinski]

Fundraising is the development director's job.

[Jim Dempsey]

Oh, absolutely.

[Jason Galasinski]

I hired a development director.

[Jim Dempsey]

All my problems are solved.

[Jason Galasinski]

I don't need to do fundraising anymore. Right. I can just go back to doing what I love. That's why I brought the guy on. So pass the baton to him and walk away.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

How many times have you seen that?

[Jim Dempsey]

About a million and one times, for sure. I just. It. It. I would say 9 out of 10 times I'm hearing that from an executive director, a board member, and staff members.

[Jason Galasinski]

Okay. So let's. Let's like, kind of think this through. So the ministry is, you know, growing, you know, and starts off with a founder.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yep.

[Jason Galasinski]

Maybe turns into an executive director.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Then you've got a team of people comes along, and eventually you're starting to.

[Jim Dempsey]

Develop relationships with people. You're starting to bring in some money. But you say, hey, I want to grow this thing. So I need to bring in a development director to take this effort to the next level.

[Jason Galasinski]

A lot of times the executive director feels like I'm getting pulled away from my core mission. You know, they. They want to be doing ministry or involved, and they don't want to be meeting with people for lunch and writing letters.

[Jim Dempsey]

Fundraising. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So they just think, if I could. Could just get a development director, then I can just push all this off to him.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. And all of our problems would be solved. Yeah. And there's nothing further from the truth. A development director can do ass. But to be honest, they're. They are good, assist people. They assist. They lay things up for the executive director to slam dunk for a basket. That's what needs to happen. You're. Your development director is introducing. Setting up relationships with people. And like I said, they may do some asking, but the real money is going to come from the executive director because people of wealth want to associate with people of their same level. They don't see a development director being at the same level that they are as a founder, as a business owner of. Of a major organization or Major company. Right. And they want that executive director. It's just like your senior pastor. Everybody wants to get time with the senior pastor. I don't see people, you know, knocking down doors to meet with the associate pastor. I. I think about the. In the movie, remember the Titans? I remember specifically Denzel Washington as the head coach saying to his assistant, I never see the. The assistant coach's name on the front page at the loss of a game. And so everybody wants to connect with the head of the organization. So when they step away or the board steps away, the development director is out there on an island all by themselves. And it needs to be a collective effort. I had one. One of the greatest phrases that I heard was from the head of our Jesus film ministry. And he was interviewing, being interviewed at a conference, and he said, I've got an amazing development staff, a terrific development director. But he said, one of the things that I've learned over the last two years is that no one is better to be the chief development officer than me as the executive director. And what he meant by that was that people respond best to the executive director. So a good development director ought to be setting up the executive director.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, one of the things that you told me early on, we've mentioned this in past episodes, is how when Campus Crusade was a little smaller, Bill Bright had a vision to. He wanted to get million dollar checks. And so there was a time in history where he was like. Like, I want to just be able to walk in and ask for a million dollars.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And it wasn't working out too well at the beginning.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

He would walk in and people like, I don't know who you are or whatever. And so.

[Jim Dempsey]

And a million's a lot of money. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And so one of the strategies that crew took on early on, I know you were part of this team, was to, you know, kind of set up the relationships, kind of build that foundation, and then get to the point where you're. You're like preparing them to meet with Bill. And then by the time it gets to that point, then Bill can just go in and close the deal of thing.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, I used to always joke with him about that, is that he'd always tell stories about people giving a million dollars, that he walked into an office and people gave a million. And I always say, yes, Bill, you actually did that. But it was two years of us establishing the relationship with the person. So you could walk in there and ask for a million dollars. No, that is the way it works.

[Jason Galasinski]

That's a. That's a great analogy and a great story for all of us to learn, like, the wisdom in that. Because if you want to get to next level development, really get to that point, you've got to learn how to build those relationships. And it takes time. And that's what your development director or your development team should be focused on, getting those introduced, building relationships. But then eventually, it still doesn't just end with them. It's almost like your job is to get them to the president so that the president can meet with them.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, and close the deal. So.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Well, any good farmer will tell you, you don't just plant the seeds in the next day, reap a bountiful harvest. You plant the seeds, you water, you fertilize, you come back, till this, continue to till the soil, make sure that. That. That crop is starting to bloom properly, then you can come through and harvest that. That. It just. It does take time. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well. And similarly along those lines, just like the development director isn't supposed to do all the development, your board actually is supposed to be involved in development as well.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, they really should. And I think that's actually one of the biggest mistakes. In fact, we could probably, at some point in time in a future episode, add one of the biggest misses that the board should not be involved in development. The board, your board of directors has fiduciary responsibilities. What that means is that they are responsible for the success or failure of your nonprofit organization. It comes down to them. If the organization fails and they're taken to court, it's the board who's taken to the court. And that those fiduciary responsibilities don't just mean spending money wisely or being good stewards of God's resources. It also means being responsible for ensuring that the money comes in the door. And I can't tell you how many board members just go, ah, I. I'm not responsible for anything in raising that money. No. Yes, you are. If you want to be a board member, if you want that prestige, you want that responsibility, that role, all part of that includes raising money.

[Jason Galasinski]

And we actually did a whole episode on this. It's episode 45 is called nine ways that your board members should be involved in fundraising.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And so we've got that on the screen. You check that out after this episode and learn all about that. But let's go into the final myth, which is myth number five. Fundraising dinners do not raise any money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Fundraising dinners are dead. Fundraising dinners don't work.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. Especially after Covid.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

People are like, especially Virtual events. Virtual events.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's going to be the salvation of all of our events. Remember how many people in 20, 21, 22 said the salvation of our ministry, every dinner from going forward is going to be a virtual event. Yeah, 22. And we heard 22. 23. We are so tired. We are so sick. We are virtual. Laughter out. Get us a live event and get it, get it quickly.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, well, it's not just about gathering people together too. It's about there, there's a certain amount of life and energy that comes from getting the right people in the room. I mean, when you. Yeah, just think about what it would be like if you got like Chuck Swindoll, John MacArthur, John Piper and Tim Keller.

[Jim Dempsey]

I know he's passed away, but in.

[Jason Galasinski]

Imagine if you got all these people in a room, like how electrifying it would be, you know, like. And it's similar like that with a fundraising dinner, like the Vision Dinner. It's a similar kind of feeling when you pull together the right people in the right room, you give the right presentation and you're asking according to the ability that they have to give. You know, you can raise a lot of money, but you know what, I know we talk a lot about we can help you raise a hundred thousand dollars or more through our mentorship program, but honestly, if you just want to see the actual results of our mentorship program, you can scan the QR code on the screen. Just scan it. It'll take you to our website, fundraisingmasterminds.net and you just click the Apply now button and it's going to tell you a little bit about the program and the price and the cost and everything. And below that there's an executive summary and if you click into that, it's for board members. If you click into that executive summary, we have all the results of 2024. So of everyone who went through the perfect Vision that are mentorship program. And so what we do, Jim and I lead a coaching program. We actually call it a mentorship program. We mentor your team through a 21 week process where we take you from beginning to end on how to plan and execute a perfect vision dinner with the goal of raising a hundred thousand dollars, or if you're already past that number, 50% more than whatever you're raising. So if you're currently doing some kind of gala or banquet or something like that, and you're already bringing in 150 or you're already bringing in 200,000, we believe that if you take our training, we'll get you double where you're at now that just by tweaking things and getting things a bit better. And if you don't believe me, check out the results. You know, go to the website and look at the results. We have numbers to back this up. So we're not just sitting here blowing smoke, right? We are. We have actual data of actual people. You can call them and you can see the numbers for yourself. We have before and after and how much they raised. And I would say on average, you know, most people are raising double, sometimes triple or quadruple the amount. So it's pretty exciting stuff. But it's all based on that partnership idea. It's all based on getting away from fundraising. It's all about getting into the right people, building those relationships. And then the most exciting part is it doesn't just stop there. We actually take the best of that class, the graduates, right. And we pull them into our three year program called the Winner's Circle. Right now this is a program, it's like invite only. You can't get to it from our website at all. We talk about it once in a while. It's kind of a top secret group.

[Jim Dempsey]

You have to be a graduate of the Perfect Vision Mentor.

[Jason Galasinski]

We only make it available to the.

[Jim Dempsey]

Graduates, have had a successful dinner. You have to have at least hit the lowest goal, which is $100,000 in income. We have to feel strongly that you're committed to moving forward in this area of development.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, no, but the, the, the Perfect Vision is really just your, your beta test to see can you hit that $100,000 mark. We believe if you follow all the steps in the Perfect Vision in a program, you follow the recipe, you're going to get the results. And then once you have that $100,000 benchmark, then you're qualified to join the Winner Circle. And it's a three year program where we teach you how to actually do development.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, this is the stuff that you do on a daily basis. You know, how do we build these relationships? How do we, you know, just like what you said with Bill Bright, right. Took him two years to get to that million dollar level.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

To, to work these relationships. And it's not, it's not twisting arms or anything, it's, it's genuinely taking an interest in people and building relationships, you know, but there's, there's a, there's a systematic way to do that, that, and there's a haphazard way of doing it and we want to teach you how to do something sustainable.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yep, that's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So the people in our winner circle are learning that, and then we also are helping them with their next Vision Dinner and the next Vision Dinner. And so we kind of build on each Vision Dinner after. Kind of builds on the success of the other. Right. So it's wonderful. We love what we do, and it's a great privilege to be a part of it. So, yeah, if that's something you're interested in, taking that first step, scan the QR code on the screen or click on the link in the description. It'll take you to our website, where you can read all about the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program. You can also check out all the testimonies that we have on our website or on YouTube. Those are real people. I mean, we. After every single Vision Dinner, I get on a debrief call, and, I mean, I could literally put everyone, almost everyone on YouTube, but I just don't have enough time to edit.

[Jim Dempsey]

Edit. Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, 100 videos.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So we just. We just kind of take the best of. Of, you know, the course and throw them on YouTube. But, you know, we. They're literal. They're real people on real zoom calls, and they're just telling their experience about how the course was, what it was, how their experience was. And, you know, it's really interesting. Most people say they start off skeptical. They're like, I. This is. This is like 90 of the testimony. Well, I heard about the program. I watched your podcast. It sounded really interesting. But when I joined the program, I was kind of a little skeptical. My board said, why don't you go for it? We kind of took a risk. We weren't sure, but we did it anyways. We were a little bit skeptical. And then after, like a week, they're like, okay, this is good. And then after, like, two weeks, you're like, okay, this is. We're feeling really good about this. And after three weeks, they're like, okay, we're ready to go.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And then, like, their confidence builds. And, you know, we've had people. People, you know, say, you know, starting off thinking, I'm not sure if we're going to raise a hundred thousand by the end of the course, they're like, we're going to raise 150,000, you know.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right, exactly.

[Jason Galasinski]

And they do really well.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right? Yeah, absolutely. Well, Jason, wrapping it up, these myths are the real people do go in with these misconceptions. As you said early on, people don't do it intentionally. They just do it because we always did it this way. And it's so important that we remember and are very mindful not to do these myths and certainly not to fall into the trap of continuing to do the wrong thing over and over again. What do they say the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results. And that's what happens. So thanks, James.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, let's just review the five myths. Myth number one, fundraising is all about money. Number two, if you just ask for money, people will give. Number three, social media is the solution to fundraising. Number four, fundraising is the development director's job. Number five, fundraising dinners do not raise a lot of money.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, Jason, these myths are real. They really are. And we've got to be careful that you don't fall into these traps. I know that people feel confident about doing things because it's always been that way, but it really doesn't have to be that way. And I know that people aren't intentionally doing them, but it's important. Remember what the old adage is that what is the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, if you enjoyed this episode, let us know in the comments below. And if we missed a myth that you've thought of while you're listening to this, let us know what it is. You know, maybe we'll cover that in another episode. And as always, thank you again for joining us on the Fundraising Masterminds podcast. We will see you next time.

[Jim Dempsey]

Take care, Sam.