S06E04 Winning Strategies for Your Best End-of-Year Giving Yet with Russell Cooper

In this episode, we explore a topic every missionary needs to know about—the incredible potential of end-of-year giving. We sit down with fundraising expert Russell Cooper to look at why December is such a big deal for missionaries and how they can make the most of it.

Did you know some missionaries raise up to 30% of their annual budget in just one month?

Russell's shares incredibly practical tips on how to get ready, communicate effectively, and make the most of your year-end efforts. He’ll cover everything from crafting the perfect letter to following up without overwhelming your supporters, and even how to create that sense of urgency—without sounding desperate. Whether you’re a seasoned missionary or just getting started, there’s a lot to take away from this episode to help you finish the year on a high note!

✍️  In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why December is such a big deal for nonprofit fundraising and how it can boost your financial support.
2. Simple tips to help you prepare and communicate better before year-end giving.
3. How to write a donation letter that really connects with your supporters.
4. Smart ways to follow up with donors that build urgency without feeling pushy.

💡 Questions to Ponder as You Listen:

1. What specific actions can I take this week to ensure I’m fully prepared for year-end giving and that my supporters feel appreciated?
2. How can I create a clear, actionable message that motivates donors to give without making them feel pressured?
3. What kinds of letters do I find compelling? What makes them connect with me? How could incorporate those element into a letter that would deepen my relationship with supporters and encourage them to give generously?
4. How can I plan my follow-up process to keep donors engaged and appreciated without overwhelming them?
   
   

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

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Chapters

• 0:40 Meet Russell Cooper
• 1:25 The Importance of End-of-Year Giving
• 3:06 Strategies for Effective Fundraising Appeals
• 6:24 Crafting a Compelling Year-End Appeal
• 12:30 Effective Communication Channels for Fundraising
• 18:02 Personal Touches and Follow-Up Techniques
• 26:30 Mindset Shifts and Overcoming Fundraising Challenges
• 33:08 Final Tips and Resources for Missionaries

Transcript

[00:00:00] Stephanie Gutierrez: Welcome to Modern Day Missionaries, a podcast by Modern Day. Missions created for missionaries by missionaries. I'm your host, Stephanie Gutierrez.

In this episode, we're hitting on a topic. Every missionary needs to know about end of year giving. Fundraising expert Russell Cooper explains why December is so crucial with nonprofits raising up to 30% of their annual budget in just one month. He shares tips on preparing, communicating, and maximizing your efforts starting now. Whether you're seasoned missionary or just starting out, learn how to end the year strong. 

[00:00:35] Stephanie Gutierrez: Welcome to this episode of the Modern Day Missionaries podcast. I am so pleased to have Russell Cooper with us today. Welcome, Russell. 

[00:00:45] Russell Cooper: Hey, thanks for having me, Stephanie. I appreciate it. 

[00:00:47] Stephanie Gutierrez: I am looking forward to today because we're going to be talking about end of year, giving, fundraising, everything that's all up your alley. 

So if you've never met Russell before, he's the founder and CEO of Tailored Fundraising. And he's a former missionary who has a heart to see the nations reached for Christ. Compelled by the lack of funding he witnessed in the lives of his teammates and friends who were serving with other organizations, he started Tailored to help missionaries thrive. And he and his team have helped, have coached thousands of missionaries to reach their funding goals. So I hope everybody's ears are perked up and ready to take some notes today, because we're talking. end of year giving. And this is something we enjoy doing every year because of how impacting it is. 

But I know after talking to you, Russell, we decided to do this, to air this episode earlier than we have in years past. Um, because you had shared with us that it's important to get started earlier. So I want to ask you a couple of questions about that. We know this is a big deal, but why is December such a big deal for nonprofit fundraising and why do we need to talk about it right now? 

[00:01:51] Russell Cooper: Well in the last quarter, specifically in December, um, you know, nonprofits, uh, they raised between 17 percent and 30 percent of their budget just in December. So it's, it's really, really big. You've heard of Giving Tuesday in the States where it's just a day where everybody focuses on giving. Just a couple of years ago on Giving Tuesday, nonprofits raised 3.1 billion. So this is a really, really big deal. 

I know missionaries that raise, um, I just wrote a year end appeal for a missionary that says about, 25 percent to 30 percent of their budget comes in in December, which is really incredible, right? So it's a big deal because that's where people's minds are at that point. They're thinking about giving, uh, during December. We're talking about it now because it, we just need to think about the fourth quarter as a whole. So October, November, December. and there's preparation and planning that goes into it. So it's good to talk about early and to think through what your timeline is.

[00:03:06] Stephanie Gutierrez: What of that is automatic giving where people are just going to naturally see a boost? And what of that is requiring people to make an extra effort? 

[00:03:16] Russell Cooper: So a boost might be because of a couple of reasons. One, somebody might be getting a bonus and they want to give that or part of that to a missionary. another reason might be for tax purposes. So they want to write off more on their taxes. So they might do that. 

Interestingly enough, I like to give, I like to send an email to my list of, financial partners and potential finance financial partners, pretty simple about the options for, benefits of taking your IRA mandatory distribution and giving it to a missionary, or if somebody wants to give stocks, and avoid taxes on their stocks, if they give the stock directly to the missionary, they can avoid taxes on taking out that stock. So they're not selling in the stock, then giving the proceeds because they're going to pay taxes on that stock. They're actually giving the stock directly to the organization to give to the missionary that, triggered my, my memory, whenever we talked about like tax, you know, people give because of tax reasons, but I like this in an email saying, Hey, you may not, you may not know. And this is like, I just want you to know, because it's huge benefit to you.

[00:04:32] Stephanie Gutierrez: Ok, so let’s say I’m a missionary who doesn't really make any extra effort. I just assume people are going to give more because, you know, they're generous, and it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, versus somebody who makes an extra effort. Have you worked with clients who have, I guess, made that switch from passive to proactive?

[00:04:58] Russell Cooper: Yeah, when you're proactive, you're always going to raise more, for sure. We've had several missionaries email us this last year and say, I raised $15,000. I raised $30,000. I raised $50,000. I mean, those are big numbers, right? Or I raised $3,000 last year and this year I raised $5,000 for my year in giving, you know? So, I mean, there's significant bumps from $3,000 to $5,000 is 40%, 35%, right? So for sure, when you're having a focused effort and you, you know, there are really easy steps to take. 

I was working with this missionary and, uh, he sent, he sent out a letter and I said, we followed some steps and I said, the last thing you need to do, all you need to do is on the day before New Year's Eve, a couple of days, we're going I said, call and leave voicemails and just say, Hey, this is Russell. Ijust want to make sure you got my letter about such and such. I just thank you so much for considering, you know, partnering with us in this way. raised, he didn't do that. And it was really frustrating because he raised like $25,000. I was like, if you would have just made those phone, like just left those messages, it would probably went in 30 or 35, you know? So we see just a really, really significant, it's really worth like putting in the effort. 

[00:06:24] Stephanie Gutierrez: So let's talk about that then, the effort that that takes at when people are kind of crafting the appeal. Um, let's start here. How do they figure out what part of their ministry they should highlight in kind of that year end appeal? 

[00:06:39] Russell Cooper: Well, you know, um, at Tailored, we say funding flows most freely when it's the only thing holding you back from impact. So it's really important that you find impact, to identify, right? Um, impact that wouldn't happen without funding. 

I'll just give an example because, you know, a lot of missionaries, they say, Well, I don't have a project. You know, or I don't have a specific need. I really just need my salary, you know, so I'm raising money for my salary. Um, which, that's raising money on a finance based budget and we want to raise money on a vision based budget. 

So I was working with somebody from athletes in action, I think. Um, and, um, So he sent me a, a draft of a year in appeal and it was, it was, it's really good. And I just made some, some edits, but it really was, it was going to benefit his salary, basically. But he just talked about the impact of his main role. So his main role was developing a digital tool that would reach, um, would be able to coach or train coaches on how to share their faith, right? Well, that has a huge impact.

Well, he didn't talk about himself. He talked about the impact that this digital tool would have. And, you know, he did say like, I'm leading this effort, but it was really all about, can you imagine if coaches in Nepal were trained, you know, little, you know, little league soccer coaches? All these things, and it was really powerful when, when somebody says I can give. And this is really significant. What you're saying is, like, we're doing this together, it's not me doing this thing, so he didn't, he didn't focus on himself. He focused on what God could do through this tool and, um, the funding needed, you know, and we did say like, to continue this ministry, we are raising X amount, right?

So you're not saying, Hey, funding is going to go to my salary, right? You're saying funding is going to do this. And have this impact. So it's really just taking the focus off of ourselves and what God is doing. I mean, it's hugely important. We did put a specific personal need in there that it would also go to. Um, and I, I think, you know, that's powerful. the more specific you can be, the better as well. 

The other thing that raises a lot of money in an appeal, and not everybody has this, right? Most people don't have it if you're a missionary. A lot of non profits have this. But, is like a waiting list or something with an urgent timeline. So you might say, listen, and I coached somebody through this not long ago. We are able to house 30 kids who don't have a home. Um, and this is in DR Congo, but we have 50 kids on the waiting list and we can't house them and they're just roaming the streets, but we just can't bring them in.

We don't, you know, we can't feed them. We can't, we can't do anything else. And they're just on the streets and it's breaking our hearts, right? That's a waiting list. And there might be other examples of, uh, we have people who need this, but we just can't give it to them. right? So you want to describe what their life is like without what we could give to them and then what their life would be like if we were able to give it to them. So that's the kind of the waiting list. The, then there's this urgency, like, we're raising money and why I use this as, as well, just in general, like, because we have a deadline of December 31st. So you can have a, you can have a deadline in there. Deadline's always good. But, this significant event is happening on January 3rd. If we don't have the funding, it's not going to happen. Um, you don't want to sound dire, You just want to be truthful. Like, like we need the funding by just January 3rd, you know, and in order to accomplish this.

So those are a a couple of other pieces of impact that you could highlight, um, that aren't as, general, or they may just have a little more high impact. That's like, um, that's where social media can come in really well. And that's where social media raises money.

I don't, we don't normally say as a missionary, you should use social media to raise money because it's not super effective, but if you have some very urgent need. you know, on GoFundMe, you'll see this lady has cancer, she doesn't have money for the surgery. and a GoFundMe or social media push, you know, that's gonna, that's gonna really raise money because it's so urgent. And so there's such an emotional pull. So if you have that, I think you can incorporate social media.

[00:11:40] Stephanie Gutierrez: Okay. So don't rely on social media, but it can be helpful in a case where there's a deadline or a sense of urgency. And I actually know missionaries who have used it that way and they have found it to be effective. So that's good to know. Not, not to use it as a primary strategy, but yes, in an urgency. 

So I like that you highlighted urgency, um, but within urgency, not being overly dramatic, still keeping positive about it. You talked about storytelling, casting vision, saying what it will look like with it. What it would look like without it, if it's not there, like the waiting list, using we language, what can we accomplish it together instead of focusing on a team? Those are some great strategies. 

[00:12:19] Russell Cooper: Yeah, 

[00:12:20] Stephanie Gutierrez: So as missionaries are starting to put all those things together, I'd love to dig a little bit deeper.

You, you referenced social media and it being not overly effective. What would be some effective communication channels people should use with end of year giving us, and let's lay that out? So we're airing this in September as people start thinking, what can they be using and doing September, October, November, December. 

[00:12:47] Russell Cooper: Sure, sure. Um, just one more highlight on, on social media is that, when you post something, a very limited number of people are going to see it, it, whatever followers you have, friends you have. So really if you don't have a few thousand, tens of thousands of followers, you know, you're not reaching very many people.

Now, some people use like specific pages that people are subscribed to. Then of course that's going to be seen by them. But, uh, so that's, that's something of note. Uh, but like, what are the steps, you know? really it's, it's very similar to onboarding new financial partners that as a missionary, you've probably already done.

Right. Um, so you want to create an awareness piece. Um, you might create a awareness in, uh, September and October through starting to talk about it on social media. If you do it regularly, you know, then different people are going to see it, um, about the ministry, what it's about, what it's doing, right? Um, you want to highlight that in emails or newsletters that you send out, um, and definitely send out, uh, newsletters, emails before this, because we're, we're really developing, uh, an awareness here. Um, you know, I, I'd like to send out emails asking people to pray for specific initiatives that are happening. Um, even pray about the year and giving with us.

So in September, October, it's all about creating awareness really, uh, because that's the first step. And then we, when we get to the actual, like, first communication piece for your year end appeal. Uh, then it's kind of like the pump is primed, basically. 

[00:14:46] Stephanie Gutierrez: Okay. So September emails create awareness. So now we're getting into October. How does that begin to shift? 

[00:14:54] Russell Cooper: Yeah, well, I mean, September, October, definitely, uh, raising awareness. You know, you're going to be sending out, you know, direct mail for a year. Okay. so people expect a a direct mail piece for year end giving. It's just kind of in the, at least in the U. S. culture, right? You expect to see from non profits or missionaries a direct mail piece about year end giving.

Um, that's not the only way that I, you know, that I think we should communicate, but for year end, I would really advise you to send something direct mail, uh, if you can, um, and then you're going to send your initial emails, uh, for whatever that looks like. And it's really interesting that, and I don't ever advise this, but in a, in a year end appeal, in a letter, a direct mail, I wouldn't say this in email, but in direct mail, you get a better response from a longer letter, which is so, so interesting, isn't it? You know, um, I, I know that for nonprofits, you know, I used to be the national director of philanthropy at Jews for Jesus, and we would send out, I mean, the direct appeal would be five pages long and it looked like it was a letter, um, not had really, there's a science to something like that. And there were certain pieces and, um, highlighting certain things. Uh, but, you know, I would test as a missionary, like a, what it would look like if I did a front and back letter or a front and partial back letter. 

[00:16:35] Stephanie Gutierrez: So, okay. When you look at a direct letter, is it typed out with pictures? Um, you talked about a long letter. What are your thoughts on that versus like, A handwritten note. 

[00:16:45] Russell Cooper: I would say it needs to look like a letter, so that we're not going to have pictures in it. Um, gosh, there's 

[00:16:55] Stephanie Gutierrez: not a newsletter, not like the Christmas card. 

[00:16:57] Russell Cooper: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Um, so it's, it's probably going to just be just a letter, right? Some nonprofits put together a packet with a long letter and such, but I think for a missionary, it's mostly appropriate to, um, to just do a letter.

If you want to do like a. A picture of the person you're ministering to that you reference in the letter, I think that could be appropriate. But I think we want to stick to a letter. because when, when you get a newsletter style, you're, you're most likely kind of like just scanning it.

And the ask can get lost in there. Yeah. Cause we're not usually asking through a newsletter. Those are more updates. 

[00:17:49] Stephanie Gutierrez: So, what are your thoughts then for missionaries who like to send out like a Christmas card type thing? Is there any correlation there? Are those completely separate? 

[00:17:58] Russell Cooper: I'd say they're separate, right? Yeah. I say they're separate. You know, when you go handwritten, that's rough, right? So, um, there is a service called https://www.handwrite.io/ And, uh, you sub, you just set up an account and you, um, you can put a message, uh, for a card, uh, and they're, they have machines that take a pen and actually write it for you.

So it's great for people who are international too, if they want to send thank you notes or a lot of thank you notes, I don't know if they do letters. They might, um, I would imagine it would be worth it to send some. Cause it costs, right? If you want to send some of that to, uh, maybe those who might be able to give more.

Um, so there's a, there's, it's, it would be worth paying to have something written out, or if you just want to write out five letters, then you want to take time to do that. Do that. It's pretty effective. I do, I have a missionary friend who, he spends a lot of time writing out letters. to, uh, to his financial partners, uh, handwritten letters, not notes, letters.

[00:19:18] Stephanie Gutierrez: You better have good handwriting if you do that, huh? 

[00:19:20] Russell Cooper: And strong hands, like, can you imagine the cramps? So, 

[00:19:26] Stephanie Gutierrez: I mean, I haven't had that, that bump on my finger in a long time.

[00:19:29] Russell Cooper: I know. Yeah. Right. I forgot about that. That's funny. 

[00:19:33] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yes. Okay. Another little hack I'll add in that is kind of related, unrelated, but if you want to do thank you notes, an app I found that works really well is called https://www.feltapp.com/, where you can send I think it's $6 a month and you can send three cards and they're accordion style cards and it includes the stamp. So when you think about the cost of a stamp, it's really pretty cost effective. You could upload photos and they're darling cards, but that's in the other side. That’s maybe a thank you card. We're talking about letters and communicating specifically for that end of the year.. 

[00:20:08] Russell Cooper: You know, I find also if you, we suggest ask, uh, suggest amounts in a letter a lot of times. So, this last letter we did, we suggested $3,300 or you know, we can appreciate any amount you can give. We usually, you're in letter, it's a one time gift, right?

So it's going to be normally higher, when you suggest higher amounts, people tend to think more generously. but you want to be thankful for any, any gift, right? 

[00:20:42] Stephanie Gutierrez: So it sounds like this letter is a key part of end of the year giving strategy. So let's dig more into this letter. So we've got suggested amounts. We've got multiple pages, no pictures. Uh, when are they sending this letter out? 

[00:20:56] Russell Cooper: You know, um, that's a great, and, and missionaries, have found different responses from the people they send it to. we usually have them hit mailboxes just before Thanksgiving or just before Giving Tuesday. So you really have to kind of almost have to guess sometimes because, you know, not all letters get to the same places, but I would say in general, probably, um, just before Thanksgiving is going to, you know, it just get pushed back and pushed back so much. You know, it's kinda like, commercials for Christmas or whatever, it's just like, you feel like you're seeing those in September. It used to be just like in December, you know, or no, it's Christmas music, you know, on the radio, you're like, Oh my goodness, it's October.

What are we doing? You know? So it just gets pushed back and pushed back because you, you want to, I mean, you're, you're competing for other year end appeals, you know? So, 

[00:21:53] Stephanie Gutierrez: What else goes into that letter? What are some critical components?

[00:21:55] Russell Cooper: yeah. Yeah, sure. So, um, it's kind of, it's, it's like any message. Um, so we're going to have, um, the need. For example, the, the letter I wrote about this digital tool that this missionary is creating for coaches, it was kind of a, a waiting list. Like, we can't train all these coaches, or athletes to share their faith. Unless we make a digital tool. There's just too many around the world. Right? So we did have that, that waiting list. 

So you're gonna have a need. and, and we say it Tailored, the hero is only as great as the villain is bad. If you've seen a movie, you know, there's this, it's just not a great movie unless the villain or the protagonist is just like in it to win it, you know, and you, you have to root against that.

Right. Right. So in your need. you just want somebody just thinking, wow, we, we have to do something about that. I don't know what we're going to do yet. Cause I just started reading this letter, but we, we have to do something about that. We can't let that happen. Right.

[00:22:55] Stephanie Gutierrez: Okay. 

[00:22:56] Russell Cooper: And then you're going to go to how, how, um, would we address that?

So talk about a little bit about the strategy and then what would it be like, if we did this together? And then you're going to make, you're going to make an ask and tie that to impact. Right. So for us to train coaches all around the world, we're raising $30,000 by, uh, the end of this year, and we're inviting you to consider a gift of $3,000 or $300, or really any gift is, we're thankful for any gift. I guess those are the, those are the components right there. 

[00:23:34] Stephanie Gutierrez: So you mentioned earlier, the majority of the giving comes in, in December. So if this letter is going out in November, what would be follow up steps that people need to take then in December if they have not seen fruit from this letter yet? 

[00:23:48] Russell Cooper: Right, right. Um, calls and texts. 

[00:23:53] Stephanie Gutierrez: Okay. So December is calls and texts. 

[00:23:55] Russell Cooper: Right. So just wanna make sure that you're, you know, you're gonna call, somebody picks up, somebody doesn't, um, it's uh, they pick up. You say, Hey, I just wanted to make sure that you got the letter that I sent you. And they're gonna say. Yes, I got it or no, I didn't. and it doesn't matter really what they say, yes or no, what you're going to say after that is what is in the letter. So they say, yes, I got it. Don't assume that they read it. Yes, I got it. And so you would say, oh, great. So you know that, and then you say kind of a statement about the need, the strategy and the vision, right? No, I didn't get it. Oh, I'm sorry.You know, I mailed that a couple of weeks ago. What we were saying in the letter, what I was telling you in the letter was this, this, and this, and you just close it with, I just really appreciate you considering partnering with us. Um, and I just wanted to let you know that, and you know, you might do that, you might leave voicemails, then if you're leaving voicemails, then you're going to be sending followup texts, maybe a week later, something along those lines, and then I would do.

Um, like we said earlier, like really just before, January 1st, I would send out text or phone calls. There's a, there's an app called SlyDial it's really interesting. I think you would, in this case, you'd use something called Sly Broadcast. It's another version of SlyDial, but you can create a voice message and. give it a list of numbers. It calls all those numbers at once and it goes straight to everyone's voicemail. So it doesn't actually ring their phone. Yeah. 

And I might say, Hey, this is Russell. Sorry. I missed you. I just want to say Merry Christmas. And, uh, just wanted to, uh, just say again that I really appreciate you considering, giving to XYZ. I think it can make a really big difference in sharing the gospel. in 2024. And if you have any questions, just give me a call. So, you know, if you have a hundred people, you send it to 200 people, you send it to now, you know, you have to have the phone numbers. Um, but it's a great way to, you know, to get those voice messages out there, especially if you're an introvert,

[00:26:11] Stephanie Gutierrez: That's my next question, Russell, because I'm listening to all of this going, what about all the people who are like, I don't want to bug my supporters and how embarrassing to be like, emailing them and sending them letters and then calling them to ask if they got the letter. I mean, some people died on the inside when you said that. 

[00:26:29] Russell Cooper: Right, right. Well, even extroverts die on the inside, you know, uh, cause when you're, when you're talking about fundraising, it can be a challenge, but really it's, that's a mindset shift, right? Um, because you need to ask yourself, why am I making this phone call? Is the impact really not going to happen? Right? Uh, do I, is it the case that if funding doesn't come in, I'm leaving the field or at least in the next year I'd be leaving the field? Or would we not be able to provide housing or materials or this conference? Um, so it's not really about you. It's really about you're making that phone call on behalf of the people that are going to be ministered to, but you're also making that phone call to give, to, to bless people with the opportunity to give right.

As a fundraiser or as a missionary, you hear that bless people to give them the opportunity to give. You're like, yeah, yeah, whatever, you know, but let's look at, let's look at Scripture. And Jesus said, it's more blessed to than to receive. Um, let's look at, Elijah and the widow and her son, and he asked for a piece of bread and she said, I only have a little flour. Well, when, when he obeyed and asked and she obeyed and gave, what did that do? So many things, but at the very least it saved their lives. You know, they were going to go die without food. It saved her son's life. it's just amazing the blessings that you get when you are generous.

And really we are managers or stewards. We're not owners of the resources that God gives us. And you really need to understand that, whether it's time or whether it's finances and also say that, um, Paul mentions growing in the gift of giving, right? So this is a discipling as well. Right. anyway, I could probably go on about that longer than you want to hear, but it's really this mindset shift.

[00:28:32] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yeah. And, and you're absolutely right about the whole mindset switch. Uh, I will say though. Um, there certainly could be people being very realistically who could feel bombarded or who could feel overwhelmed to, you know, with the number of appeals they're getting from other people and then from you as well. How, how do you do it in a way that does not feel overwhelming? Is there such a thing as reaching out too much to people or doing it in a way that would turn them off? 

[00:29:02] Russell Cooper: Yeah. Well, first of all, people are expecting to get a lot of mail and a lot of, emails about giving. I think the thing that's going to turn them off is if that's the only time you communicate with them, right? 

[00:29:15] Stephanie Gutierrez: Hmm. That's good.

[00:29:17] Russell Cooper: Otherwise, Um, I mean, I think that prevents a lot. Um, the other thing that is, would prevent that is focusing on the impact, you know?

Um, you're not trying to be selfish, uh, but you're focusing on the impact. And, you know, this is your priority, it's not their priority. And so, you just have to keep it in front of them. Um, and I just, I think just a few touches. It's not like you're doing this five to seven times per person, right? You're leaving a voice message, you're shooting them a text, or another voice message, and even that effort is going to go a long way, right? 

[00:30:00] Stephanie Gutierrez: You make a great point about not having that be the only time that you reach out to them. You think about the person who only asks you for help or the friend. who only asks you for help. All they do is just, is call you when they need something. And when you want, uh, a good friend is somebody who will call you also to talk, to hang out.

Now, granted, it's different because there is a supporter team relationship. So it's not the same as like a best friend, but I think there is something to learn from that, to your point. Uh, make sure that you're saying Something to them other than just, I need you. I need this. I need,

[00:30:32] Russell Cooper: Right. 

[00:30:32] Stephanie Gutierrez: So it's how you 

[00:30:34] Russell Cooper: And especially it’s about what's happening. Uh, what God is doing. 

[00:30:41] Stephanie Gutierrez: Yeah. That's so good. Okay. Another question that came to mind is how can they make sure that their campaign letter per se stands out among all of the other things they're getting, because you know, your supporters also getting letters from a bunch of other places.

What can they do to make theirs pop?

[00:31:01] Russell Cooper: Yeah. You could, a couple of things. you know, and I don’t know how you do this as a, a missionary overseas. Well, I do. You can write something on the outside hand, write something out outside of the envelope. You can hand write something on the inside of the envelope that's personal. You know, Mr. And Mrs.Smith, I just appreciate you so much and you know, I'm praying for you and those, those little kids, uh, you know, something along those lines that, that could stand out. 

And if you're overseas, you might have an advocate do that for you. Um, so they might be printing the letters, they might be handwriting the addresses, things like that.

So, and we talk about advocacy, um, in networking, but there's advocacy also in, people advocate in a lot of different ways. And, just love to help. Uh, you know, you'd be surprised that somebody would say, oh, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do that. That's so cool. You know?

[00:31:55] Stephanie Gutierrez: You are absolutely right. I'm blown away by the different ways that people love to serve. You know, we're now based in the U.S. with the work that we're doing. Um, but we're traveling. My husband and I doing retreats for, you know, Spanish speaking pastors. And we've got people on our team, one gal. She's like, when you're out of town on one of your trips, I want to come over and water your garden. And just, she just offered. And I'm like, that's huge. Another person wanted to, you know, help take care of the lawn. And I mean, it's amazing the ways that people want to be a part of what you're doing and the things that they have to offer. Sometimes we limit it to finances, but as you mentioned, there's people who want to do the work that you're doing. To what us can feel like the most random or menial or odd tasks that are a huge blessing to us. 

So there's somebody out there who wants to address your, address your, your envelopes. There's somebody who wants to help you put that letter together and format it. It's just a matter of putting the ask out to your team and saying, Hey, who is somebody who could help me with this? And like you said, you'd be surprised at who will be willing to do it.

[00:33:08] Stephanie Gutierrez: So any last tips or pieces of strategy that you would throw out to our missionaries along this end of your giving?

[00:33:13] Russell Cooper: It can feel overwhelming to think all about that, and I think what what could really bring that stress level down, just open a notebook, list all the steps that need to happen. Do that now. I just put some dates by it, and then it seems doable. Oh, I only have to do this. October and then I don't have to do anything else, you know? And so you're not all constantly thinking, oh, I gotta get on that, I gotta get on that. I think that's one of the biggest tips is just write it down. What needs to happen, whether that's as detailed as, okay, I need to gather stories, or I need to identify the impact. you know, I need to find somebody who would be willing to print the letters and send them out.

Uh, just think through all the steps that you personally are gonna have to take. you know, I need to check out Sly Broadcast to see if that's going to work. but yeah, just write the steps down. Put some dates by it, and, uh, it'll make your life a lot easier.

[00:34:07] Stephanie Gutierrez: That's so good. And, you know, even once you put your steps together, you can get somebody to hold you accountable to it. Or I know you guys want to mention, you guys have coaches for those people who need extra help and maybe identifying what those steps look like and when and how.

So how can people get a hold of you and connect with you to help them in this process?

[00:34:26] Russell Cooper: Sure. Well, I mean, if you know, after this podcast that you like, okay, um, I want to make this really effective and, I want to invest in coaching to get 10 times, 20 times the return on the investment of coaching, then, just sign up. there's a sign up button, um, on our website, but, we also have a free assessment, and that's another button on our website. Schedule a free assessment. It's 30 minutes with one of our coaches. And in that case, I would advise you putting together your strategy for year end, identifying the impact, the financial goal, what steps you plan on using to communicate, and then, and then use that as your free assessment. And as you go through that with one of our coaches, uh, they can give you some feedback on that, or you might, find out, okay, this coach is really cool. If I had a coach like this, uh, to help me with a strategy, I think I'd want coaching. it's a big win for a missionary to have some feedback on their strategy. 

[00:35:26] Stephanie Gutierrez: No kidding. Cause like we talked about earlier, even you can put something together, but you don't always know if it's communicating what you think it's communicating. So having that outside voice and perspective, especially with people like you and your team who do this day in and day out, this is what you do, I think can be really valuable.

So I hope people take advantage of that free assessment because that is a great place for them to start. And to begin thinking now, what can I do to set myself up and my ministry up? for success to end the year strong. Russell, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all that with us. I'm hoping this makes a really big difference for people in their 

[00:36:04] Russell Cooper: Yeah, me too. Me too. Thanks for having me. 

Since 2008, Modern Day Missions has been providing financial, administrative, and marketing services to Christian missionaries around the globe. We're currently partnered with more than 750 missionaries in 75 different nations. If you or someone you know are looking for a non profit covering to fulfill your mission's vision, Modern Day could be the answer you're looking for.

Find out more at https://www.modernday.org/