Over 1 Million Charities in the U.S…
About the Author
Ben spends most of his time working with underprivileged kids in Tijuana, Mexico, encouraging them to continue their education. He's an unofficial member of Iglesia Bautista Monte Horeb, which runs the elementary school, Centro Pedagógico Didaque.
…create a lot of competition. And competition creates marketing. And marketing creates manipulation.
A good friend of mine works in marketing. I respect him, and his work, greatly. Saying that, I always had a running joke with him that marketers would be more appropriately named manipulators. But where and how does marketing fit into non-profits? —Especially Christian organizations?
Since I’ve been reading George Mueller as of late, I’ll throw out his take. In his prayer diary dated September 6, 1854, he writes: “Never since the Orphan work has been in existence have I asked one single human being for any help for this work; and yet, unasked for, simply in answer to prayer, from so many parts of the world…the donations have come in.” At one time, Mueller even delayed sending out the financial report because of their desperate condition at the time, so as not to induce people to give.
Mueller did, however, ask for help over and over and over, in the form of prayer. He implores the reader of his diary “not [to] be discouraged by difficulties, however great and many and varied, but give himself to prayer, trusting in the Lord for help, yea, expecting help, which, in His own time and way, He will surely grant.” He would often pray the same request three times daily for tens of years without missing a single day.
I’ve never even come half way to that kind of devotion. And I wonder if any of the non-profits do either? Charity Navigator, “America’s premier independent charity evaluator,” lists “10 Super-Sized Charities”, of which the average percentage used for fundraising comes to 6 percent. In dollars, that averages over 62 million a piece. At that rate, is prayer even needed?
Oh, you’re so unfair Ben! None of those are Christian ministries! Ok, let’s check out ten random Christian charities that I quickly picked off. (I’m familiar with all, affiliated with none.) Five of the ten received 4-Stars (the highest rating which means: “Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its Cause”). The average percentage for fundraising came out to be 5.57 percent—just a tad under the “10 Super-Sized Charities”. In dollars this equates to an average of 2.8 million each.
Well maybe it’s true. Maybe Mueller received over 8 million dollars (not adjusted for inflation) because there was nothing else to give to in 19th century England.
April 24th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Another missional fundraiser type I know pointed out that even though Mueller didn’t ask for money, he certainly made the need known.
Marketing (which I do) has earned it’s bad rap, and e’en today presents new reasons for skepticism. It is, however, a valid part of any business or non-profit venture. Check out the http://ChurchMarketingSucks.com blog for more on this.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:33 am
IPMBlog,
Let me first give the disclaimer that I am not “hardcore Mueller;” I do however, find him fascinating.
No where have I been able to find an instance when Mueller petitioned for a specific need. In fact, he states the opposite quite repetitively: “Never have I asked one single human being for help of any kind.” He did, however, market heavily to the Lord.
The argument can be made that his ministry was highly visible, thus doing the marketing for him. He was a preacher in Bristol, the same town where he housed thousands of orphans (the largest orphanages in the history of the world, I believe). So, the needs of the ministry were open and obvious for all to see.
One final note: I once heard that Costco sells it’s gas below cost, thereby attracting customers, and making up the “loss” inside the store. If true, I’m impressed. Mueller, however, would not be. In 1868 he counseled a struggling, Christian businessman. Mueller’s advise included prayer w/ his wife twice daily, expecting answers to prayer, faithful tithes and offerings, and follow-up. Another point, however, was much different:
“Avoid all business trickeries, such as exposing for sale two or three articles, marked below cost price, for the sake of attracting customers, because of its being unbecoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus to use such artifices; and that, if he did so, he could not reckon on the blessing of God.”
Mueller was without a doubt, extreme. Yet I think it can also be said that Mueller, without a doubt, received many blessings from God.
June 30th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Marketing for the mission - sure it sucks as IPMblog states but it is a fact of life all must deal with. Raising funds it scattered all throughout the bible - visit my http://FundMissions.com site for examples - and to comment. The point is God created all the charities, and all the needs, and all the competition. I disagree that Marketing is manipulation. Although I will see 1000 twinkie commercials during my lifetime - I won’t eat a twinkie. Marketing plays a key role in getting a mess across - one quick example: many youth today avoid Church like the plague. Our youth minister runs paintball games all spring and summer for kids and spreads the gospel in a way the kids can understand, at the appropriate time. He also runs youth Christian rock shows and encourages music. The law of attraction is powerful.
July 3rd, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Ted,
You’ve jumped around on a few points.
1. Funding missions out of ones own pocket is also scattered throughout the Bible.
2. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The fact that He has control of all that occurs, does not mean that He promotes (ie. is in agreement with) all charities, needs, and/or competition.
3. You may not buy the Twinkie, but many will as a result of marketing. Millions of for- and non-profit organizations receive income by playing on the emotion(s) of their audience. That is manipulation.
4. Attraction is powerful. It sounds like your youth minister does a great job for the right reasons.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Ben, thanks for sharing that. I have also read Georg Mueller’s biography some time ago. Being involved in an AIDS home-based caring ministry in Swaziland with the constant challenges of financial needs, we have really experienced that God gives much better than people do! We have therefore also adapted Georg Mueller’s policy of not asking for money. Admittedly, we have asked for other things (blankets, clothing, medicine) when it was needed, but we try as far as possible to trust the Lord for our needs. We are not even close to Mueller’s dedication and faith, but we can testify that his way of working is very effective.