06 | From Fundraising Dread to Joyfully Sharing Your Mission

Does fundraising feel awkward, uncomfortable, or even a little icky? Do you find yourself dreading the “ask” and wishing you could just focus on the ministry work God has called you to?

In this episode, Lisa unpacks a powerful mindset shift that can free you from the pressure of fundraising and reframe how you see your donors. What if fundraising wasn’t about asking for money… but offering your donors an incredible gift?

You’ll learn:

• Why your fundraising may feel like begging or bragging
• How your message might unintentionally make donors feel like outsiders
• The simple shift that positions donors as the hero of your story
• Real-world examples that turn awkward asks into life-giving invitations
• One practical challenge you can try this week to reshape your messaging

Whether you’re raising support as a missionary, running a nonprofit, or leading a donor-funded ministry, this episode will help you invite donors in with clarity, confidence, and joy.

Ready to clarify your ministry’s message and engage donors? Schedule a free call: https://irisstorytelling.com/getstarted

👉 Grab your free Ministry Message Checklist to start refining your message today at https://irisstorytelling.com/checklist

Connect w/ me:
lisa@irisstorytelling.com
https://irisstorytelling.com

Transcript

I just hate asking for money.(...) I just want to focus on the mission.

(...)

I wish I didn't have to worry about the donors. I wish I didn't have to worry about fundraising.

(...)

I just want to do the work.

Thank you so much for coming back.(...) I'm so excited to connect with you today.

you ever thought,

(...)

I wish I didn't have to deal with fundraising.

(...)

I hate asking for money.

(...)

It's super awkward asking people to give me money.

(...)

And it's probably the last thing on your list. And it makes you feel super uncomfortable and you dread it. Maybe you procrastinate

it's on your list, but you haven't done it or you keep putting it off.

Maybe you keep putting off that phone call that you need to make because it's just so awkward. You have no problem talking about the ministry side, you know, because it excites you. You love talking about

people that you minister to, what you guys are doing, the impact. That's all very exciting. But as soon as you have to ask,

money, it's like, oh, I can't, it's too awkward.

(...)

You beat around the bush. Maybe you just allude to it and you don't actually ask and you just hope that they will volunteer like, yes, I want to give you money. I want to join. I want to be a monthly supporter because it's awkward.

(...)

There's always this kind of awkwardness asking for money and that is a normal thing.(...) But what if that awkwardness could be gone?

(...)

What if

just a simple change in perspective takes away all of the awkwardness and the dread of it.

(...)

Today we're going to flip the script and I want to give you a new way to see your donors and yourself,(...) a new perspective, a new set of glasses to see your donor in a different way that will change everything.

(...)

So like many ministry leaders,

(...)

donor engagement is such a big weight. It's such a big deal. It's something that is, I mean, like the backbone. You cannot do your ministry without your donors and you know that your work matters and you know that the people that you minister to and they matter and their needs matter, but it can be really hard to share about your ministry in a way that doesn't feel like bragging or begging.

(...)

That's super hard. So I actually grew up in missions. So my parents are missionaries. I was born and raised overseas and I've been in missions my entire life. The whole world around me has been missions and ministry and I always, I remember just(...) always thinking I never want to be a missionary and it wasn't because I don't love missions.(...) It was because I didn't want to raise support.

(...)

I thought I don't want to beg people for money. I don't want to give people or I don't want to ask people for money to do work. I actually want to make the money, like do the work and make the money instead of begging for money and asking people, will you just give me money so I can do my work?

felt that was really weird and so I just never wanted to do that.

(...)

Maybe pride, you know, like I have to earn what I do. I have to earn for myself. I'm not going to ask anybody else.

But maybe you've been somewhere on that road of like,

I just hate asking for money.(...) I just want to focus on the mission.

(...)

I wish I didn't have to worry about the donors. I wish I didn't have to worry about fundraising.

(...)

I just want to do the work. I just want to do the thing that brings me to life.

So there's a disconnect because if our messaging is okay, look at all we've done.(...) Look at the people that we minister to. Look at the need that they have.

(...)

Look at the impact that we've made through our ministry, through our initiatives.

(...)

So look at all of this that we've done.

(...)

Now please give.

us money so we can keep going?

your ministry in that way, with that wording, it's almost like you're inviting your donors to a play. And you're inviting your donors to sit in the audience and pay you money to watch you do your ministry.

(...)

You give us money, you watch from the audience or the sidelines and we'll do the work.

(...)

The donor starts feeling like the outsider.

(...)

They feel like a wallet, like a checkbook. They don't feel like partners.

(...)

And what really motivates the donor is the impact that is made on the people that you minister to.(...) They love that. They want to be a part of that, but they don't want to be a part as an outsider. They want to feel like they're part of it.

your messaging makes the donor feel like an outsider, they're going to get burned out pretty quickly.

(...)

There's only so much that they can give until they feel like it's out and burned out because(...) they're not getting any sort of return in the sense of they don't feel like they're a part of it. They're just on the outside giving you money. You're the one getting the accolades. You're the one getting the recognition.

(...)

You're the one hearing the stories of impact and you see the amazing work that God is doing and it makes you feel so amazing to be part of that.

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Your donor wants that too.

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So here's the mindset shift that can change everything and it can give you some freedom so you're not feeling this weird, icky, awkward feeling of asking for money.

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It's freeing. It can free you of that.

(...)

So let me say this.

What if it's not about you at all?

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It's not about you. It's not about your ministry.

(...)

It's about the people that you minister to and it's about the donor.(...) You are just the in-between person. You're the facilitator.(...) You're not the hero of the story. This is not about how you have saved so many lives or your ministry has made a huge impact on this number of people.

(...)

You are the guide, the connector. You actually are the bridge between your donor and the people that you minister to.

(...)

So really it's a shift of it's not about you.(...) It's about the donor.

(...)

It's about their journey of transformation and how you can help bring that transformation to their life by connecting them with the people that you minister to. The donor is the main character of the story and you are meeting them in their story where you're helping them see you can make a bigger impact.(...) You can feel that sense of purpose, that feeling of like you're in your calling or you're doing

(...)

or you're a part of God's work by in this simple way where you can meet the needs of these people.

(...)

You're the one that's just the messenger, the facilitator.

(...)

It's not about you

Hey, real quick. If you're listening to this and thinking, "Our donors aren't engaging well, how can I check if our messaging is clear?" I want to invite you to download my free

(...)

It's a simple tool to help you identify what's working, what's not, and where your message might be losing people, especially when it comes to donor engagement or supporter growth. You can grab it now at irisstorytelling.com slash checklist.

and once you change your mindset on it's not about me.

(...)

It's about the donor and showing them, sharing with them the opportunity to be a part of something so incredible that will change the donor's life and just how it's changed your life in your heart when you hear the stories of impact of the people that you minister to the women, the children, the people coming to Christ and their lives are being forever changed.

(...)

The same life that it gives you, it can give them too.

(...)

So you are actually giving them a great gift, an amazing gift when you're sharing the opportunity that they can have this transformation in their life but you have to share it clearly. So all of a sudden it's not about you getting something from the donor. It's about you're giving them a gift and you say, "I want you to experience the same thing I experienced."

(...)

As someone who's in your ministry and you've done the work and you've seen the stories of impact, you have a greater advantage because you get that feeling of the excitement, seeing the impact,

(...)

the life that it brings you, the joy it brings you. You get to see that more often than the donor does unless you are actively sharing that. So you have to share that gift with them. I can give you this amazing opportunity to where your life will be so transformed by being a part of this ministry and ministering to these people.

(...)

When you shift that mindset, you're not taking.(...) It takes away the awkwardness because you are not taking from your donors. You are giving a gift. You are presenting a gift. They have to accept it but you are presenting an amazing thing for them that could change their lives just by being a part of it.

(...)

Isn't that amazing? I mean,(...) once you change just that mind shift, it's like, "Oh, it's so much easier to get in front of someone and talk to them in an exciting way.

(...)

There's no awkwardness because you are not taking away from them. You're not trying to take something valuable away. You're trying to give them a gift."

(...)

That's incredible.

(...)

You are sharing with them.

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It just looks different. It's just a mind shift. It's a change of perspective to where it's not about you.

(...)

It's about the donor and what you can give them.

This whole idea gets a lot easier if you join me and we do one-on-one coaching sessions to where I take you step by step through the process of building your ministry brand story.

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It gets a lot easier if we go through that process together. If you're ready to start, you can go to irrestorytelling.com slash get started.

some small examples of what that would look like.

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It's not look at what we did. It's look what you made possible.

(...)

Imagine being the donor and getting an email and it says, "Because of you, 300 families ate this week."

(...)

How would that feel compared to our ministry fed 300 families?

(...)

Please give.

Here's some more examples.

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Instead of, "Hey, we've grown by 50% this year."

(...)

Instead of that, we go to,

(...)

"You have helped us grow by 50%."

Meaning more families are being reached than ever before.

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Here's another example. Instead of, "Here's what our team accomplished this summer."

(...)

Here's what you accomplished this summer.

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You see the difference. It's all of a sudden the donor is a part of your team.

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The donor is not some person out there that is just writing you checks and sending you money.

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The way that they feel when you word it that way is like, "I am needed.

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I have value."

(...)

the core,(...) donors are just humans. They're just human beings.(...) They're not just this vague, blurry face out there with a checkbook.

(...)

They're human beings. Human beings at their core, they want to feel valued.(...) They want to feel needed.

(...)

When your donor gets that email that says, "This is what you helped accomplish this summer."

(...)

It's like, "Wow,(...) I'm needed.

(...)

My contribution makes a difference."

(...)

They're talking about me and I'm actually making an impact in people's lives. It just all of a sudden becomes more clear.

in the wording that you're using,

(...)

when you switch the wording

(...)

to "Here's what you accomplished this summer,"

(...)

that in itself makes them feel valued,

(...)

makes them feel like they're a part of it.

(...)

That's the big difference.

a huge, huge difference, not just in how you are talking,(...) but how the donor feels.

that information.

(...)

The next time,

(...)

remember when you are talking to donors and you have felt awkward and you hate it because it's just weird to ask for money.

(...)

When you stop asking to take from them and you start giving them a gift,

(...)

that awkwardness goes away.(...) That icky, weird feeling when you ask for money and talk about money, that goes away because now you're giving them a gift and you are excited for the donor and you're excited for the impact or the transformation that they will have when they're apart, when they say yes, when they start supporting you. You're excited for the impact it will make on their lives.

It's not just a win-win for you and the donor. It's a win-win-win. For you, the donor and the people that you're ministering to. It's just a win all around. It's amazing.

have two examples from a local nonprofit here in Springfield, Missouri and they are called I Poor Life.

(...)

They work with foster kids who aged out of the foster system and are kind of in that in between childhood and adulthood. And they just really support them with connection and people around them to help get them prepared for the adult life, the real life.

I was looking at some of their posts on social media and I thought they just did such a good job at bringing in the donor and kind of meeting the donor in their story instead of come look at us type thing.(...) So the first post says, "One consistent adult can rewrite a young person's entire story.

(...)

Through Life Crew, you can be that steady voice that reminds them they matter."

(...)

I mean that I have a soft heart, a special heart for fostering in general, but just that part of like you can be the voice that rewrites a young person's entire story.(...) Like imagine the impact that you can have on a person's life just by being consistent.

(...)

I just thought that was such a great example of instead of like come look at us what we're doing,

(...)

really engaging me as someone that can have that direct impact on a young person's life.

(...)

So another post that I really liked from them says, "Over 70% of at-risk youth say they don't feel seen or heard by adults.

(...)

Be a listener, make an impact. Join the Life Crew today."

(...)

So again, there is like they're setting up the problem, but they're not saying this is how we are solving it. They're saying you can solve it.(...) You can be a listener. You can make an impact.

(...)

And it's just, it's so much more engaging and effective because it's like, "Oh,

(...)

oh, it's me. It's not them doing it.(...) I could be doing that. I could be the one making this direct impact."

(...)

Very, very effective.

(...)

So shout out to I pour life for some good messaging.

So I want to challenge you to start this week.

(...)

Take one donor message. It can be an email, something that you're working on currently,(...) a thank you note, a post, a social post.

(...)

I want you to look it up and think about it through this lens.

(...)

How have you written that?(...) Are you writing about yourself as the hero? Come look at me. Or

it as the donor is the main character and they're the hero and you want to meet them in their story.

So take a look and rewrite it if you need to. Make your donor the hero and watch what happens.

know this shift takes practice. This is not kind of our natural go-to. This is not what most ministries or what we see on social media or around us.(...) It's not what most people are doing. It takes some practice and it takes this mind shift to happen, but you have to cut yourself and you have to ask yourself, wait,(...) how am I addressing the donor as the main character, as the hero?

(...)

Really,(...) the more you practice it,(...) the easier it's going to come and it's worth it. Because when you're messaging truly honors the role of your donors,

(...)

you're not only raising more support, but you're building this trust with them. You're building a community because your donors are not just checkbooks now. They are invested.

(...)

They are with you. That's going to be longevity.(...) That's going to be, you know, maybe it's the next person on your staff.

(...)

It's just a bigger, more loyal community that you are, that you're building.

(...)

And that's an amazing thing.

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If you're in ministry and feeling frustrated that your message isn't connecting or your supporters aren't growing, you are not alone.

(...)

I'm Lisa Diaz, and for the past 15 years, I've helped ministries craft powerful stories that build trust, increase donor engagement, and fuel kingdom impact. In this podcast, you'll learn the practical tools to structure your message,(...) share testimonies that build faith, and move people to action. Let's bring your mission to life through the power of story. Welcome to the story-driven ministry.

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real quick. If you're listening to this and thinking, "Our donors aren't engaging well, how can I check if our messaging is clear?" I want to invite you to download my free ministry message checklist. It's a simple tool to help you identify what's working, what's not, and where your message might be losing people, especially when it comes to donor engagement or supporter growth. You can grab it now at irisstorytelling.com slash checklist.