Christian Leadership Alliance

Building a Team

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60 seconds with the World's Toughest Donor

He's front-porch friendly and unapologetically frank about what Christian organizations are doing (and not doing) right when it comes to approaching individuals and foundations for money. Care to listen in? . . .
Mark Cutshall | Outcomes, Sep/Oct 2007, Vol. 31, No. 5

Tom McCallie III has invested almost 30 years in the charitable work of the Maclellan Foundation, Inc. Today, McCallie sits as Foundations Coordinator, which is a supporting role for the new team Maclellan has assembled for the collective giving efforts of Maclellan's five family foundations and trusts which have served the evangelical and Chattanooga communities for more than 60 years. Tom has reviewed thousands of grant requests and cultivated friendships with world Christian leaders. When it comes to the state of Christian giving, he tells it like it is—and how he would like it to be.

CMR: One whole minute is barely enough time to cut to the chase: If you had one piece of fundraising advice for today's Christian CEOs and development directors, what would you say?

McCallie: The CEO is the chief development officer. You can't get out of it, just as Moses couldn't get out of feeding the Israelites. Second, everything you do in fundraising is ministry and needs to be done as unto God.

Fundraising is all about relationships, and it's unfortunate how poorly people in Christian organizations manage relationships when they're trying to raise money. Fundraising is a lot like dating. Generally you go out, hold hands, and kiss on the third or fourth date, and eventually you get married. It's amazing to me that some people in development, some leaders, don't see this and hand you a $5 million grant request on the "first date."

CMR: Talk about the alternative.

McCallie: Giving is an immensely spiritual issue. It should be seen as one's sacrifice to God. The purpose of fundraising is connecting the heart of the individual donor with the burden God has given him or her. In doing so, you also connect the donor with the joy of seeing how God uses his money in the life of other people.

CMR: What's the big distinction between major donors and foundations that leaders can't afford to forget?

McCallie: As a general rule, individual major donors are:

relational,
sustaining, and
respond quickly

Staffed foundations:

Are more process conscious (staff is responsible to others),
Are slower to act,
have greater tolerance for risk, if announced up front, and
are project or short-term funders

CMR: What's your advice to organizations as they approach a foundation?

McCallie: Know your prospective donor. If you're looking for partners rather than money, don't worry about having your ducks all in a row. Foundations have a tremendous amount of insight and knowledge. Our foundations get 2,000-3,000 grant requests a year, and yet money is only one of four assets we offer organizations—and it's actually at the bottom of the list.