What Henry Nouwen Taught Me About Asking for Money

Fundraising is deeply spiritual work. And that is why one of the very first things I do is send my clients a copy of Henri Nouwen's classic, A Spirituality of Fundraising. It's not a "how to" for raising money — it's a "how to think" about raising money. And for me, it all starts here.

Many pastors are ineffective at fundraising because they see it as secular work — perhaps even as somehow unspiritual, or at worst, a necessary evil. But when ministry leaders begin to see the work of raising money as part of their calling, something begins to slowly happen on the inside. Confidence grows. And eventually, it turns into passion.

It happened to me. C.S. Lewis called himself the most reluctant convert in all of England. I was perhaps the most reluctant fundraiser in my seminary class. And then came that first building project — and I had to raise money. I honestly didn't know where to begin.

What changed everything was a providential encounter with Bill Walter, then president of Church Growth Services (CGS). He had been helping ministries raise money for 25 years and I needed help with a capital campaign. I remember him asking me, "Lionel, what are you passionate about?" There was no hesitation. I wanted to see lives transformed forever by the gospel. He looked at me with steady eyes and said, "That's great! That is what you are going to talk about during this entire campaign. All I'm going to do is show you how to ask people to join you by giving to this God-sized vision."

That was 25 years ago and Bill has remained a mentor and friend for more than two decades. He’s now been doing it for 50 years—and he still emphasizes what Nouwen wrote about in his classic work on fundraising. Here’s a short excerpt from Nouwen: “Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are not saying, ‘Please, could you help us out because lately it’s been hard?’ Rather we are declaring, ‘We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself — your energy, your prayers, and your money — in this work to which God has called us.’”

When leaders make that mental shift from “begging people for money” to pointing people “to a vision that is amazing and exciting,” it changes almost everything. Nouwen was so bold to say that fundraising is "helping the kingdom come about." We are setting before people a vision to see lives changed forever — and saying, "Come join us." When this is done well, it transforms both the gift and the giver. This is why Nouwen says “Fundraising is always a call to conversion.” Our work of pointing people to give to the kingdom of God changes them.

If you are a pastor or ministry leader who has ever dreaded a fundraising conversation, I want you to know — that dread doesn't have to be permanent. Start with A Spirituality of Fundraising. It's a short read, but it has a long reach. Let Nouwen reframe the work for you. I think you'll be surprised at what begins to shift.