by Jan Stump, Executive Consultant
When I first started working in development at a mid-size school in Anchorage, Alaska, our primary fundraising strategy was selling magazine subscriptions. (Yes—this was the 1990s.) Each fall, students were handed a thick pamphlet of magazine titles and sent into their communities to ask friends and neighbors to buy through the school.
While the experience may have taught students a bit about persistence and salesmanship, the reality was harder to ignore. The fundraiser demanded a tremendous amount of student and family energy, pulled focus away from the classroom, and created pressure that felt misaligned with our purpose. Something about it felt off. Was this really the best way to support a Christian school’s mission? We needed to raise more money, but surely there was a better path forward.
Fundraising Follows Mission
What unfolded next shaped my most foundational conviction about fundraising in Christian schools: mission-focused fundraising strength always follows mission health.
When a school is faithfully pursuing its mission, fundraising gains traction over time. When the mission is unclear, compromised, or under-resourced, no fundraising tactic—no matter how clever—will ever be enough. There are no shortcuts or silver bullets. Mission and funding rise and fall together.
At our school, the magazine sale wasn’t the real problem—it was a symptom. Other warning signs were already present. Teacher pay was low and arbitrary. Our high school was struggling academically, and its reputation in the community had declined. In a desperate attempt to balance the budget, the school had even implemented a so-called “required donation” on top of tuition.
In that environment, new fundraising tactics would only function as temporary bandages. Before we could raise more money, we needed to realign around why we existed in the first place.
Aligning Development With Purpose
As the new head of school began reinvesting in the academic mission—strengthening instruction, mentoring teachers, and restoring clarity around educational excellence—I took a hard look at development. The question wasn’t, How do we raise more money? It was, How do we pursue fundraising in a way that actually reflects our mission?
That shift changed everything.
Loaves and Fishes: Start With What You Have
I began with the simplest resource available: old paper donation records. Receipts. Names. Phone numbers. Instead of launching a new campaign, I started calling donors one by one—simply to say thank you.
Those conversations were eye-opening. I learned why people had given in the first place, how they were connected to the school, and how deeply many of them still cared. Over time, I began to map a much broader constituency than I had imagined—alumni families, grandparents, former board members, community members—people whose relationships with the school had never been intentionally nurtured.
What we lacked wasn’t generosity. It was a relationship around something we all cared deeply about: the Christ-centered education of the next generation.
As those relationships deepened, a sustainable donor base began to emerge—not because we asked harder, but because we listened better.
Educating Families About Generosity
Another key shift involved parent education. We realized that many families simply didn’t understand the role generosity plays in a Christian school. Tuition alone had never covered the actual cost of education—but we hadn’t consistently told that story.
So we changed our admissions process. From the beginning, we spoke clearly about the school’s vision, its reliance on philanthropy, and the biblical invitation to participate in that work through generosity. Families weren’t pressured—but they were informed.
As a result, new families joined the school already aligned with its mission and values. Many began giving as they were able, and just as importantly, they became advocates—connecting us with others who believed in the school’s work.
Slow Growth, Real Transformation
The results didn’t come overnight. But over several years, the steady pursuit of mission across academics, leadership, and development began to bear fruit.
Our once-struggling high school developed a waitlist. The annual fund grew into a reliable and healthy program. Within four years, the school was preparing for a capital campaign to build a new upper school facility.
None of this happened because we discovered a better fundraising trick. It happened because we chose to focus on mission-aligned practices that built trust, clarity, and a culture of generosity.
And the Magazine Sale?
For a time, we centralized the magazine sale so students were no longer burdened—a small but meaningful shift. But eventually, something remarkable happened: we no longer needed it.
What had once been our primary source of donations quietly faded away. In its place stood a school supported by strong relationships, engaged donors, and a shared belief in the mission.
The lesson was clear. When you stop chasing transactions and start cultivating trust, fundraising becomes less about selling—and more about inviting people into something that truly matters.
We’ve been privileged to help many organizations be more effective in their fundraising by learning and implementing relational fundraising principles in their work with donors. Want to talk?