by Jan Stump, Executive Consultant

I’ve seen it many times.

A school begins because a small group of families shares a conviction: their children deserve a thoughtful, Christ-centered education that doesn’t yet exist in their community. These families carry a clear vision. They take real risks. They build something from nothing.

To keep tuition accessible, they operate lean. They make do and cobble things together. They sacrifice—always putting the education of students first.

That scrappy, faithful beginning is often exactly what allows a school to exist.

But over time, what began as a necessary posture can quietly harden into something else: a poverty mindset. When stuck in a survival mentality, resources are always scarce. Teachers are underpaid and overextended. Turnover becomes normal. The school limps from year to year, no longer building toward excellence but simply trying to stay afloat.

When survival becomes the default, the mission suffers.

Re-centering on the Mission

If any of this feels familiar, the most important step is not a new fundraising tactic. Instead, it’s time to return to what began your journey in the first place: your mission.

Take time to revisit the mission God has entrusted to your school. Ask the hard but hopeful questions:

• What does excellence in our mission actually require?

   

• What would it look like for our school to fully live that out in our community?

   

• What systems, people, and resources are necessary to get there?

   

This kind of missional clarity rarely emerges accidentally. It’s often best achieved through a thoughtful strategic planning process—one that helps leadership align vision, priorities, and next steps around excellence rather than survival.

The Annual Fund as a Catalyst, Not a Stopgap

Once a clear vision is in place, the funding question inevitably follows.

Tuition will likely be part of the equation—but almost certainly not all of it. And here, in this funding gap, is where many schools miss an opportunity.

Rather than viewing the annual fund as a stopgap or a necessary evil, consider it a catalyst. A well-designed annual fund doesn’t just fill budget holes; it fuels the mission forward.

Take this moment to build a clear, compelling case that connects annual giving directly to missional outcomes. In most schools, this includes appropriately paying, caring for, and resourcing teachers—the very people who carry the mission into classrooms every single day. It may also include needs-based scholarships to allow a greater breadth of students to participate in your mission.

When donors understand why the annual fund exists and what it makes possible, giving becomes an act of shared mission rather than a reluctant obligation.

Inviting Others In

With a mission-aligned annual fund in place, the next step is to extend the invitation.

This is an ideal opportunity to engage major donors early, inviting a few to make leadership gifts that model commitment and belief in the vision. These initial invitations not only help you reach your goal more quickly but also inspire the entire community and lay the groundwork for a major gifts program for future campaigns. 

But broad participation matters too. High participation isn’t just a metric; it’s a sign that your community understands and owns the mission.

Both large and small donors respond to clarity. When the vision is concrete and the path forward is clear, people are far more willing to give in ways that are meaningful and appropriate for them.

This clarity can—and should—extend into admissions and enrollment conversations. Many families entering private education simply don’t understand the true costs involved or the role generosity plays in sustaining excellence. Inviting others into your school’s story early on builds awareness and trust, preparing them from the beginning to be actively involved in furthering the mission.

Rethinking “All the Other Fundraising”

What about the auctions, events, and miscellaneous fundraisers your school depends on right now?

For many schools, these activities feel time-consuming and inefficient, but also difficult to abandon. The key is not an abrupt ceasing, but a gradual shift.

Some activities can be reimagined to support and elevate the mission rather than distract from it. Other fundraisers may need to be thoughtfully retired over time to make space—both organizationally and emotionally—for the annual fund to become the primary driver of philanthropy.

The goal isn’t to do less fundraising. It’s to do fundraising that actually moves the mission forward.

Your school wasn’t called merely to survive. It was called to pursue excellence—for the sake of students, families, and the Kingdom.

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?