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Innovative program launched.
“The West recently launched an innovative ‘high impact gift program’ to enable solicitation of major financial gifts to The Salvation Army,” announced Bob Gregg, financial development director for the Western Territory.
The goal is to develop a model that will double the financial development program’s income in three years and double again in the following three years. If successful, the results would involve raising $66 million per year by 2010.
Gregg said that his vision for the gift program is to develop “a major gift team with professional skills and a heart for ministry who are provided with the proper tools and support that will allow them to connect with donor-prospects in a way that will meet the donors’ needs in order to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.”
A team of professionals was assembled with the task of formulating a workable approach to ensure this goal could be met. Hours of brainstorming were invested to devise a plan that would lead to the program’s success.
The high impact gift program materials could be characterized as finely woven tapestry. Each project is comprised of two components: a written “case for support” and an individualized DVD that showcases the specific need. Although each component is authored by separate vendors—JourneyGroup on the East Coast and David Productions in the West—the final product results in an orchestration of color, design and information to inspire all of the human response triggers: eye, intellect and emotion.
Adhering to the current Army branding of “doing the most good,” the theme for this program is transformation of lives through the serving of families, youth, homeless, and those in recovery.