Yesterday was the day we’ve all been waiting and preparing for: the annual fundraising event. This year, SON Ministries took a risk and completely changed the format of the event. In previous years, the “Open Your Heart” fundraiser has been held at a golf club, where people came for a nice evening and dinner. This year, for the first time ever, SON Ministries decided to reconnect the fundraising to the goal by turning it into a larger version of the weekly children’s restaurants. From my perspective, this was a much more successful fundraiser, regardless of how much was raised.

At our last Columbus Foundation Fellows meeting, we talked about the methods of effective fundraising. Fundraising in non-profit work is essential and it must be done in a way that is effective, yet authentic. Personally, I never want to donate to anything unless I really know where it’s going and that it’s for a mission I truly support; I think it is the same for many people. Ruth Lomax, who spoke to my fellows cohort, said something that stuck with me: “you never have to actually ask for money if you just tell your story.” The more I thought about this, the more it became the most profound statement about fundraising I’ve ever heard. It also seemed much more realistic for me when thinking about my future career. Contrary to what my parents may believe, I hate asking for money. When Ruth said you never have to actually ask people for money, I breathed a huge internal sign of relief knowing that, if I ever was in a fundraising role, I may not have to outright ask for money (or not do so as much). The more you can tell your true and authentic story, the more people will connect to your mission. Their newfound passion for a cause will drive them to give more of their gifts, whether it be time or money, than if you try to simply impress people then ask for these gifts.

I believe this year’s fundraiser at SON Ministries was successful because it was modeled in a way that simply told the story of SON Ministries. By including children, the event guests got a taste of what camp is about and why SON Ministries’ mission is meaningful. The children blew everyone away with how well they handled a restaurant with over 200 customers and brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Through this fundraising event, people who maybe have never seen what SON Ministries does were able to take a peek into a day at summer camp and connect to a new mission.