A $500 thank-you visit turned into a $15,000 gift
How to Build Donor Trust That Funds Your Mission for Years
Donors are awesome.
They are all so unique.
Alice and her husband Jim are “Rescue Givers.”
They love to be the gift that makes big things happen. They give sporadically and are not monthly givers. I still think about the first time I visited their home. She and her husband had given us $500, and I wanted to thank them in person (and no ask).
Ten-foot windows, a view of the lake — the kind of house you don’t forget. I wasn’t pitching anything. I just wanted them to know their gift mattered.
Near the end of the visit, she said something I’ve never forgotten: “When we’re blessed, you get blessed.” Then, almost in passing — if we were ever in a jam, call.
I didn’t think much of it. Then a few months later, one of our vans died for good. We needed $15,000 we didn’t have.
I remembered what she’d said, so I called — not a formal ask, just: “You told me to call if we had a need. We have one.” I gave her the number.
She stopped me. “We were about to call you. We have a gift ready.” I told her the cost. I offered to come thank her in person. “Dave,” she said, “you’re too busy helping people. We’ll send it in the mail.” That week, a check arrived covering the entire van.
We put it to work immediately — driving residents to job interviews, work shifts, appointments. I sent her photos of the van in action. No ask. Just proof of what her gift did.
That check wasn’t the end of the relationship. It was the beginning of one that lasted years. I visited them often. They gave when they felt blessed. I called, wrote thank-you cards, and saw them in person. I was blessed.
Relationships grow stronger when you prioritize gratitude and listen to how people want to give. Rescue givers want to make a big impact but not feel the obligation to give. I acknowledged their desire to give at their speed without pressure.
The problem: we want Trust to move at the speed of need
Your need is often urgent — payroll, a program at risk, a family waiting on a service you can’t deliver without funding. Trust doesn’t move that fast. It runs on its own timeline, whether or not you’re desperate.
That mismatch breeds bad habits: urgent subject lines, guilt-laced appeals, pitches dressed up as relationships.
They might produce a gift.
They rarely produce a donor.
The leaders who build something durable — organizations that survive a bad year, a leadership change, a downturn — build Trust as an asset before they need it, not a tactic they reach for once they do.
Without trust, fundraising will fall flat.
Trust is the engine and the oil of fundraising — the actual currency your organization runs on.
Every framework in the Bold Leading Blog builds on this truth:
“You can hate fundraising” reminds us that people are easier to love more than fundraising.
“The Skeleton and the Heartbeat” blog reminds us that systems give us time back to care for people. It is not a competition but a complement.
“Celebrating Generosity” emphasizes a ministry approach to fundraising
You’re not in the fundraising industry. You are in the loving people industry
We are the thankful people.
We are impact-sharing people.
We are the adventure-inviting enthusiasts that love to serve people.
We love those that come through our doors for help,
We love the people that keep the doors open.
We love to share joy and resolve that the world can get better.
Practical application: what to do this week
Audit your last ten donor touchpoints.
Emails, calls, thank-yous, updates — did you love on people, share impact, and remind them they are the reason the doors are open?
Build a faithfulness list.
Spotlight three donors. Write their names down. Contact this month with zero ask attached — an update, a photo, a two-line note. Love on them.
Protect your people.
Protect your deepest relationships from short-term pressure. If you’re facing a gap, don’t lean hardest on your newest donors. Go to the relationships where Trust already runs deep, and be honest.
Keep a rhythm you can actually sustain.
Use the 10-3-1 method. Call ten people. Send three a thank you card and meet with one person. Do this every month or every week. Small steps add up, and they build relationships.
Faith integration
Scripture keeps returning to this rhythm: faithfulness in small things before faithfulness in much. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). Trust is tested first in the unwitnessed moments — the note nobody asked for, the honest update in a hard season, the follow-through on an old promise.
And Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up.” Not if we work harder. If we don’t give up. Trust-building rewards endurance over intensity.
Your perseverance.
You didn’t sign up to be a fundraiser.
As you become part of the Bold Leading community, I hope fundraising becomes your calling. You already love people and serve them. Fundraising allows you to love on a new group of people.
Organizations that win are built by bold leaders who deposit trust patiently. They know perseverance with performance that keeps people first wins the day and keeps the doors open.
Frameworks only go so far
Without someone to help you apply them to your organization, your donors, your pressure points will cause you to lose hope. If you want to talk through what this looks like for you, let’s talk. Reach out at boldleading.com.
Dave Sena is the founder of Bold Leading, where he works with faith-based nonprofit leaders on the fundraising strategy and donor relationships that sustain meaningful mission work. Subscribe to learn more because You Didn’t Sign Up to Be a Fundraiser.
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Dave Sena is the founder of Bold Leading and a nonprofit veteran with nearly thirty years of experience leading, coaching, and consulting faith-based organizations. If you’re stuck, burned out, or just need a clearer path forward — reach out. He’d love to offer prayer, honest feedback, and a roadmap through.
