FOCUS Fundraising: Interview with Sarah Robinson and Patrick Glaze on The Petrus Development Show

Sarah Robinson, FOCUS Missionary, Wichita State University

Patrick Glaze, FOCUS Missionary, Wichita State University

In this episode, Andrew visits with Sarah Robinson and Patrick Glaze who are FOCUS Missionaries. FOCUS stands for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. It is a Catholic, collegiate outreach whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the gospel with college and university students, inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship and friendships in which they lead others to do the same. Sarah and Patrick tell Andrew about their work raising money for and participating in FOCUS at Wichita State University as well as the impact that FOCUS has had on their lives and the lives of those they’ve encountered while participating in this ministry.

Show Notes:

• Sarah graduated from Ole Miss and Patrick, from Texas A&M, and both were sent to Wichita, Kansas in their first years as FOCUS missionaries. Both discovered FOCUS in college, at their respective campuses.
• Fundraising is a big part of participating in FOCUS and Sarah shares her initial feelings of fear towards fundraising, but had confidence in God’s call and her ability to reach her goals. Patrick had no hesitation because his FOCUS team director gave him clear expectations for FOCUS missionaries before he applied. He was also involved in fundraising in college, both within a student organization and through St. Mary’s Catholic Center’s Class Gift.
• First year missionaries train for five weeks in Ave Maria, Florida. After which they continue to fundraise, making calls six days a week for four to six weeks to establish a donor base.
• Second year missionaries cultivate their relationships with their mission partners (donors/members of the missionary’s support team) through cultivation calls.
• They discuss the importance of face to face time with potential donors in achieving support for your mission/ministry. They also explore how interaction with these donors is actually part of the mission itself, how those on a missionary’s support team spiritually benefit from financially supporting the missionary.
• They discuss their strategies for fundraising and how their approaches changed as time went on. In addition, they discuss their expectations and emphasize the importance of humility in making asks.
• Each include that their conversion stories and encounters with God are important stories they’ve shared with their potential donors/mission partners when meeting to discuss their fundraising goals.
• Raising support for their mission work has encouraged these young people to be passionate about their future plans and has helped with practical experience in “asking difficult questions” according to Sarah, and explaining their reasons behind their decisions, so well that it leads to (sometimes unexpected) positive results (ie: Patrick acquiring a job offer from a benefactor).
• Participating in FOCUS has helped these missionaries learn the importance of tithing and also the importance of generosity; to welcome others and minister to them simply by purchasing a meal or a coffee for them, etc.
• Andrew, lastly asks five lightning round questions:
  • If you could fundraise for any organization or cause at any point in history what would it be?
  • If you could get a donor meeting with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be with?
  • Is there enough money out there for every organization that’s doing good work?
  • If you could go back in time and offer yourself one piece of advice what would it be?
  • Who are three people who have most influenced your growth as a missionary?
• From Sarah and Patrick we can learn that in fundraising it is important to be passionate, to be patient, and to trust in God.
• On over 150 college campuses in over 40 states and six countries, FOCUS ministers through activities like Bible studies, FOCUS Greek, and Varsity Catholic.

For more information about Sarah and Patrick and their work or to connect with them or missionaries like them, visit focus.org or email Patrick at [email protected] and Sarah at [email protected]

Giving to religious causes vastly exceeds any other category in the nonprofit sector, but faith-based organizations often struggle the most with fundraising effectively. Join Andrew Robison, President of Petrus Development, as he explores this topic through honest and revealing conversations with church leaders, executive directors and development professionals from the nonprofit community.