The Charis Way
Do you have the right kind of partnership alliance to
help you achieve your goals?
We get asked time and again, ìWhat separates you guys from everyone else.î Or we hear, ìAll stewardship companies sound alike, look alike and are basically alike.î Nothing could be further from the truth. While many of the same principles are employed by all the firms there are major differences when you look closely. At a recent meeting with all of our consultants we mapped out what we call The Charis Way. This issue of The Stewardship Coach will attempt to share with you how that ìwayî can benefit you and your church as you seek to fulfill the God given dreams you have for the future.
Our corporate values can translate into big wins for you. The following lists out what we at The Charis Group are all about. Compare what you read below with what you have experienced in the past or heard from other companies. If they are not matching these same values it might be time to look for another partner!
What Values make up The Charis Way?
- Integrity. Our first value is that we will always be men of integrity in our dealings. We believe that you must be truthful and honest in all that you promise and all that you represent. If you ask us how many campaigns we are working on we will give you an honest answer not a twisted representation of the facts. We wonít over sell or over promise what you can raise or expect just to get your business. We would rather tell you the truth than to tell you what you might want to hear to gain your business but ultimately lose your trust. One of the great down failings of this industry is the over selling of expectations. A promise that knowingly can not be fulfilled is the same as a lie. The Charis Group will not fall into that trap.
- High Impact/High Involvement Consulting. We believe you will not find a company that will be there more providing quality, timely advice on the next steps your ministries needs to take to achieve success. Our consulting is more hands on than any other in the industry. We spend more time upfront making sure that the foundation is firmly and securely set before the campaign is launched. Through our unique Pre-Campaign Assessment we can discover the level of readiness for a possible stewardship campaign. Our studies will find out:
- The level of understanding and enthusiasm for the vision that needs funding for both the yearly budget and future capital fund drives.
- Surface anything (actual or potential problems) that must be addressed before they impact results negatively.
- Help to cultivate potential donors.
We have the time to help you cultivate and work with potential donors that could significantly make a difference to your campaign and thus your God given dream. We believe that you never have to recover from a good start and we work hard to assure that you have that kind of start to your campaign. The way we can provide this kind of involvement is the importance of our next value.
- Limited Assignments. One of the dirty little secrets of our industry is the amount of campaigns some consultants have to carry. There were years before we started The Charis Group that we would work twenty campaigns or more a year. Why is the number of campaigns your consultant works important? You want a consultant that has time for you when you need him there. You want someone that you can get a hold of. You want someone that has the time to be proactive about your problems not simply reactive to your telephone call. Our consultants are limited to the number of clients that they can work so that you can be assured you will get the value for the dollar you are paying. Limiting the amount of clients allows each Charis consultant to give high impact and high involvement to you and your ministry. If a consultant is working more than twelve campaigns a year then he is too busy to be proactively what you need him to be.
- Solutions Based Consulting. A few months back a church told us that they would not need our services since they were looking for help with regular giving instead of capital campaign giving. Our response was to tell them that we would and could help them in that area as well. We worked with them to discover what the issues were and devised a plan for increasing their regular offerings. The point is that we offer what you need not simply capital stewardship campaigns. We also allow you to choose what parts of a campaign you might need help with. Our unique unbundling of the campaign elements focusing more on solutions based consulting makes The Charis Group the best choice for your church or ministry. The key to providing solutions based consulting is creative thinking. Our consultants are the most innovative in the industry. We personally design each campaign and engagement to your church or ministry. While others give you a template with your name attached we give you original creativity.
- Sustained Follow Up. We recognize the campaign does not end when the commitments are made. In fact it is just beginning. Our consultants stay with you for the entire length of the campaign. You will not be passed off to some ìFollow Up Specialistî who himself has five hundred churches he is tracking. Your consultant will proactively help you hit each key moment during the three years of giving. Again because our consultants take on a limited number of clients they can and do have time to meet your needs. No one else in the industry can make this claim.
- Biblically Based Consulting. The foundation of all that we do is following Scriptural values. You can be assured that each Charis consultant is called by God to this stewardship ministry. We are not fund-raisers. We are ministers who help churches and Christian ministries raise funds!
At The Charis Group we believe in the value of partnership that a good stewardship company can provide. However, after years of being in this ministry we realize that not every company is providing that kind of partnership. All talk a good talk but few are equipped to deliver upon the promises that they have made. After awhile all the companies do seem to sound alike. However, donít make the mistake of believing that. We believe that we are indeed distinct. We would love to have the opportunity to work with you and your ministry. We are a national company with offices in Atlanta, Little Rock and Tucson. Give us a call today and see how The Charis Way can benefit you!
Mark Brooks, Founding Partner, The Charis Group
Mark Brooks