Mi Academy — Specialty 4
Relational Fundraising
Run campaigns and pursue major gifts from a foundation of authentic relationship, not transactional fundraising tactics. Real partnership produces real results.
What You Will Build
Your Fundraising Campaign Plan
Across these four courses, you will develop a Fundraising Campaign Plan: a comprehensive document for designing and executing a specific campaign, whether a year-end appeal, a capital campaign, or a targeted major gift initiative. This plan is built on relational strategy, not just direct mail tactics, because the best campaigns deepen relationships rather than just extract revenue.
Introductory
See the concept
Understand what relational fundraising looks like at the campaign level.
Foundational
Draft it with Mi Advisor
Build a working Fundraising Campaign Plan with Mi Advisor's step-by-step guidance.
Intermediate
Refine the cause framing
Sharpen the plan by understanding how cause vs. organization framing shapes everything.
Advanced
Finalize with champion appreciation
Complete the plan with a strong retention and appreciation strategy that deepens the relationship.
The Four Courses
From relationship to campaign to long-term partnership
Introductory
Introduction to Relational Fundraising
What is the difference between transactional fundraising and relational fundraising, and why does it matter at the campaign level? This course introduces Mi's perspective on relationship as the foundation for every ask, sets the vision for what relational campaigns look like, and prepares you for the practical work ahead.
30–45 min • Vision-casting
Foundational
Fundraising Campaigns
This practical course covers the mechanics of a well-run campaign: goal-setting, segmentation, cultivation before the ask, the ask itself, follow-up, and acknowledgment. Whether you are running a year-end appeal, a capital campaign, or a mid-year push, Mi Advisor will help you build a plan that fits your specific ministry context and relationships.
45–60 min • Campaign planning, Mi Advisor drafting
Intermediate
Cause vs. Organization
Champions do not give to organizations. They give to causes. This intermediate course teaches the strategic and psychological difference between positioning your appeals around your organization and positioning them around the cause your organization serves. The distinction shapes your language, your campaign structure, and the kind of long-term relationships you build.
60–75 min • Strategy and framing
Advanced
Champion Appreciation
The best fundraisers are not the ones who ask well. They are the ones who honor champions so thoroughly that giving becomes a joy. This advanced course explores the theology and practice of appreciation, what it means to treat champions as co-laborers rather than ATMs, and how to finalize a campaign plan that leaves every champion more connected to the mission than before the campaign began.
75–90 min • Theology of appreciation and retention
"A campaign is not a one-time transaction. Done well, it deepens the relationship and leaves the champion more connected to the cause than before."
Mi Academy — Relational Fundraising
Specialty 7 — Relational Fundraising
Four courses. One Fundraising Campaign Plan. $375.
Leave with a complete campaign plan, a stronger approach to cause-centered communication, and the appreciation strategy that turns one-time givers into long-term champions.
Enroll Now →
Mission Increase
Contact
Portland, OR 97223
503-639-7364
info@missionincrease.org
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