Ep. 81 | No Time to Fundraise? 3 Ways to Get Time Back for Ministry Support

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Do you ever feel like fundraising keeps getting pushed further and further down your list?

You know donor relationships matter.

You know communication matters.

You know you should probably send the newsletter, follow up with supporters, or update donors more consistently.

But ministry keeps happening.

Someone needs something.

An event is coming up.

Your inbox is full.

A volunteer problem pops up.

Your kids need attention.

Another task suddenly feels urgent.

And before you know it, another week passes without intentionally working on fundraising.

I think almost every ministry leader has felt this way at some point.

Because you love the ministry itself. You love serving people. You love seeing God move.

But fundraising feels like the heavy thing sitting on top of everything else.

And many ministry leaders quietly think:

“I just wish I had more time for it.”

You’re Probably Not Going to Suddenly Get More Time

This has been one of the hardest lessons for me personally.

Last year, I already felt overwhelmed. I was homeschooling my boys, rebuilding my business, managing life at home, and trying to balance everything.

Then I felt God calling me to help lead an entirely new kids ministry at church.

And my immediate response was:

“God, I literally do not have time for this.”

I did not magically receive extra hours in the day.

There was no sudden empty schedule.

But somehow, through intentionality, structure, and honestly God’s grace, it started working.

And I’ve realized something important:

The problem of “not enough time” never fully disappears.

Life will almost always feel busy.

So the real question becomes:

What are you intentionally prioritizing?

1. Stop Living in Constant Reactivity

One of the biggest things stealing your fundraising time is reactivity.

You start writing a donor newsletter.

Then someone interrupts you.

Then you remember another email.

Then lunch has to be made.

Then a ministry issue pops up.

Then you realize there’s an event tonight.

And suddenly the entire day disappears into reacting.

Reactive days feel busy, but they often produce very little meaningful progress.

At some point, you have to shift from reactive to intentional.

That means deciding ahead of time:

“This hour is for donor communication.”

“This thirty minutes is for fundraising follow-up.”

“This block is for writing newsletters.”

You stop waiting for free time to magically appear.

You intentionally create it.

2. Treat Donor Relationships Like a Real Priority

This part matters more than many ministry leaders realize.

If donor communication is always treated like the optional thing you’ll “get to later,” it usually won’t happen consistently.

You have to genuinely believe donor relationships are important.

Your donors are helping sustain the ministry God called you to lead.

They deserve consistency.

They deserve communication.

They deserve to feel connected to the mission.

And when you consistently nurture those relationships, donors become more loyal over time.

They stay longer.

They advocate for the ministry.

They feel emotionally connected to the impact they’re helping create.

Strong donor relationships create stronger ministry stability.

3. Block Your Time and Protect It

One of the most practical things that has helped me is time blocking.

And honestly, the busier life gets, the more important this becomes.

Time blocking simply means assigning specific blocks of time to specific responsibilities ahead of time.

Maybe every Tuesday morning becomes newsletter writing.

Maybe every Thursday afternoon becomes donor follow-up.

Maybe every Friday afternoon is fundraising strategy.

The point is intentionality.

Because distractions will absolutely steal your time if you let them.

And these blocks do not have to be huge.

Sometimes thirty focused minutes is enough.

Three focused thirty-minute sessions during the week can accomplish far more than several distracted hours spent reacting all day long.

Sometimes You Need to Get Creative

There are also moments where you simply have to get creative.

I realized at one point that I was spending more time scrolling my phone than I thought.

Little ten-minute breaks were adding up fast.

I deleted Instagram from my phone for a while and suddenly realized:

“Oh wow… I actually do have little pockets of time.”

Sometimes creativity looks like writing a newsletter while your kids play at the park.

Sometimes it means dictating donor updates while driving.

Sometimes your schedule changes every week and you have to rebuild your time blocks constantly.

Life is not always predictable.

But your priorities can still stay protected.

Fundraising Does Not Have to Keep Falling Behind

If fundraising matters, you have to intentionally create space for it.

Not because life suddenly becomes less busy.

But because you decide donor relationships are worth protecting time for.

Prioritize your time.

Protect your time.

Get creative with your time.

Those three things alone can completely change how consistently you show up for your donors.

And if you need help figuring out what to actually say to donors — how to write stronger newsletters, communicate clearly, and build stronger donor relationships — that’s exactly what I help ministry leaders do through coaching.

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