Kaylen Niese
Intern
Paul Yeghiayan, CFRE
Senior Consultant
The story of Kingdom Workers is one deeply rooted in faith and a calling to uplift communities all over the world. Since 1986, Kingdom Workers has touched hundreds of thousands of lives: introducing families and children to the gospel, while providing critical support for physical needs—from creating access to clean water, to ensuring better lives for those with disabilities.
Campaign Snapshot
Impact on Mission
Kingdom Workers set a bold goal: to crease their impact by 5X, from touching 22,000 lives each year to 100,000 by 2030. The organization is already ahead of schedule: in 2025, Kingdom Workers reached 55,000 individuals.
Dollars Raised
Last year, Kingdom Workers raised over $7 million, an increase of 49% from the previous year, with many new major gift commitments. The organization is well on track to achieve its financial campaign goals.
Insider Giving
When an organization’s closest supporters and volunteers financially contribute, it validates the campaign as an urgent, top organizational priority. Today, 100% of Kingdom Workers’ board has made personally meaningful campaign contributions.
Culture of Abundance
While more difficult to quantify, Kingdom Workers has used this campaign to stretch their team to think more abundantly: from setting ambitious mission-driven goals, to inviting bolder commitments from supporters, to investing confidently in capacity and growth.
In 2022, Kingdom Workers’ leaders felt called to act boldly. They began to consider an ambitious fundraising campaign to touch more lives, to activate new believers, and to reach new corners of the world. To realize this vision, Kingdom Workers partnered with Benefactor Group: first, to conduct a feasibility study, which affirmed the organization’s ability to move forward with a major campaign; and now, for ongoing campaign counsel and partnership. Already, the campaign has led to rewarding successes:
Reflecting on the campaign, Edie Turnbull, Vice President of Mission Advancement, highlighted key factors that have contributed to Kingdom Workers’ momentum:
1. Invest in your team’s capacity. The returns will be great.
Kingdom Workers aspired to use this campaign to strengthen the individual major giving program. To accomplish this, the organization’s leaders intentionally invested in the infrastructure—staff, systems, volunteer committees—to build stronger donor relationships and secure major, multi-year commitments. In particular, Kingdom Workers invested in new roles, including a prospect researcher and additional major giving officer. As Edie explained, the investment offered Kingdom Workers the data, confidence, and ability to invite gifts from donors that reflected their highest giving capacity. “Our prospect researcher has been able to equip our fundraisers with good, accurate information to make bolder invitations of our donors, and the addition of a major gift officer has greatly expanded our capacity. Together, these two have contributed to new levels of growth.”
2. Make generous giving a “social norm” among your donors.
“People like you make gifts like this” is a phrase Kingdom Workers now often conveys to prospective donors, emphasizing their role among the organization’s closest friends and most generous supporters. Research supports this best practice! When you speak to a donor’s identity—how they see themselves, how they perceive your cause, the groups they identify with—donors feel understood and often more compelled to give.
3. Invite the board to be your first and best campaign champions.
Following best practices again, Kingdom Workers began its campaign by inviting the board to demonstrate their support. Today, 100% of members have made meaningful pledges, increasing their personal giving to Kingdom Workers by 3X. Edie attributes this largely to the power of peer-to-peer giving: “We followed Benefactor Group’s counsel to form a board gifts committee and equip members to solicit one another. As they shared, a peer is almost always the most effective solicitor!”
4. Adopt a culture of abundance.
For Kingdom Workers, this campaign is about thinking bigger: setting ambitious financial goals, establishing a larger vision, and making bolder gift solicitations. As Edie emphasized, abundance and gratitude have become ingrained into the organizational culture in new ways—”a mindset focused on potential” and a “culture of abundance, rather than scarcity.”
“We realized that, in most cases, donors don’t approach their giving from a lens of scarcity. They approach it with an abundance mindset. They are excited to be generous. They are hopeful to make an impact. It’s almost the least we can do to be abundant with our donors: to share with them a vision worthy of their enthusiasm.”
5. Seek out support systems and trusted advisors.
Successful fundraising campaigns are marathons; they require significant time, focus, and dedication. Edie, when asked about the advice she would offer to organizations mounting similar campaigns, emphasized the importance of trusted advisors. “No matter how many campaigns you’ve run successfully, you likely will still benefit from a fresh, outside perspective. Find a trusted partner. We found Benefactor Group!”
We congratulate Kingdom Workers on their extraordinary achievements and look forward to continuing to work alongside them as the organization continues on this inspirational path.
