First remember, no matter what problems you may be having or no matter how good things may be going, God is always in charge. No matter what challenges you may be having at the time, stop and pray for wisdom and guidance. The more you pray the louder that still small voice will get. No matter how smart we think we may be, if God is not part of our decision process, we will eventually fail. Let God be the solution for every obstacle you are confronted with and every roadblock you are faced with. Every obstacle and roadblock will be a great learning experience that will eventually help lead you to success.
Let every student you encounter become a jewel and love them for who they are; respect them and they will respect you. Change comes slowly; make sure you are patient with all your students, parents, and staff. They are your greatest allies. Treat every parent and donor you meet as if they were your boss. Treat your conference and Union officers as if they are Kings. They will become your life vest when the seas get rough. Your resources are the most important things you have working for you all the time. Do not make yourself an island or you will fail. Make everyone your friend no matter how insignificant they may seem. They can provide you with resources you never thought you had.
Remember, roll out the red carpet for all your donors and treat them as good friends. Get to know them and their family personally. You must make face-to face visits during the year and send cards for special occasions and during family hardships. Do not just send out letters and expect money to come pouring in. That is the best way to lose your donors and insult them. They all expect the personal touch. Many times I will visit and never ask for money. If money comes up let them lead out in the conversation, then when they are interested in investing funds, you can go into detail about the project and how much things may cost. If they do not bring up money, it may not be a good time to talk about money.
Remember, never talk about the negative and always talk about all the positive things that are good about the school, staff, faculty, students, and parents, along with the conference officials. They are all your friends and supporters in all that you do. The negative will come up and if it is something that needs to be addressed and if that is a good time to talk about the issue, always pray for guidance. If it is not a good time let them know the problem is very important to you and find a time in the near future that you can talk about the problem.
Again, try not to bring up anything negative with donors and do not ask them to help solve a problem. You will always come across as being weak and not able to deal with your own challenges. Go out of your way when you see a donor on campus and make them feel at home and special.
Our school has paid off nearly a million dollars in debt and hired back all the staff that we lost. We also added almost $2,500,000 in improvements to the school. This does not count the huge sums of unrestricted money to help with student scholarships. All departments of the school have received plenty of money to improve their programs even when there was no money in the budget. Every facet of the school has been improved and new structures have been added to enhance the school’s academic program. We have not yet turned a student down because of finances. Yes, this was done by support from the conference and a very large donor base. Also, this was done in just a ten-year period of time. In the beginning we started with no donors to work with. With God first, along with plenty of prayer and using all the resources that you can find, anything can be possible.
By Mike Dale
Mike is principal of Ozark Adventist Academy in Gentry, AR.
