How Men Vs. Women Raise Support:

Not that men don’t, but for the most part, females who are raising support have a greater interest in finding out the spouse and children’s names, birthdays, ages and schools, interests and needs, etc…And more of their appointments may be in homes with both husband and wife present, seeking to know about their personal life, needs, and prayer requests.

Women certainly do a good job of laying out their mission and role, but many men seem to put a real premium on confidently, even aggressively, reciting their purpose statement, showing alarming (sometimes shocking!) statistics, and communicating the specific and measurable objectives they hope to accomplish in the next 3-5-10 years. And man alive, they can really put together some impressive PowerPoint slides, allowing the donor to graphically “visualize” the story!

Being open and vulnerable, even revealing fears and weaknesses, is the preferable approach many women are comfortable with. Connecting to the heart, rather than just the mind (or the pocketbook!), is of highest priority. Women may interpret some men’s penchant for actually asking for a decision on giving during the appointment as insensitive and uncaring or putting too much undue pressure on the giver.

For most ladies, support raising is not just a “necessary evil” or bothersome hoop they must jump through to get to their ministry. Many times, they find joy in the process, make new friends, and record lessons God has taught them in their journal. Yes, men may sometimes get to full support quicker because they are more focused on the end result (i.e. just “show ME the money!”), but they might miss out on the incredible blessings along the way.