Most Christian businesses and Christian entrepreneurs need at least a little bit of funding to start up their business in their early days. With this funding, they can be able to launch their startup, hire more staff, or open a new location.
According to the most recent statistics, over 94% of new Christian businesses fail during the first year of launching. Lack of proper Christian Business Funding turns out to be one of the most common reasons they failed.
Also, the absence of proper Christian business funding has prevented a lot of aspiring Christian business owners from launching their businesses in the first place.
But the great news is that there are quite a few places to get proper Christian business funding and most of them are frequently overlooked.
In this article, we are going to list down some ideas that will help you in your Christian business funding as a new or aspiring business owner or Christian entrepreneur.
The type of funding for a Christian business that’s right for your business largely depends on the nature and type of your Christian business. But once you come to the conclusion of seeking how to finance your Christian business, below are different ways to fund Christian business.
1. Start with Bootstrapping
When first getting started with your Christian business funding, it is advisable to use bootstrap, which means financing your business by scraping together any personal funds you can get.
This typically includes funding from your savings account or any of your personal belongings you can sell to raise money. This kind of Christain business funding requires no outside cash or external support launches. Since the Bible says a borrower is a servant to the lender, this is the reason a lot of Christian entrepreneurs continue to fund their business from their personal savings until their business becomes profitable.
Also, bootstrapping funding for Christian business give peace of mind and allows you to focus on growing your business.
I know you have a series of questions, such as “what if I don’t have any savings? If you don’t have any money saved up at the moment of planning your business, the first step is to plan on how to save up from scratch.
Start by calculating the estimated amount required to start up your Christain business, then figure out how long it will take you to save up the amount. Start saving up by putting a little percentage of that money aside each time you receive a paycheck until it’s complete.
What should you do when you have exhausted your personal savings and you need more money? There are other common Christian business funding ideas to start raising funds after exhausting your savings. That will eventually depend on the nature of the business you’re building.
2. Consider asking your Friends and Family
Although the bible belittles a borrower, we learned that the Bible does not teach that borrowing is wrong. Out of a good heart, we never wanted to be in debt, but things happen that lead us into debt.
Asking your friends or family members for funds to start up your business is a nice Christian business funding idea that you should try especially after exhausting your savings. This could be in form of gifts or borrowing, depending on the terms your friends and family want it to be.
First, start by sharing your business idea with some of your well-trusted friends and family members, hear their opinion and if they are in support of your business, then ask them to help you in your Christian business funding.
If they are not in support, it is advisable not to ask them for financial support because nobody will want to put their money into what they don’t believe will have a reasonable chance of success, instead, they will end up discouraging you.
For you to be able to convince them to buy into your vision, you have to be prepared by having some sort of business plan you can show them, tell them what your business is about, how much research you have done, and how much you need to get your business off the ground.
In most cases, due to how confident you present your business plan to them plus the love they have for you, irrespective of their stand in your business idea, they may toss you a couple of grand to help you get rolling.
So asking your friends and family members for your Christian business funding is the easiest way to add more money to your business capital especially if it comes in terms of gifts.
But if you end up borrowing from your friends or family, the downside is that it could possibly ruin your relationship with them when you fail to pay back the money. So, you need to make sure you have exhausted the gift option before borrowing from your friends and family.
Psalm 37:21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.
Along the line, you may need more money bigger than what your family and friends could offer in order to expand your business such as hiring more staff or opening a new location. As a Christain, there are other means that will help your Christian business funding.
3. Seek Government grants and subsidies
If you have exhausted the funds from your family and friends and you need more money for your business, this is the time to seek help from your government through grants and subsidies
Government agencies provide financing such as grants and subsidies that may be available for your Christian business funding. Government grants are the sum of money issued by your government that is usually not repaid but is to be used for defined business purposes.
While government Subsidies, on the other hand, mean the direct business contributions, tax breaks, and other special assistance that the governments of your country provide to a business owner in order to reduce operating costs over a lengthy period of time.
For instance, the Canadian government has the Canada Business Network website which has a comprehensive list of various government programs at the federal and provincial levels that the Canadian government provides to the people of Canada.
Make proper research in your country to know the kind of government grants and subsidies available at the federal and provincial levels of your country and then apply. This will go a long way in your Christian business funding or help reduce the cost of tax paid for certain purposes.
4. Go for Christian business loans
The Bibel has a lot to say about borrowing, debt, loans, and finance in general. We learned that the Bible does not teach that being in debt is wrong. Rather It gives guidelines on a decent application in order to make wise decisions and protect yourself from making unrighteous choices.
Another option for your business funding is to get a Christian small business loan from a trusted organization in your city, state, or country.
There are lots of government or private organizations that grant Christian business loans for new or existing business owners. Do some research in your country to find out the best organization and the process for applying for a small business loan.
If you live in the United State of America, the Small Business Administration is a great organization to consider if you need a small business loan. This organization gives funding in the form of long-term, low-interest business loans that are usually the most suitable types for small Christian business funding.
Bear in mind that Small Business Administration does not give loans directly to small business owners. Instead, it sets guidelines for loans granted by its partnering lenders, micro-lending institutions, as well as community development organizations.
The downside is that you’ll have to meet a specific number of requirements and go through a lengthy application process for you to qualify for Small Business Administration Loan.
If you are not in the United States, you can check out a similar program in your country. Just ask around, you will surely find one, make some research about them and then go for it.
5. Seek a bank loan
If you have a good relationship with your bank as well as good credit history, you may be able to seek a loan from your bank for your Christian business funding.
A traditional term loan is a bank loan that is suitable for your Christian business funding and it is the easiest type of bank loan to understand. You just borrow a fixed amount of money for a specifically stated business purpose and repay the loan over a fixed period of time with interest.
Banks loans offer businesses various terms which can be negotiated based on their particular needs. A bank may also want some form of collateral or property that protects them from default. You should also bear that in mind while seeking a bank loan.
The benefit of using a Bank loan is that it keeps your money from being tied up in long-term business investments. While The downside is that you have to return that same amount of money at a given period of time with some of your profits as interest.
Before applying for a bank loan, make sure you properly read the fine print one after the other with great understanding, most especially the interest rate and repayment terms. Make sure they are more acceptable and will not cause you a lot of hardship in the future.
6. Activate your credit card
Credit cards are a good source of Christian business funding options for Christian entrepreneurs who want to retain ownership and total control of their companies.
The amount of money you can obtain depends on your credit limit, which most times can be less than what you will get from a bank loan or other forms of loan, so this option should be used only for short-term funding.
Credit cards are one of the easiest options for Christian business funding, but they come with a huge cost for the capital given. The credit card interest rates tend to be on the high side, but the good news is that they’re flexible.
7. Christian Angel Investors
If you have already exhausted the money you raised from your loans and credit cards but still need more money to take your business to the next level, Christian business investors may be the next option you have for your Christian business funding.
Although I have initially talked about small business loans and bank loans, these loans are usually hesitant to lend funds to Christian entrepreneurs because of their lengthy application process for you to qualify plus too many documents that are involved.
But if you need between $10,000 and $1 million, Christian angel investors should be seriously considered. Christain angel investors are platforms where Christian Entrepreneurs meet Christian investors who invest in their business for a percentage share of their profit.
The downside of this type of Christian business funding is that it is not suitable for business owners who want to retain total control of their business as investors will have a percentage cut from your business and will most of the time be consulted for any big decision you want to take in your business.
If you are in the United State, there’s a Christian angel investors website that brings Christian business owners and committed Christian business investors together. One nice thing about them is that they conduct a professional Management Review, provide Feedback for Improvement and then place your business on their list of Investor areas.
If you are not in the United State, you can as well get a Christian angel investor in your city, state, or country. The common method of finding Christian business investors is to use your personal connections as a Christian in your church.
Begin by asking your church members, Christian business associations, or other Christian organizations you belong to for referrals to trusted and reliable Christian angel investors.
Just like stated before, always make sure you do your due diligence before signing up for any agreement. If you are not familiar with Christian business investors, make some research by asking other Christian business owners.
8. Get a business partner
If you need someone who has good experience in your type of business and at the same time willing to invest in it both financially and otherwise, this is the point you get yourself a business partner because two heads are better than one.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two Are Better Than One, For If Either Of Them Falls, One Can Help The Other Up.
A lot of Christian entrepreneurs don’t go into a partnership just to get Christian business funding alone but to also have a helping hand in business planning with someone that is well experienced in that business field.
There are legal implications of getting yourself a partner, very similar to, but not as the case of angel investors. Angel investors are not typically involved in the day-to-day running of your business, while a partner is involved unless you have a silent partner.
A silent partner is similar to an angel investor. He or she is a business partner who doesn’t involve in your day-to-day business activities but is only consulted when you want to make big business decisions.
There are four types of business partnerships, read about them very carefully and choose the one that is suitable for the type of your business.
Before going into partnership with someone, you must do a proper background check on that person and don’t make the mistake of going into partnership with someone who doesn’t share the same business values and orientation as you.
Having a reliable partner is one of the greatest Christian business funding you can ever get.
9. Christian business crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is one of the most overlooked Christian business funding that has been helping young Christian entrepreneurs in recent times. It’s more like taking a loan, contribution, or investment from hundreds and thousands of people at the same time.
Crowdfunding has created the opportunity for entrepreneurs to raise hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars from people with money to invest. This platform provides a forum for people with a business idea to pitch in front of waiting investors.
Crowdfunding investors can invest as little as $10 – $50 or more, depending on how much they believe in your business ideas.
One good thing about crowdfunding for Christian businesses is that it can help in the marketing of your products and at the same time finance your business. It also gives you a hint of how much demand your product will receive after production.
I don’t want to go deep into crowdfunding, but you can check out different types of crowdfunding, know how their policies work and then decide the one that is suitable for you.
Whichever type of crowdfunding you decide is best for your line of business, just know that crowdfunding is a competitive place to earn funding, the success of your campaign will rely entirely on the marketing power you put behind your business plan.
There is a lot of crowdfunding platforms, but Kickstarter, DreamFunded, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe are among the most popular ones. Christian crowdfunding sites are also all over the internet these days.
10. Get Venture Capital For Your Business
Venture capital is where you make the big bets for your business. This is a professionally managed fund that invests in companies that have enormous potential. They often invest a huge amount of money, generally larger than what a Christain angel investor would provide in exchange for equity in the business and they usually quit when there is an Initial public offering or an acquisition.
A venture capital investment funding for a Christian business may be suitable for your Christian business funding if you are beyond the startup phase and already making income and revenues from your business.
Venture capital provides expertise, and mentorship measures your business from the sustainability and scalability point of view and acts as a test of where the organization is going.
Venture capitals have a limited leash when it comes to company loyalty and usually look to regain their investment within the space of three to four years time. If your products usually take longer than this period to get to the market, then venture capital investors may not be for you.
Bear in mind that they often look for larger opportunities that are a little bit more stable, especially businesses that have a strong team of workers and good traction. Because their main objective is to help in quick business growth in order to realize a good return on their investment in a short period of time.
If you think you are qualified for venture capital, just know that the downside is that you have to be flexible with your business, and most times for it to work out perfectly, you have to give up a little bit more control of your business. This means if you’re not interested in too much mentorship or compromise, venture capital might not be for you.
CONCLUSION
Above is the list of best Christian business funding that can help you start up your new business or maintain an existing one. Not all of the different ways of funding for Christian business listed above are going to be suitable for your business, but hopefully, you can find two or more that will be right for your business.
Deciding on a Christian business funding option that is right for your business depends on a number of factors that are specific to you, your type of business, and your financial needs. Bear in mind that anywhere from half to three-quarters of new business start-ups fail, especially during their early stage, you should expect the same in your business startup. That is why it is advisable to start small, so as to learn from your failures without losing much money in the long run.
Once you’ve saved up for your Christian business, gotten approved for a loan, or found other people or organizations to invest in your business, pray to God for His wisdom, protection, and guidance as you run your business, or get back to your feet in your existing Christain business.
During most of Christian history, churches were supported by taxes, land rents, and benefices. Throughout the Middle Ages, taxes and rents supported the institutions. This ended with the Napoleonic era, when most church lands in Europe were confiscated, and clergy came to be supported by governments.
In the American colonies, churches were supported by local governments until the late 1770s. In 1791 the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution called for disestablishment of all churches and an end to government support. The new method of financing churches became pew rentals, which lasted throughout the nineteenth century. In the years 1900 to 1920 the system of stewardship appeals, pledges, and envelopes arose that is in use today. At present pledging is the major method of raising financial support in mainline Protestantism, and a combination of tithing and pledging is the major method in evangelical Protestantism. Roman Catholicism relies less on these methods and more on voluntary offerings.
Religious Giving in the 1990s
Most religious institutions today get their financial support from giving by members. In a 1993 study of congregations in five denominations (four Protestant groups and the Roman Catholic Church) in America, it was found that 89 percent of all income came through regular contributions from members. The rest came from bequests, income from investments, and small amounts from fees for programs, rental of building space, and fund-raising events (Hoge et al., 1996). Very few congregations receive support from their denominations.
A 1991 study estimated that 72 percent of the funds of religious congregations was used for current operating expenditures, 14 percent was spent on local capital outlays and savings, and 14 percent was donated to other organizations and individuals—usually denominational programs. This agrees with a 1993 study of five denominations in which 13 percent of funds was sent to mission and service programs outside the congregation. Other research demonstrates that this percentage declined gradually from the 1960s to today.
Denominational offices and programs are supported by payments from congregations. Every denomination has a required or suggested payment to regional and national synods, dioceses, and conferences. These offices in turn support seminaries, missionaries, publications, and so on.
Religion is the number one recipient of philanthropic giving in the United States. It receives an estimated 60 percent of all money given (Hodgkinson and Weitzman, 1996). The estimated total of contributions to religion was $44 billion to $49 billion in 1995. Most religious giving goes directly to local congregations, although in 1993 approximately 16 percent of all religious giving by individuals went to groups or causes outside of local congregations, most commonly to mission programs, social service programs, colleges, and seminaries.
The trend in overall religious giving to Christian churches in raw dollars has been moving upward at roughly the rate of inflation since the 1960s. But as a percentage of overall household income of church members, it has fallen gradually. A study of Protestant denominations in 1995 found that the percentage of household income given by members fell gradually from 3.1 percent in 1968 to 2.5 percent in 1992 (Ronsvalle and Ronsvalle, 1996). Catholic trends are largely unknown, since the Catholic Church never releases summary data on contributions.
Denominational Differences
The methods of handing contributions vary from denomination to denomination. Among Christian groups the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called Mormons) is unique; it requires that members contribute 10 percent of their household income if they are to be in good standing and receive an entrance pass to Mormon temples. Each Mormon member meets with the local clergyman once a year to discuss the member's giving during that year, and the clergyman decides whether to give the person a pass for entering a temple. Due in part to this procedure, Mormon giving is the highest of any Christian group. No other denomination requires giving 10 percent of income (called "tithing") and also checks up on each member once a year. A few other denominations require tithing for being a full member but without any checking up.
The mainline Protestant denominations (Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and some others) put less emphasis on tithing. They typically have a stewardship campaign in the autumn, during which they ask members to fill out pledge cards saying what they will contribute the following year. Virtually all churches provide envelopes to members so members' contributions can be confidential, yet the treasurer can add them up for the year and send the member an end-of-year receipt for income-tax purposes. Pledging is much less common in small churches in any denomination, since they are usually made up of only a few families who know each other well; thus their financial arrangements are informal. The evangelical Protestant denominations have higher percentages of members who tithe, so they rely less than mainline denominations on annual stewardship campaigns and pledging.
Religious giving in the Jewish community is different, largely because many American Jews see themselves as ethnically Jewish but not religious. Each metropolitan area in the United States has a Jewish federation, which organizes fund-raising. The 200 federations in operation in the United States in the 1990s resemble combined United Way campaigns in each city, and they collectively collect and disburse the vast bulk of Jewish charitable giving. The federations support over 1,000 Jewish organizations and causes, ranging from Jewish schools at all levels to community centers and study trips to Israel. The federations are the main planning and decision-making structure in the American Jewish community.
Synagogues are separate, and they are supported mostly by annual membership dues, which are seen by Jews as akin to school tuition, not as charitable giving. According to a 1990 survey, 41 percent of American Jews were affiliated with a synagogue, and affiliation entails paying annual set dues, typically in the range of $600 to $1,400 for a family. In a typical synagogue, two-thirds to three-fourths of the annual budget is covered by membership dues. In addition, synagogues ask for voluntary contributions and sponsor fund-raising activities. Total philanthropic giving by Jews, apart from synagogue membership dues, is high, estimated at about $1,600 per family in 1990 (Kosmin and Ritterband, 1991).
The amount of money contributed by members in various denominations differs widely, with some contributing five times as much as others. As noted earlier, the Mormons have the highest rate among Christian bodies, followed by several evangelical and pentecostal bodies, then followed by mainline denominations. The Catholic Church has a lower rate of contributions than the Protestant bodies. In 1993 a study estimated that per-household giving to one's congregation averaged $1,696 in the Assemblies of God, $1,154 in the Southern Baptist Convention, $1,085 in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), $746 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and $386 in the Catholic Church. Other research shows that Mormon giving and Jewish giving are higher than any of these five.
Influences on Giving
The main explanation for the different rates of contribution is in four factors. First, different religious groups have different levels of personal participation, especially attendance and volunteering. Second, different groups attach different theological meanings to contributions, most importantly regarding whether God will reward the givers with spiritual benefits. Third, conservative and evangelical groups give a higher percentage of total household philanthropic giving to their churches and less to other causes; that is, their giving is more concentrated on the local church. Fourth, some denominations stress the obligation of tithing one's income, while others do not. Also, some nontithing groups stress making an annual pledge befitting the level of one's household income, while others do not. Groups that require tithing or annual pledging have higher levels of giving than others. In all of these causal factors, conservative and evangelical Protestant groups are highest.
Levels of giving by individual members are highly skewed, with a few members contributing the majority of funds in all churches. The formula applies in virtually all congregations that 20 percent of the households contribute 80 percent of the funds. Sometimes it is 25 percent contributing 75 percent.
Trends in the 1990s
The most important trend is that church members and synagogue members have an increasing antiestablishment mood, which weakens their commitment to national denominational structures. Thus decisionmaking is being made increasingly at the local level, less money is being sent to national offices, and national denominational structures are slowly shrinking. The trend has been present since the 1980s. The best guess is that future denominational structures will be less hierarchical and more voluntary.
A second trend is that young adults have weaker denominational loyalty than their elders, so that young adults shift denominations readily (especially within Protestantism and Judaism) and gravitate to local churches whose programs and leaders they like best. This makes financial bases of local churches more volatile and less stable than in the past.
A third trend is a clear growth in endowments for congregations. Although exact numbers are not known, it is clear that bequests, wills, and large gifts to congregations are higher today than ever. The same is true of many denominational programs, so that, for example, foreign missions in mainline Protestant denominations are often supported more than 50 percent by endowment income rather than by current contributions from members.
See alsoChurchof Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints; Judaism; Mainline Protestantism; Roman Catholicism.
Bibliography
Hodgkinson, Virginia A., and Murray S. Weitzman. Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 1996. 1996.
Hoge, Dean R., Charles E. Zech, Patrick H. McNamara, and Michael J. Donahue. Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches. 1996.Kosmin, Barry A., and Paul Ritterband, eds. Contemporary Jewish Philanthropy in America. 1991.
Ronsvalle, John, and Sylvia Ronsvalle. Behind theStained Glass Windows: Money Dynamics in the Church. 1996.
Dean R. Hoge
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