1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be high-minded or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things for enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Part I

Telling the Right Fundraising Story

Real-world fundraising

How does this passage align with actual major gift fundraising? Modern best practices focus on high-capacity donors. Scripture matches this. This ministry is only “to the rich.”

But capacity isn’t enough. They must also share our values and goals. Otherwise, they would never support our cause.

Scripture matches this, too. This ministry is not to all the rich. It’s only to the rich who are in the church. They’ve already decided to follow Jesus. In modern terms, they have capacity and affinity.

That’s the right group. But just identifying them is not enough. Effective fundraising requires a relationship. Scripture matches this, too.

In scripture, this is a “close-beside” ministry relationship. The fundraiser “comes alongside” the rich person [para]. He delivers an authorized message [angelle].

The goal of this type of instruction is not just financial. It’s deeply relational. Earlier in the letter, Paul explains,

“But the goal of our instruction [parangelias] is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5).

Both scripture and modern major gift fundraising start with

Once we have these, we’re ready to deliver a fundraising message. So, what is it? What’s the right fundraising message? Scripture gives that, too. And that message is a story.

The power of story: Key elements

Perhaps no topic is more popular in modern fundraising advice than storytelling. Storytelling is popular because storytelling works. It’s the most powerful way to communicate a message. Storytelling is memorable. Storytelling sticks.

And what is a story? A story has key elements. It has

Timothy’s message is a story: Key elements

Paul gives a fundraising message for Timothy to share. That message is a story. It has all six story elements:

This passage has a powerful fundraising message. That fundraising message is a story. It has every story element. It outlines every step in the donor’s journey.

When charities tell bad stories: Wrong elements

When major gift fundraising fails, one of these pieces is often missing. Maybe there’s no high-capacity audience. (The audience doesn’t have the resources for a major gift.) Maybe there’s no affinity. (Their values don’t match the charity, cause, or project.) Maybe there’s no relationship. (There’s no personal connection.)

Or maybe the message is wrong. Charities may be missing some parts of the major gift fundraising story. Sometimes, they’re missing all the parts:

Following the scriptural story for major gift fundraising works. Leaving parts out does not.

Part II

Backstory: Identity Motivates Action

Backstory in this passage: Identity motivates action

In our passage, Paul gives Timothy a message to deliver. That message starts with a description of the donor’s character. It describes the donor’s past and continuing identity:

In the original text, this is not an attack on rich Christians. It’s not a call to stop being bad. Instead, it’s a call to continue being good. (For a full explanation of the Greek text, see The Biblical Fundraiser in Ancient Words, chapter 3.)

The message begins by describing the donor’s already-in-progress admirable values. It describes his positive life history. In story terms, this part of the passage is the backstory. The backstory establishes a character’s identity. This comes from his life history, his values, and his people.

But a backstory is not just a random character profile. It must connect the main character’s identity to the challenge. In this story, the challenge will be to share wealth generously. The backstory shows why the donor will say “Yes!” to the challenge.

He will share. He will share [koinōnikous] with the fellowship community [koinōnia]. He will do so because he is not separated from the fellowship community. He is not high-minded. He is not above others. He is not conceited. These people are his people.

He will share wealth. He will do so because he has not set his hope on wealth. He knows it’s not reliable. Trying to grasp every coin won’t secure his future.

He will generously share wealth. He will do so because he has set his hope on God. God has been generous to him. Responding to God’s generosity with his own offers a better future.

The challenge to act will come. But it comes later. It comes after the backstory. First, we start with the donor’s identity. We start with his people, values, and life history. This identity will motivate him to act. It will motivate him to say “Yes!” to the challenge.

Paul’s many backstory arguments: Identity motivates action

A backstory shows how a person’s identity motivates action. It motivates accepting a challenge. This approach is not new. Paul uses a backstory argument in his challenges to Agrippa,103 Felix,104 and the Areopagus.105

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” (2 Timothy 1:5).

Timothy’s backstory is his past, current, and ongoing identity. It’s formed by his people, values, and life history. This backstory is one of “sincere faith.” It compels him to accept Paul’s challenge. Timothy’s identity – his backstory – compels him to accept the challenge.

This is the same approach in our passage. It begins with the positive characteristics of the listeners’ identity. This identity compels them to follow the instructions to be generous. This approach matches Paul’s regular practice in persuading an audience. It matches the original words of scripture. And it matches what works in real-world practice.

The timeless appeal of backstory: Identity motivates action

We can even see this appeal to backstory in the most popular modern stories. Consider the most successful movies. They started the most popular franchises of their times: Star Wars, The Matrix, and The Hobbit. Notice the similarities:

Each “call to adventure” challenge is similar. (Each also parallels the fundraiser’s “ask.”) The prospective hero is challenged. And what message motivates him to accept the challenge? It’s always the same. The prospective hero’s backstory – his people, values, or life history – compels him to say yes. It inspires accepting the challenge. His identity motivates action.

Backstory in Star Wars: Identity motivates action

In Star Wars, Obi-Wan will challenge Luke to go on an adventure:

Obi-wan starts his appeal – with Luke’s backstory.106 Luke’s father was a Jedi Knight. (The challenge connects to Luke’s people.) The rebellion fights against his father’s murderer. (The challenge connects to Luke’s life history.) It fights the dark side of the force. (The challenge connects to Luke’s values.)

Luke must accept the challenge because of who he is. He must accept because of who he will become. His identity – his backstory – compels him to accept the challenge.

Backstory in The Matrix: Identity motivates action

In The Matrix, Morpheus will challenge Neo to go on an adventure. This is the famous red pill / blue pill decision to leave the Matrix. Morpheus starts his appeal – with Neo’s backstory. Neo’s identity will compel him to act. Morpheus says,

“Let me tell you why you are here. You have come because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your whole life, felt that something is wrong with the world…. You are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind.”107

Neo is compelled by his life experiences and identity. He must leave the Matrix because he is a prisoner. He must accept the challenge because of who he is. His identity – his backstory – compels him to accept the challenge.

Backstory in The Hobbit: Identity motivates action

In The Hobbit, Gandalf challenges Bilbo to go on an adventure. Bilbo resists. Gandalf then starts his appeal – with Bilbo’s backstory.

“GANDALF: I remember a young Hobbit who was always running off in search of Elves in the woods. Who would stay out late, come home after dark ... trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young Hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire.”108

Again, Bilbo resists. Again, Gandalf appeals to Bilbo’s backstory.

“GANDALF: You are also a Took. Did you know that your great-great-great-great-uncle Bullroarer Took was so large, he could ride a real horse? … In the Battle of Green Fields, he charged the Goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the Goblin king’s head clean off.”

Bilbo will join the expedition. He’ll fight against the Goblins. He’ll do so just like his ancestor did. The challenge is personally meaningful. It’s meaningful because of Bilbo’s backstory. His identity – his backstory – compels him to accept the challenge.

Backstory: Identity motivates action

In each case, the idea is the same. The motivation to act comes from the main character’s backstory. It comes from his identity. It comes from his people, his values, and his life story. This is a timeless motivation to accept a challenge. It works in story. It works in scripture. And it works in fundraising.

Part III

Fundraising Backstory Statements

Backstory in fundraising: Identity motivates action

The story concept is timeless. It’s universal. The backstory establishes identity. This identity motivates action. These same story steps also work in fundraising.

What about the backstory in this passage? How might it translate to an actual fundraising conversation? It might start,

“You know, Bob, one of the things I appreciate about you is that although you have wealth, you aren’t conceited about it. You aren’t separating yourself above other people in the fellowship community. You have wealth, but you haven’t set your hope in it. Instead, you’ve set your hope on God, who provides us with these things and wants us to enjoy them. You’ve accomplished so much good work with your giving already. This makes me think that you might really enjoy the impact you could accomplish in this new project. Your gift would strengthen this fellowship community by creating a …”

In fundraising, this is an “ask.” (Or, more accurately, it’s an offer.) But it also paraphrases scripture. It begins with the donor’s backstory. It begins with his past and continuing identity. It’s who he has been. It’s who he is now. It’s who he is in the process of continuing to be. It’s an identity that leads him to be generous. His identity motivates his action.

Backstory sources: People, values, and life history

In fundraising, the backstory shows how the donor’s identity motivates the gift. It shows the donor why,

“You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this.”

That’s the key message. That’s the conclusion. So, how do we help the donor reach that conclusion? We help by finishing this thought:

“You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this because ...”

This “because” will connect the gift to the donor’s identity. It will connect to their people, values, or life history. For example, in our passage, this “because” is

These connections describe the donor’s backstory. They describe his charitable identity. They all lead to the same conclusion:

“You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this.”

The science of backstory in wealth sharing

In this passage, the donor’s people, values, and life history motivate their wealth sharing. This isn’t just ancient history. It’s also modern science.

Experimental research in giving mostly tests small gifts. But there is a way to test wealth sharing. We can test it with experiments in estate giving. A gift in a will is not a gift from disposable income. It’s a gift from wealth holdings. It’s wealth sharing.

In one experiment, I explored this decision process.109 People made decisions about adding different charities to their estate plans. They were asked about their church, various Christian organizations, and other national charities. But this experiment was different. People made these choices while in an fMRI brain scanner.

What predicted these decisions to share wealth? Visualized autobiography. We could see it in the brain scanner. When people review their life story or recall autobiographical events, it triggers joint activation in two brain regions. This same joint activation also predicted willingness to make the charitable estate gift.

If a charity triggered a connection with the donor’s life story – the donors wanted to give. Otherwise, they didn’t want to give. Autobiographical visualization predicted willingness to share wealth. The donor’s backstory motivated their wealth sharing.

Another study took a different approach. It interviewed charitable bequest donors. It explored why they had included gifts to their particular charities. The answer?

“When discussing which charities they had chosen to remember, there was a clear link with the life narratives of many respondents.”110

Again, the donor’s backstory motivated their wealth sharing.

This isn’t just a matter of scientific curiosity. It’s also practically useful. In another study, I tested how best to describe charitable estate giving.111 I tested 23 different phrases with nearly 10,000 participants.

The phrase that created the most willingness to give was this:

“Make a gift to charity in your will to support causes that have been important in your life.”

This worked dramatically better than simply,

“Make a gift to charity in your will.”112

Referencing the donor’s backstory motivated their wealth sharing.

This same result arose for reminders of the donor’s people connections. In another experiment, I again asked about making bequest gifts to various charities. Then, I did something different. I asked about any family members’ connections to the cause.113 (The idea was to elicit the donor’s people connections to the cause.) This worked. Coupling this reminder with a tribute bequest option dramatically increased charitable bequest intentions.

People who weren’t initially interested in giving changed their minds. Reminding people of their life story connections – this time through their people connections – worked. Again, the donor’s backstory motivated their wealth sharing.

These experimental results are not just scientifically interesting. They’re practically useful. We can show donors how their backstory connects with a wealth-sharing opportunity. We can ask questions that elicit these connections from the donor.

Next, we’ll look at some practical examples from real-world fundraising. These connect giving to the donor’s people, values, and life history. They show how the donor’s backstory motivates their gift.

Fundraising backstory: “You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this!”

This approach is not just ancient history. It’s not just theoretical or scientific. It’s also what the best major gift fundraisers actually do.

Let’s start simple. How do we ask for a gift? The expert on this is Marci Heim. She trains fundraisers across the country on “Making the Artful Ask.” How does she begin? She begins with the donor’s backstory.

Her ask is simple. It uses three sentences. These are

What might this sound like in the real world? It might sound like this:

These are fundraising asks. But they don’t start with the request. They start with the donor’s backstory. First, they connect this backstory to the cause. This shows why,

“You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this!”

Next, they connect this identity with the impact of the donor’s gift. Notice that the request is not, “Can I have some money, please?” The request is for the donor to do something (that happens to cost money).

What they will do is good. Beyond this, the good work is personally meaningful. It connects with the donor’s backstory. It connects with the donor’s identity. This identity connection motivates them to act. It shows why,

“You’re the kind of person who makes gifts like this!”

The effective “ask” delivers a specific message. It uses a specific sequence. The message is not new. The sequence is not new. It matches effective storytelling. It matches ancient scripture. It’s ancient, but it still works.

Fundraising backstory: “You’re the kind of person who has made gifts like this!”

The donor is a generous person. This is also part of their backstory. This identity is not just something they aspire to be one day. It’s an “already in-progress continuing process.”

Our passage describes the donor’s generosity in this way. “To do good” is a present infinitive. In Greek, the present infinitive references an “already in-progress continuing process.” “To be rich in good works” is also a present infinitive. So is “to be generous.” Each is an appeal to give. But each is framed as engaging in “an already in-progress continuing process.”

This isn’t a request to start being generous. It’s a request to continue being generous. It’s not a request to start doing good. It’s a request to continue doing good. In real-world, practical fundraising, this framing works.

One experiment tested different headlines across six fundraising mailings to over 50,000 people.115 The top-performing headline to generate gifts was this:

“CAMPAIGN DONOR FOR ___ YEARS

Your most generous gift was $___. Thank you.”

The most successful ask began with the donor’s charitable backstory. It reminded the donor of their most generous gift. It didn’t ask them to start giving big. It asked them to continue giving big. It showed,

“You’re the kind of person who makes large gifts.”

Referencing large past gifts also works in other experiments. Describing past gifts as a large total amount rather than small monthly amounts increases giving.116 To understand this result, compare these two:

“Thank you so much for your generosity to this cause! You’ve given $50 per month for the last three years. [Alternate: You’ve given $1,800 over the last three years.] Would you consider a gift of $1,000 to fund this project?”

The first description says,

“You’re the kind of person who makes $50 gifts.”

This framing does not match the request. It implies,

“A $50 donor is not the kind of person who makes $1,000 gifts.”

The alternate description instead says,

“You’re the kind of person who has given $1,800.”

It implies,

“A $1,800 donor is the kind of person who makes $1,000 gifts.”

This second framing matches the life history (backstory) to the request. That match makes it work better.

Reaching the conclusion

These examples all do the same thing. They show how the donor’s giving springs from their backstory. Their “already in-progress continuing” values are generous. Their “already in-progress continuing” behavior is generous. The conclusion is obvious:

“You are the kind of person who makes gifts like this.”