On-The-Road for CIM  Finances
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Finances Contents
  How This Is Ministry Funded
  What Do Ministries Pay?
  Some Related Observations

1 - Client Ministries That Can Pay For Services

These are ministries that  (a) recognize information is an asset in which to make investment  and  (b) budget for IT  and   (c) recognize the cost-effective value of professional quality services.  These are often ministries that have already established relationships with donors for the IT budget  and sponsors for the significant technology projects that need to be developed for the health and growth of the organization. 

We ask these ministries to pay, to the extent they are able, for
a.  Mobilization - - getting there,
b.  Expenses - - being there,
c.  A per-day fee for the actual service, using a ministry-minded sliding-scale.

This is sometimes called the  "Plan A"  approach.

2 - Donors -- the traditional 'faith support' approach

In Christian ministry, 'faith support'  is a standard method for supporting the workers.  Each worker raises on-going monthly support from people who value the ministry in which the worker is involved.  The funds are typically sent to the non-profit mission/ministry organization with the request they be used to support the work the worker is performing:  this makes it a tax-deductible donation while still designating the preferred purpose for the funds. 

As a matter of perspective, a monthly support gift of $10-a-month for twelve months  supports just one-day-a-year of on-site service  for a ministry that can not afford to pay.

Donors and "Plan A" clients are what make the "Plan B"  approach possible.

3 - Tent Making -- working  "on the side"

For those not familiar with the term -- no, it does not involve actual tents.   This refers to working in a 'job' near the ministry in order to 'pay the bills' while providing services to the ministry.   There is often a problem in balancing time when this approach is used.

4 - Sponsors

Sponsors are a special class of donors that, often based upon a professional workplace background, recognize the need for and potential value of sound professional Information Technology (IT) implementations in a ministry.  They are willing to grant funds to a client ministry, designating those funds for CIM On-The-Road project implementations.  Sometimes these grants are to cover the entire project, other times they may be 'matching' grants that will provide a certain amount if the client ministry raises a specific threshold amount. 

For me, the financial issue is one of balance between livelihood and ministry.   Unfortunately, I am not independently wealthy, nor on retirement income -- thus I must attend to matching the income to the expenses.

If you feel you would like to participate in the support of this ministry,  please contact me to explore which of the above four approaches might best work for you.

If you think you would like to be involved in the technical work aspects of this ministry (or one similar to it),  please email me -- I have several possibilities for you to consider.

If you can provide a full-hookup RV site near a ministry, that would be a great help.  If you think of other ways to assist, please contact me.

Thank you.

"What Do Ministries Pay?"      As indicated above, there is a   "Plan A"   and a   "Plan B":

Let us use an artificial example of a service visit to a ministry.  We will assume
  (1) 650 miles travel from the last ministry (two days on the road), 
  (2)  a 15 day stay,
  (3) RV site rental at a commercial campground 7 miles away. 

		On-The-Road ...				Compare to...
		Plan A		Plan B		Standard Ministry Rates		Comparable Commercial Rates
Mobilization - Getting There   Includes: round trip Mileage and   Per-Diem for days on the road.		$ 869.50		**		$ 869.50		$ 869.50
On-Site Services   A per-day Fee from a Sliding Scale based   on nature of client ministry income.		$ 240.00		**		$ 6,400.00		$ 21,050.00
Per-Diem   Varies by locale/county, using   IRS/GSA published tables.		$ 1,090.00		**		$ 1,090.00		$ 1,635.00
On-Site Expenses   Includes: local Mileage and   other necessary expenses.		$ 81.90		$ 81.90		$ 81.90		$ 81.90
Local RV Park/Camp Costs				$ 425.00
Sample Totals:		$ 2,281.40		$ 506.90		$ 8,441.40		$23,636.40

 **  Since some Plan B ministries can afford portions of Plan A,  they will be contributing some amounts under Plan B for Mobilization, Services, Per-Diem and Expenses.

Of course, there are many possible circumstances that will cause the calculations to differ from the above example.

To better understand the details of what we ask of our client ministries, see also  DB OTR Financial Considerations .

Some Observations Regarding Finances:

What is a ministry-minded sliding-scale fee?    This sliding-scale fee varies based upon the kind of income the ministry receives:   the greater the percentage of the overall ministry income that is from direct-donations / faith-support,   the lower the fee.   In our hearts we have a particular compassion for faith supported ministries.

Why charge the ministry for expenses or charge a service fee?     Why not free?     There are two parts to the answer:
1.  This on-the-road ministry must pay for itself,
2.  The way people (who are the primary elements of a ministry) value services they receive   also strongly influences the outcome - - how well those services are integrated into the ministry and become useful to the ministry.   It seems particularly true in the western culture that not paying for something results in placing a low value on it,   which in turn results in not engaging actively in the assessment, design, and training needed to deliver the best outcome.

Why do some prospective ministry clients seem to panic when reading  the  "Plan A"  in the financial considerations and not see that  "Plan B"  might be just the right solution for them?
    My speculative answer is that there is a  "poverty psychosis"  or  'knee jerk' reaction to having to spend money.  This would probably make an interesting round-table discussion topic.

Why a  per-day  approach to finances instead of a  per-hour system?   Since this is an on-the-road service, rather than a service limited to a small local area, it is not practical to travel a long distance (in essence to relocate) just for a few hours activity.  Unlike regular desktop/server computer support services that tend to be weekly or monthly maintenance tasks,  database and software development is project oriented - - a large block of work at one time.

A couple of the  Computer Questions for Ministry Growth  items also touch on financial issues.