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[00:00:17] The Missional Life - Dan: All right, welcome back to Mission Lit Podcast. Today, we're thrilled to have Mary Valoney on the show. Mary is a fundraising expert, author, and founder of Fully Funded Academy, a coaching program that has helped thousands of missionaries and non profit leaders achieve sustainable financial support. With over two decades of experience and millions raised for impactful causes, Mary is passionate about equipping Christians to confidently raise support and step boldly into their calling.

[00:00:40] The Missional Life - Dan: Mary? Welcome to the show.

[00:00:42] Mary Valloni: Welcome. Hey, thank you guys. It's so good to be with you.

[00:00:45] The Missional Life - Dan: Absolutely. So good to have you. You know, you've been on this incredible journey from raising funds for nonprofits to launching the fully funded Academy. Let's start there. What inspired you to create a program specifically for Christian missionaries and nonprofit leaders?

[00:00:59] Mary Valloni: Yeah. So like you mentioned, I've been raising funds for a few decades now. And back in 2013 I went through a really. Just really transformational year. My, my father passed away from cancer while I was working for the American cancer society. The organization itself did a total reshift. And so I was now being, I moved from raising millions of dollars to now teaching people how to raise millions of dollars in the organization.

[00:01:30] Mary Valloni: And we made a major move. It was like all the things that you shouldn't have all happened in the same time. We're all happening at the same time. And so of course, in those moments, and if for anybody who has lost a loved one, it makes you question everything, right? Like it makes you start to question, like, is this what I'm called to do?

[00:01:48] Mary Valloni: Is this what I'm supposed to be doing with my life? And when I started asking the tough questions the thing that came to mind was if I could do anything, What would I be doing? And I was like, I would be helping my missionary friends raise more money and get out on the mission field fully funded. And I probably didn't use those exact terms back then, but it was just more like.

[00:02:11] Mary Valloni: Help more missionaries, like help more people in the ministry space. And although I was doing great work at the American cancer society, and, you know, I had worked for the ALS association, the special Olympics at that point. And really, really great national organizations doing really good work. But I had.

[00:02:30] Mary Valloni: I had been trained. I had, you know, I, I had worked with the best. And so I really knew that I was in a season where I'm like, I think I could do this on my own. And I think that I could actually go out and help some really great people. So that kind of was the beginning stages of it. And so I started my own business in 2014.

[00:02:46] Mary Valloni: I gave myself a full year to like, okay, that is this for real? Is this what you want? And that next year I started my own business and started doing consulting work and, and helping ministries and missionaries. Missionaries around the globe and like you mentioned, it's yeah, it's been quite the journey. So yeah,

[00:03:06] The Missional Life - Dan: We we can identify. We had a my mom path to cancer as well. And again, similar story. You reevaluate everything and you, you say, what is it that I'm really truly created for? What is it that is important and that I would regret not doing. And

[00:03:21] The Missional Life - Dan: you look at it and you say, man, we've, we've got to get to this. And, , I think there's a lot of missionaries out there that are trying to get to it and then they ultimately get to it, but there's a lot of I think your number says 5, 000 missionaries leave the field annually.

[00:03:35] The Missional Life - Dan: And so this became one of your rallying cries, , Hey, I want to start using my gifts and my talents to help them not have to go home and to help them stay in their calling and in their anointing, right. And so tell us a little bit more of that journey of, how did you begin to move into that field of favor?

[00:03:50] Mary Valloni: Yeah. So in 20, this was like 2017, you know, several years had passed by. And I I ended up writing a book called fundraising freedom. And that year was really like. I, I knew getting everything out of my head and down on paper was going to be really important, but I didn't realize like what it was going to actually, what door it was actually going to open.

[00:04:13] Mary Valloni: And so what ended up happening was I wrote that book and I was speaking at a conference and one of the keynote speakers at the conference was a guy by the name of Mike Kim. And Mike was You know, kind of on the side helping missionaries raise money, but I didn't really understand why you know, I knew he was doing good work, but at the same time, I was just like, I remember listening to his podcast and saying, God, why is he doing this?

[00:04:37] Mary Valloni: I should be doing this. You know, I'm like, next thing I know, I'm like, well, I'm going to get to meet him. Cause we're going to be at the same conference. And so the two of us ended up meeting and I walked up to him And introduce myself, even though we kind of jokingly have talked about this over the years, how I had sent him several emails.

[00:04:54] Mary Valloni: He claims he never got them, but we'll just let him keep in the end. I really do think that God kept us from each other because I think that he knew that we probably would have worked together in a different way. And so by us not connecting beforehand and us meeting in person at this conference was just really I, I just, I feel like it was extremely God ordained.

[00:05:18] Mary Valloni: And in that moment, when I walked up to him and he was like, Oh, Mary baloney, I know who you are. I was like, huh? He goes, you have missionaries. Right. And I was like, yes, I do. So the next thing I know, I mean, it was like 24 hours later and we were sitting down and he's like, do you want to do this? And I'm like, Yeah, I do.

[00:05:38] Mary Valloni: And then I hyperventilated at a bit of a panic attack because I had been following his journey. Oh, it was probably for a full year. I had listened to every one of his podcasts, his book, you know, like he's since written a, you know, wall street, best journal, bestselling, you know, a wall street bestselling book.

[00:05:56] Mary Valloni: And and just number one in his, in personal branding for marketing. And so it was just one of those people that I had followed and admired. And then the next thing I knew, I was like, We were doing a podcast together and we were launching fully funded Academy. And now we have a book out that we just recently published.

[00:06:14] Mary Valloni: And so it's just, yeah, it's been really incredible. He brings the marketing side. I bring the fundraising side and together we, we really teach missionaries how to communicate better and how to raise money in. Today's modern world. It's like, you know, I don't think a lot of people realize that some of the books that were written were in most of the books that were written for missionaries to raise money were written before people used email.

[00:06:41] Mary Valloni: It was before, I mean, there was no email, there was no social media, there was no texting there, you know, like think, I mean, people were not using cell phones. So like, that's where we were like, we have got to get into this industry. We have got to teach people how to do this in today's world. And so that was really where Mike and I were like, let's just lock arms.

[00:07:01] Mary Valloni: We come from completely different paths, but at the same time, we joke that we're peanut butter and jelly. Cause it's like, you know, he, he, he brings a little bit of that, like, you know, do this and I'm more like, okay, a little jelly. Come on, I'll give you a big hug and remind you that you're going to be okay.

[00:07:21] Mary Valloni: You know, cause it is, it's a hard job. I mean, I've been a fundraiser for over two decades. It's hard work to basically take somebody from a stranger to where they want to give you all their money. Like it's not like, I mean, I love doing it and I love to teach people how to do it, but at the same time, it's like, it's still, it's still a job.

[00:07:43] Mary Valloni: Wow.

[00:07:43] The Missional Life - Amanda: And I just, want to just step back to what you said about how you saw his work at a conference, but you didn't initially start, you know, your journey and working together toward, fully funded Academy, Sometimes, , we might have an inclination towards something, but it's God's timing with those inclinations that really is imperative to be in step with.

[00:08:06] The Missional Life - Amanda: So I just admire that, you took the time and followed God's leading in that process.

[00:08:11] Mary Valloni: Thank you. Well, and Mike is such a visionary. He actually, when we met and he asked me if I wanted to partner with him, he mapped out the entire vision for what we would do, including the book, including the Academy, including our podcasts, like the whole thing.

[00:08:25] Mary Valloni: And I was just like, I was so overwhelmed in that moment because I actually knew it was all going to happen. And like, I just, like had this like, Oh my gosh, we're going to do this. But but yeah, it took us, I mean, we've been working together now for seven years and our book just came out. So it's kind of like, that was the, it wasn't like everything happened overnight.

[00:08:45] Mary Valloni: It was a labor. Like we, we met with so many missionaries. We helped with so many people before we're like, okay, I feel good about this. Like, I feel like we could really take a message and now multiply it and exponentially share it.

[00:08:59] The Missional Life - Dan: So when writing books and doing research and interacting with a lot of different missionaries, where are missionaries getting it wrong?

[00:09:06] The Missional Life - Dan: What is it that's really holding them back from getting the support that they truly need to fund the ministry that God's called them to?

[00:09:13] Mary Valloni: Sure. I would say the number one thing that's holding missionaries back is that they're doing it alone. You know, so many missionaries are coming out of sending organizations or churches or wherever, you know, they, they got the call in their life to go do this.

[00:09:28] Mary Valloni: And it's kind of like a, every man for themselves. Okay, go raise your money. Good luck. Yeah. And you're kind of like thrown into this world where you're like, I, I'm not a fundraiser. I don't know how to do this. You know, it's like, okay, God told me to go tell people about Jesus. Like, that's what I know.

[00:09:48] Mary Valloni: Right. And so there is a tendency from the leadership all the way down to just be like, go figure it out. Go ask your friends and family for money. Go share your story with people and just ask them to give. And as a season fundraiser, that is. It's not effective. Like I mean, you might get the low hanging fruit and especially if you're somebody who came up out of the church, right?

[00:10:11] Mary Valloni: Like if you're the pastor's kid, you know, that, that is probably going to be okay for you. But if you look like anybody that like, I mean, if you look like anybody else and don't look like us, I was going to say, you're going to, you're going to really struggle because, I mean, if you were, you were not raised in a church, if you did not have that background, if mom and dad are not ministers, if they're not believers it's really difficult to go down that same path.

[00:10:39] Mary Valloni: And a lot of times that it just ends up being that you just don't do this for a living. And that's unfortunate because clearly God had a vision for your life and that you Are trying everything you can to possibly move forward. So the message that I have to share with people is that I want you to do it.

[00:10:56] Mary Valloni: Like you would do any discipleship, you would do it together. You would do it in a small group setting. And so the message that Mike and I teach and fully funded is predominantly about building out a small group that comes alongside you to walk with you and to. Fully fund your budget. It's so hard to say I'm the best you should give to me.

[00:11:19] Mary Valloni: We're doing great things. But if I say, guys, you guys need to know Dan and Amanda, they're doing incredible work in Belize. Like, why are you not supporting them? Supporting them. Come on board. Here's what I'm doing. Here's what I would encourage you to consider doing. That feels so much better and you guys just get to go do your awesome work and, and, and do what you're called to do on the mission field and allow everybody else to say and to basically lift you up and advocate on your behalf.

[00:11:49] Mary Valloni: And that's really what we see. When, when we see people funded, we see it happen so fast when they do it in this kind of environment. But the sad part is that we have a tendency to pick up people after they've already been a bit traumatized by the current way that That our missionaries are encouraged to raise support.

[00:12:10] Mary Valloni: And so whenever I can get a young one, like I was like, if you're listening and you are just being called out onto the mission field, like I want you, I want the other ones too. But at the same time, I'm like, there's something about, you know, like when you don't have all the trauma and you don't have all the anxiety around raising support and you're just like, Oh, you mean I just do it like how somebody discipled me to become a believer.

[00:12:32] Mary Valloni: Oh yeah. I could just do that in the same way when it comes to my support raising. Absolutely. And it's so much more fun. It just, I don't know. There's just a lot of joy in being able to raise those funds with people who are just as excited about it as you are.

[00:12:48] The Missional Life - Dan: You bring up an interesting point. You talked about how you usually get them after they've gone through the trauma and after whatever it is.

[00:12:55] The Missional Life - Dan: And so what is it like, and what are some of the differences? from when you are first called and you go out and maybe you raise that initial support and you go and you're on the field for a year or two or three, but some of that sometimes begins to kind of fade away and how, how do people maintain their funding and maybe even grow their funding while they're on the missions field sometimes even continents away from their supporters.

[00:13:21] Mary Valloni: Yes. Okay. My message to you. Listen up. Okay. You cannot set it and forget it. Okay. You cannot. I mean, and so many people are like, I hate support raising, so I'm just going to, I'm going to do it because I want to get out on the mission field. I'm going to put my head down. I'm going to go have these conversations.

[00:13:38] Mary Valloni: I'm going to go meet with these people. I'm going to go get my money and then I'm going to go to the mission field and I really hope that I never have to go do that again. And that's the problem is that. Relationships are not effective. If we did it like that, let's just say, mom, love you. And you just leave and you never talk again.

[00:13:56] Mary Valloni: You're going to have a bad relationship. Okay. So the same thing happens with support raising is that if you don't, don't talk to your people, if you don't have a relationship with them, there's a good chance that they're going to fall off and you're going to lose those donations. And then you're going to be back in the same situation that you were in the beginning.

[00:14:14] Mary Valloni: And so for me, I'm just like, Yeah. Consistency, consistency, consistency. Like we have got to communicate more frequently and we have to do it in a way that's, that people actually want to read what we have to say. So, you know, we're in a world where, I mean, the world is just so small, right? We can communicate in so many different ways now and we can communicate instantaneously.

[00:14:38] Mary Valloni: And so years and decades ago, the only way that you could communicate was through snail mail. And you were writing that support letter or that newsletter. And we just don't live in that age anymore. You can still do that. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not the most effective way to keep in touch with your donor base.

[00:14:55] Mary Valloni: So we recommend that you create. An email list of like, when you go to those churches and you're building those relationships, you are collecting as many emails as you possibly can so that you can keep those people in the loop on the mission field. And so now we're just continuously communicating and we're not sending these big, long, you know, emails.

[00:15:18] Mary Valloni: We're sending. Real short snippets, things that people can actually consume. And you don't have to think about it. Like you don't have to work that hard. You can just be like, Hmm, this is, and this is actually what we teach our students is that I'm like, okay, let's just say you send an email every, every two weeks or twice a month.

[00:15:34] Mary Valloni: For most people. That's like, Oh my gosh, that is so much like that. That feels like, especially if you're only sending a quarterly or a newsletter, like, you know, twice a year, even once a year, some people are communicating that is not good guys. Okay. So, but if you can get to where you're communicating, let's just say twice a month they can choose not to open up your emails, but I'm going to tell you that most people will, because your message is going to be worth reading.

[00:16:00] Mary Valloni: And all you have to do as the missionary is think. What is the coolest thing or what is the thing that happened in the last two weeks that still has me thinking? And it doesn't have to be like, we baptized 10, 000 people, or, you know, we spoke at this amazing conference. It could literally be Somebody who said something to you and it jolted you and now you're sharing that and I mean, you guys are all so good at teaching and preaching, right?

[00:16:27] Mary Valloni: So it's like, you could take a message out of a, you know, out of nothingness, right? A cup of coffee. I was sitting in a coffee shop and somebody walked by, right? Like, it's like, next thing you know, you've got a full sermon series, right? Like, and so, you know, that's really all I'm saying is that it's like that one moment that's like, you know, This is a reminder of why we do the work we do, or this is why we need your prayers, or this is why we need you to financially support the work that's being done, right?

[00:16:53] Mary Valloni: Like it just gives people a reason to stay in the ministry with you is that you're giving them an insider glimpse into your life and into the work that you're doing. So frequent communication is. It's a must and good, good communicate. Like you cannot be boring. Like we've got to make sure that that communication is worth reading and that you're actually doing life with people.

[00:17:17] The Missional Life - Dan: That's good. I know there's a lot of different missionaries that listen to the podcast . Communicating your vision is very important. Having a clear and concise vision to communicate to potential partners. But sometimes that changes, right?

[00:17:31] The Missional Life - Dan: So first of all, speak to the, the person who's just getting their missionary calling they're going out there and sharing that vision. How can they put that together and how can they speak that clearly, but then also speak to the missionary or the fundraiser who is now going into the next year and saying, man, I feel like God's moving me in a different direction.

[00:17:51] The Missional Life - Dan: I feel like I have a new vision for this, this next season of my life. And now I have to recast that to my partners. How can we do that? I know this is something you cover in your new book, Fully Funded, but can you speak to our listeners on this?

[00:18:02] Mary Valloni: Yeah, absolutely. So I think that we, we have a tendency to use words kind of interchangeably.

[00:18:08] Mary Valloni: And so vision and mission are kind of two words that are, you know, people often get, you know, mixed up. And so honestly, your vision will probably never change. So you're like what the, it's the call on your life, it's, you know, whether you're doing it at a nine to five job or whether you're doing it in missionary work or you're doing it in your local church or your family or whatever else, there's most likely that it's, it's, your vision will remain the same.

[00:18:36] Mary Valloni: It's the, in a perfect world, this is what happens. It's the mission that often changes. How do we execute the mission? And so when you're thinking about, Ooh, is my mission in Belize or is my mission in the U S or is my mission in, you know, Romania or wherever the location is or whatever the thing is, is it an administrative work?

[00:18:57] Mary Valloni: Is it in, you know you know, feeding the hungry and clothing, the poor, whatever the thing is. Most likely that mission is where God is like, Ooh, you're on a new mission. And so we, we use the, it comes from a military term, right? And so that, that mission that you're called on may switch and that's okay.

[00:19:17] Mary Valloni: Most of the time your donor base is funding you. So when you say, Hey, We, we feel like we did what we came here to do. Most of the time people are like, yeah, I get it. Mission accomplished. Right? Like mission accomplished, like move on to the next mission. Right? And so, and, but when people go from, Ooh, I was working domestically and now I'm working internationally or I was international and now I'm domestic, that's where things get a little bit sticky because some people really love to give to international missions.

[00:19:50] Mary Valloni: Right? So. And some people really like to give to something that's local, wherever local is to them. And so this is where you're going to see some shift in donations. Some people may drop off because they're like, you are the person I gave to, to give internationally. And now you live in my town. So, so, you know, they just make a decision not to give to that anymore and that's okay.

[00:20:12] Mary Valloni: You know, and that's where we have to just be okay with the fact that now new people are going to like what we're doing in this new season. So let's, let's cast this, you know, this vision again with the current mission that we're on, and let's just see who it resonates with, you know? So I think that the challenge that so many organizations and, you know, just ministries that I work with are faced with is that, you know, so many people are encouraged to get monthly donations.

[00:20:40] Mary Valloni: And monthly donations are great. They're, they're sustainable. It's, I mean, there's like a 90 some percent retention on those for, I mean, and some people give for the rest of their lives. I mean, it's beautiful, right? But just because somebody gives a monthly donation does not mean that they have to say yes to you for the rest of their lives or your life.

[00:21:02] Mary Valloni: And I think that that's where we mistakenly take advantage of the fact that said it and forget it. Okay, great. Thank you so much. And you move on and you forget that it's like, these are humans. These are people who have a call on their life and maybe God is calling them to give somewhere else. And maybe your mission aligned with their mission for a season, but maybe their mission changed and now they're not giving to you any longer.

[00:21:25] Mary Valloni: So it's like, you also have to take into account that it's like, it's okay. If people don't want to give to our mission or that if our mission changes, it's okay too, for other people to join us on this new, exciting mission that we're on. So anyway, I hope that that all makes sense because I think that You know, people just get caught up in that.

[00:21:44] Mary Valloni: And I, I just want to say that asking for monthly donations is the hardest ask to make in the world of fundraising. And it is the number one encouraged form of fundraising for every missionary. Cause you want sustainability. It's a hard ask to make. Think about it. Ask you for 500 to go on a mission trip to, you know, whatever country people are.

[00:22:08] Mary Valloni: Yeah. Great. Here you go, kid. Have fun. Go check out that new country. And people are more than happy to invest a couple hundred dollars or 50 bucks here or whatever. And you know, see you later. Good luck. But when you are going out on the mission field and you are a career missionary and you have to raise that money.

[00:22:24] Mary Valloni: That 50 a month or that 100 a month is, is a much harder ask because you're not saying, give it to me once you're saying, I need you to give this to me every single month for as long as you possibly can. And that is, that's hard. So if you, if you feel discouraged, you know, that raising this money is hard.

[00:22:46] Mary Valloni: It's because those monthly donations are hard. Okay. All right. Not impossible, but it usually happens after you've built a relationship for a long time. So getting a one time gift is a great introduction and then moving them from a one time gift to a monthly gift is great. And some people will never give a monthly gift because, and my example is always if they can buy the house, why would they make payments on it?

[00:23:13] Mary Valloni: So it's like, if they can just, Oh, you need 10, 000. Here's 10, 000. Why would I give you a thousand dollars or 888 for the next 12 months? When I can just, here's 10 grand, go do with it what you need, you know? So we just have to pay attention to who our donors are and what's going to be the best fit for them and us.

[00:23:32] The Missional Life - Dan: You brought up so many good points there. And the Bible Verse that I was thinking of is. When you're talking about vision is that God, says his gifts and his callings are irrevocable. And so, , he gives these things to us and he doesn't take them back. And so oftentimes they're planted in our hearts and it's just interwoven in our DNA of how he specifically designed us to go and do those things.

[00:23:52] The Missional Life - Dan: And we're all so unique and we're called to unique things. And so we, we need to be doing those things in order to be fulfilling our, call inside of us that says, This is what I'm called to do. And so that's so important to, to distinguish between mission and vision. And I think you hit it right on the head.

[00:24:09] The Missional Life - Dan: The other thing I wanted to share is how you said people are often partners with you, not necessarily the, the vision. And, you know, a quick summary that we actually are, , examples of that? We we're actually supposed to be going to Athens, Greece in June of this year.

[00:24:27] The Missional Life - Dan: And we went to get our visa and we couldn't get it that time. And so we had to go back and spend a couple of weeks in prayer and say, God, like what is going on here? And as we, as we did that, some people began to speak and pray into our lives. And they said, have you considered beliefs? And we had done ministry here before, but.

[00:24:47] The Missional Life - Dan: We ended up pivoting and we saw the doors open in such a huge and a fast way that almost like a month, a half later, we were almost here basically. And we didn't really lose any partnerships over it. Why? They weren't saying, Hey, like you're the only people we know that are going to Athens, Greece and Greece needs to get saved.

[00:25:06] The Missional Life - Dan: They were saying, we believe in you. We believe the calling and the anointing on you and your lives. And whatever God leads you to do, we're behind you. We're with you. And I think that's so important for people to hear that people are for you as an individual and for the calling and the anointing that they see in your life.

[00:25:23] The Missional Life - Dan: Not necessarily just that they need to go and, you know, check this box that I, I feel called to make a difference in such and such country. Maybe there are people like that, but most often. They're called to make an impact. And you're a person that they can partner with in doing that. And so I want to hear your opinion and your insight because we've talked about casting vision.

[00:25:41] The Missional Life - Dan: We've talked about this fundraising appointment. We've talked about going and sharing with people and making the ask. But there's a big difference between making the ask and having those appointments to commitments. And so I'm wondering , what is it that you see in your mentoring and in your helping people that is the biggest difference maker in seeing appointments turn into commitments.

[00:26:07] Mary Valloni: Yeah. So you know, really when all is said and done is that you're, you're doing all the, the steps, right. That it's like, you're taking somebody from a stranger. And I'm just going to give you an example of some of the language that we use inside of our program. And so when you're going to go buy something, like just, anything, like your cell phone, your computer, your anything, right?

[00:26:31] Mary Valloni: Like you follow a very similar journey of buying that product. And it goes something like this. Okay. It goes, you knew it. So no, you liked it. Like you trusted the company or trusted the product trust. So no like trust, You tried it out somewhere along the line. Somebody lets you borrow it. You saw it somewhere.

[00:26:52] Mary Valloni: You're like, Ooh, okay. Then you bought it. Okay. And then you became a repeat buyer. So you bought the next thing, you know, you bought this phone, then you bought the next phone. phone, then you bought their computer and then the watch and the whole thing. Right. And then you started telling people about it.

[00:27:08] Mary Valloni: You started referring people. Okay. So, so the journey is very similar. I also use the example of like, you're going to Costco or Sam's club or something, and you got the Jimmy Dean sausage, right? So it's like, you know, like trust, you try the Jimmy's Dean sausage, you buy it, you throw it in the cart, you know, Oh, we like it.

[00:27:26] Mary Valloni: And now it's always in the cart. Like it's like, and now we're like, you know, come on over. We're having brunch on Sunday. And now all of a sudden we're eating Jimmy Dean sausage. Okay. And that's where we're saying, Oh, isn't that good? You should get some too. Right. You know? And so it's like, that's the same kind of thing that's happening.

[00:27:43] Mary Valloni: You know, for our missionaries is they're raising money. But what happens is that we get people through the journey, the no, like trust. And a lot of people have a lot of people that know, like, and trust them, not just like them, but love them. So like no love and trust you and trust you deeply. A lot of the people in your inner circle.

[00:28:02] Mary Valloni: But they don't have any way to try out your ministry. So when you go and do those one on one meetings, this is like a trying out your ministry. We're sitting down, we're having a conversation. I'm telling you stories about, you know, how people are coming to know the Lord and what we're seeing out on the mission field.

[00:28:20] Mary Valloni: And you get a, like just a little taste of what it's like to be missionaries or what it's like for you guys to do the work that you're called to do. And then people during that meeting will lean in and say, you know what? We want to give. And so they make a decision to give, but we have to then secure the gift, right?

[00:28:40] Mary Valloni: Like you have to do have all the things in place. We've got to have our website. We got to have a, you know, however you're going to collect the donation. We got to do all those things. Right. And then we need to encourage them to give again and become repeat givers. And then we have to give them an opportunity to talk about us to other people.

[00:29:01] Mary Valloni: And refer us to other people. And so this is kind of the cycle that we take everybody on. So, so the whole thing is, is that like to secure the commitments, I mean, like, I think some people are like, Oh, they say nice things and they're like, yeah, yeah, we'll give, you know, we love what you're doing. That's great.

[00:29:18] Mary Valloni: And it's like, Oh shoot. They said yes, but now how do we secure it? I mean, that right there is very admin work. Like it, this is administrative where you're just like, and like, same thing when a credit card falls off or like something happens, you know, like, Oh, they were giving, and then all of a sudden they weren't, what happened?

[00:29:35] Mary Valloni: And this is all admin work. There's no emotions. We got to, we got to quit with the feeling bad or they did it intentionally or whatever. Like they lost their credit card, their credit card expired. You know, like just a. It was like a, just, they didn't even notice it. It's not like an intentional, Oh my gosh, it feels so awkward.

[00:29:56] Mary Valloni: I got to follow up with them and did it. It's like life got busy. They it's not that they didn't mean to not give to you after they said they were going to give to you. It was just literally like, Hey, was going through my paperwork and notice that we hadn't seen your donation come in. Can you let me know when you guys are, you know, based on our last conversation, you mentioned that you wanted to give, let me know when you guys want to get that started.

[00:30:20] Mary Valloni: Right. It's like just admin. Like, so I know I say that, but I was like, if you had an administrative assistant, if you truly had somebody who was on staff with you, you'd be like, Hey, go follow up with all these people who haven't paid their bills yet. Right. It would literally be like, here's your invoice.

[00:30:37] Mary Valloni: You missed your deadline, you know, like it's no big deal. You're not a bad person. If you paid 10 days late. Right. It was like, Oh, life got busy. Shoot. We got to pay that water bill. Right. Like it's, it's not meant to be this emotional thing. It's like, literally like, Hey, when we met, you mentioned that you were going to give, let me know when you want to plan to get that started or, Hey, I was just checking on our donations and I saw that your donation had dropped off.

[00:31:02] Mary Valloni: Just wanted to let you know. You know, like period there's no emotion. There's no, Oh my gosh, do they hate me? Did they stop giving? Cause they don't like me. You know, it's like, no, quit it. Anyway. So in the end, it's like, it really is just a journey of taking people through a process. And then, you know, the goal is, is that they do become repeat donors and that they love you so much that they want to tell other people about you.

[00:31:28] Mary Valloni: But I just want to highlight the fact that many people, especially on the missionary side of things they kind of, they, they do the end of this a little bit awkward. Cause then it starts to become like, Tupperware sales or a used car salesman or whatever, like, Hey, do you know somebody who would be interested in giving the missions and might want to give to us?

[00:31:47] Mary Valloni: And it's like, why does this feel so awkward? Cause it is like, you're not a car salesman. You're Jesus doesn't need you to sell him. Right? Like, it's literally like you love what we do. We know you do. Hey, would you say, you know, would you shoot a video or can we use a testimonial from you? You have to come up with ways to share their story to where it's not like, Hey, would you go tell people?

[00:32:11] Mary Valloni: No, let me tell you how you can do that, you know, and you just be much more intentional about how do we, how do we get those nice things that people are saying out to the general public to reaffirm that. When you give to us, we're going to be good stewards. We're doing the work and it's worth it.

[00:32:28] The Missional Life - Amanda: That's great.

[00:32:29] The Missional Life - Amanda: Now I noticed on your website, there is a testimonial where someone said, I used to feel anxious about fundraising and now I have so much joy in the process. So how have you seen people overcome those mental hurdles? That are inhibiting them and getting to that side where it's joy filled and they are loving the process.

[00:32:50] Mary Valloni: Yes. Okay. P. S. This is my vision. I mean, I, my whole vision is to end the lack and scarcity mindset. And I do that in a variety of different ways. But like to me, when in a perfect world, when somebody can come through my world, like when, when God brings us together, My goal is always to get you from this like The state of fear and anxiety, this like, oh my gosh, I got to support my family, I've got to provide, I have to, you know, and it's, and really when it comes down to it, there is good reason why you feel that way.

[00:33:25] Mary Valloni: It's, it's fear, it's, it's actually in us, like we're humans, like we are meant to actually feel that because it, it's healthy, okay? But the problem is, is that we're believers. And we believe that God takes that from us, right? That we don't have to live in fear, that we can actually live in freedom. And so like to be able to hand that over to God and be like, God, you called me into this work and I'm going to be obedient to what you call me to do.

[00:33:59] Mary Valloni: And I'm going to show up where you open doors and I'm going to deliver and I'm going to serve and God, I'm going to ask you to, to provide. Right. And so, and, but what I see is when people make that shift, they, and it's probably, cause I'm just like, I don't know. I feel like I, I, I preach quite a bit on this topic to our students because I was just like, God owns everything, right?

[00:34:22] Mary Valloni: Like, I mean, I, I, we all know it, you guys. teach this stuff, right? Like this is what you teach on. So it's like, but you also need to be reminded of it that, you know, there is more than enough money. There is more than enough resources that God, you know, he closed the birds of the air. Like, is he not going to provide for you?

[00:34:43] Mary Valloni: Of course he is. Has he ever let you down? No. Right. So it's like, it really is making that shift away from, okay, I'm going to stop asking people for something that I think they don't want to give me. Cause usually what happens is you walk in front of somebody or a family or you meet with them and you're like, why would they want to give me their money?

[00:35:03] Mary Valloni: Like, why would this church want to hand me a bunch of cash? Like, and you already are walking into that space already kind of defeated and like, Oh God, the mountain is so high. How are we ever going to fully fund this budget? And you're already kind of down instead of showing up in those environments and saying, God, I don't know if these people are going to give, and to be honest with you, I don't think that that's my place to even decide.

[00:35:26] Mary Valloni: Like my, my goal here is to serve them, love them, pray for them. It just. How can I be a resource to you? And I, I would, you know, looking at your support, if you guys were to look into your Rolodex of like, Hey, here's all the people that are giving, you know, just our database of, of supporters, I would believe that a good portion of them are giving to you because they want to experience something that they could otherwise never get.

[00:35:55] Mary Valloni: They get to go to Belize with you. They get to be transported onto the mission field. They get to experience life transformation in a way that they would never get to experience it otherwise. And they're living through you. It is a joy. Like it's exciting to be like, I love what Dan and Amanda are doing.

[00:36:17] Mary Valloni: Like, it's so good. And even if they're not like super enthusiastic, they know it's the right thing to do. And God told them that this was where they were supposed to be giving. And so there's a peace in their heart that they're doing the right thing. You didn't have to convince them. You didn't have to steal money out of their wallet.

[00:36:36] Mary Valloni: Like, you know, I mean like all those things it's like, but I think that there is a mental shift that needs to happen. Especially for the people in, in the ministry spaces that it's like, you, you show up and that, that testimony of the woman who had shared that. She's like, people call me, call on me to come speak at their church.

[00:36:54] Mary Valloni: Like when they go on vacation, you know, like the pastor's going on vacation or he needs somebody to come bring the fire. That's what she said. They always call on me when they want me to bring the fire. I was like, you bring the fire then go, you stink and show up the best preacher, you know how to be right.

[00:37:09] Mary Valloni: Like, cause that's her, she was so gifted in that. And so it was like, and. People know her now. They, because she was preaching in that church, they like her. They don't just like her. They love her. Cause she like called them out and she brought the fire. Right. They trust her. They're like, okay, if our pastor trusts you, we trust you.

[00:37:29] Mary Valloni: You're in our inner circle. And they literally pulled out the cash and we joke about it, like the sweaty boob cash, like they would pull out, you know, the cash from their sweaty boobs. And they would put that in the offering bucket because they were like, I like you, I trust you. I believe you're going to change the world.

[00:37:46] Mary Valloni: And they weren't in on that. They were on board for that. And so, and not everybody's going to love what you do. And we don't even need a fraction of people we talk to, to like what we do. We really don't. So the whole goal is just to, you speak with conviction about what you're supposed to do and you just, are you, you're naturally who you're created to be and you're just going to, when people say, what are you doing?

[00:38:11] Mary Valloni: You share it and you do it with the best clarity you can so that people will be drawn to you and say, tell me more. I'm interested. What, why did you decide to pack all your things and move to a different part of the world? Or why did you decide to do this full time? You know, and they'll lean in and, you know, and that's where the relationship can really be built from there.

[00:38:36] The Missional Life - Dan: You mentioned Building relationships and taking people with you and to Belize or wherever you're going. And I know social media is a way to do that. Right. And so we've not necessarily been trained on how to do it or how to do it well. And so somewhere in the middle of, man, I'm taking this picture of This, you know, this, this homeless person and we're kind of taking away some of their, personhood .

[00:39:01] The Missional Life - Dan: And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, hey, man, so thankful for this palm tree in the middle of winter. You know, I hope you guys are doing well back there and, you know, in Ohio or in Michigan with all the snow . Somewhere in the middle of that is the right way. So how are people to be using social media and what are some of the

[00:39:20] The Missional Life - Dan: the guardrails that protect people from using it incorrectly.

[00:39:25] Mary Valloni: Sure. Well, I, I think that a lot of times people feel like they're just not being authentic, you know, like, Oh, I'm like having to do that. Like I should do social media. I should post some pictures. Like I do want people to see what we're doing, but if you can start to create more consistency, just like, Hey, you know, like let's, let's show up.

[00:39:45] Mary Valloni: And this is why I'm like, when we send out those emails, I'm like, just be consistent. You know, like if you're going to send emails twice a month, send emails twice a month. You know, like if you're like, Hey, I think I, you know, I'd like to post once a week, or I'd like to post, you know, two or three times a week, whatever feels comfortable for you.

[00:40:02] Mary Valloni: But in the end, it's like, well, Kate, think of if I, let's just say once a week, I'm going to post about something once a week. Okay. Yeah. Take just all you have to do is once again, think about what's happened in the last week and what story can I tell that's going to educate, that's going to encourage, that's going to do something that aligns with your, your, who you are, right?

[00:40:24] Mary Valloni: It's like, if you're naturally an encourager, if you're naturally a teacher or a preacher or whatever, gifting you have used social media to use that same gifting to, to love on people. So if it is a palm tree and you're like, I'm just showing gratitude today, Amen. Do it right. Like, what are you doing?

[00:40:43] Mary Valloni: You're saying, Hey, gratitude's important. What are you grateful for today? Right. Like, you know, or that cup of coffee where it's like, you know, I sit here, you know, every Monday or every Tuesday and Thursday, and I meet with my, my small group leader. You know, this cup of coffee doesn't seem like much, but this is the connector that connects me to the person across the table, you know, and it's like, what are we trying to say?

[00:41:06] Mary Valloni: Grab a cup of coffee with somebody that you love, somebody that you want to do life with just because we're doing it here doesn't mean that you can't do it. Right? So it's like we're tying everything back to. Like you can absolutely be authentic on social media. You can share the same kinds of stories that you're sharing in email.

[00:41:24] Mary Valloni: Just do it, grab a picture and, and put it up on social media. Like there's ways that you can use it and do it really effectively. That doesn't feel like, Oh, here I am sitting on social media, trying to come up with a reason for people to like me and then release it. It's like in the end, I know that people want to look at the stats and they're like, Ooh, how many emails are opening?

[00:41:46] Mary Valloni: How many likes do I have? How many posts are on here? Whatever. And if you can just let go of that and just be like, you know what? I don't care. If one person reads that gratitude post and says I needed that today, Or they don't say anything. You have no idea how a piece of encouragement could connect with somebody somewhere else and you don't need to know the results.

[00:42:14] Mary Valloni: You don't need to know that they saw it, but the thing about social media is that it creates a narrative about you and your family, you and your life. And I, I didn't catch this until, you know, a little bit later in, in my business work where people would, you know, start to use it as conversation starters with me.

[00:42:33] Mary Valloni: Oh, I saw that cute picture of your daughter or da, da, da, da, da. And the next thing you know, it's like, Oh, we're best friends. It's like social media just is like, it allows you to break barriers. into conversations and the same thing with emails. Like we've, our students will say, Hey, I went to that pastor's meeting and these pastors were coming up to me sharing how much they enjoyed the story I shared in my email.

[00:42:55] Mary Valloni: And I was like, Oh, they read it. Awesome. And so, I mean, all of these things that we're talking about is it just, it drops the, the, just the walls down of like, Oh, you're a stranger. I don't know you too. No, I actually trust you. Like it looks like you're doing really good work. And that's where we start to move people through the process of getting them to the place of where they want to financially give to the work that you're doing or pray for you or send resources, whatever that is.

[00:43:24] Mary Valloni: But yeah, social media is a great resource. And trust me, I am somebody who doesn't love social media, but I, but at the same breath, I was like, The relationships that I've built on social media, like I can't even like just a comment on that post is like, it opens immediately, opens up a door to a direct message.

[00:43:44] Mary Valloni: And now we're reconnecting. How are you? Let's grab, you know, let's jump on the, on a call. And so you just don't ever know how God's going to open up a door. So. Social media is doing it. That's all I got to say.

[00:43:56] The Missional Life - Amanda: Well, and just, to add to that , we were chatting before starting recording this interview and you asked Dan and I, how did you hear about me or how did you hear about our book?

[00:44:07] The Missional Life - Amanda: And our answer was social media. Exactly. So just pointing that out that it is an effective tool and it's can be super helpful.

[00:44:17] The Missional Life - Dan: Yeah. And I think we're in a generation that is about connection, right? , people want to feel connected to, you to who they're giving the dollars to, right? And so we've gone through a generation of just writing a check and sending it in the mail.

[00:44:30] The Missional Life - Dan: But now it's, I want to, I want to know the people who I'm partnering with and I want to see their life and I want to know what they're thinking or whatever that is that they're sharing. People want to know. And I think that's really, really important to remember that, that as we share those things, yeah.

[00:44:45] The Missional Life - Dan: We do have an audience that is listening. I mean, they're invested into us literally, and they do want to hear those stories. I think that's really important. I know there's a lot of people that are listening to this right now and saying, man, , she knows a lot about this subject. You are an author of fully funded, and now you also have the fully funded academy.

[00:45:04] The Missional Life - Dan: Tell us. About the book a little bit more because it just released recently. And then tell us more about fully funded Academy.

[00:45:10] Mary Valloni: Yeah. So yes, fully funded book is out.

[00:45:14] Mary Valloni: We, I, this is my thing about my business partner, Mike. He is one of the best marketers, if not the best. Like I just am like, I cannot say enough about how good he is at copywriting, writing, and marketing. And so in that book, we have. Thrown everything and the kitchen sink into this book. Like all of our templates, all of our resources, like everything that we teach inside of fully funded Academy, we literally put in this book because we know that you guys are coming from every corner of the world.

[00:45:46] Mary Valloni: And some of you don't have the ability to jump on a coaching call. You don't have the ability to get on the internet. So. We wanted to make sure that this book had everything that you might need to learn how to raise funds and to become fully funded. So I just want to highlight the fact that it's like, if you do nothing more than get a copy of our book or gift our book to a missionary friend you are doing them a huge favor by just getting the resources into their hands.

[00:46:13] Mary Valloni: So fully funded Academy is like the next step. Step. If somebody is like, Hey, I got the book or I don't have the book, but I'd, I'd like to know more. I'd like to start learning. The Academy allows me and my partner Mike and our other coaches to walk with you. We all know that, you know, raising money, it's, it's not necessarily that you're not good at it or that you don't want to do it or whatever else, but it's, there's something about doing it together.

[00:46:39] Mary Valloni: Doing it with other people, knowing that you're in community and knowing that you have somebody else who's like, don't do that, do that. You know, it's just, there's something about just being able to ask your questions and to say, am I doing this effectively? Could I be doing it better? And so we do coaching calls twice a month through fully funded academy.

[00:46:58] Mary Valloni: You get tutorial videos. We have, they're just real short, 10, 15 minute videos for each. You know, each chapter basically of the book and we have seven steps that we walk through inside of fully funded Academy. So it's just a really simple process, but having those coaching calls, I will say from our students, they say that those are the most powerful, you know, tools that they have because they just know, Hey, I'm sitting with other people who are just like me and we're doing it in real time.

[00:47:27] Mary Valloni: You know, so it's not like, Oh, this happened 10 years ago. It's like, no, this, no, I'm telling you right now, I just got a check for 10, 000 in the mail, right? Like they're saying this is working right now today in real time, you know? So that, that just makes the difference. Cause you're like, you can't give all the excuses of why it's not effective or why it's not working.

[00:47:46] Mary Valloni: It's like, no, no, no, it's working and it's happening. So. So anyways, so fully funded Academy is a great resource for people who are like, I just would like to have that accountability. I'd like to have some coaches that are with me. So that's where we encourage that on top of it. So, yeah, but yeah, those two resources fully funded academy.

[00:48:04] Mary Valloni: com is where we have a lot of our resources. Our book also has a workbook and that the workbook is a hundred percent free. So you can download our workbook for free today at fullyfundedacademy. com and you can start working through our materials. And yeah, we're, we're putting out some new resources here very soon.

[00:48:23] Mary Valloni: So stay tuned. Yeah.

[00:48:25] The Missional Life - Amanda: Wonderful. And I just want to add to what you were saying. So on the fully funded academy website for our listeners, The stats are 1816 students since 2018 and a 77 percent report an increase in support with 24 nations impacted for Christ. And also something that I was reading about the release of your book was that you guys didn't release it right away.

[00:48:51] The Missional Life - Amanda: You waited until the methods were tried and tested, not just wanting to put out a theoretical book, but get your hands in the dirt. This is what works, you know. Just put your hand to the plow and, you know, you will see things change. And so I love that. And just, yeah, we pray that the nations impacted for Christ continues to grow with your organization.

[00:49:15] Mary Valloni: Thank you so much. Well, you know, like when you're talking to other people who have books that they put out, you know, they're always looking for endorsements and who's the latest and greatest. And for us, it was really important that we had missionaries endorse our book. And so if you look at the endorsements, they're all.

[00:49:30] Mary Valloni: They're people who have gone through our program. They have experienced it firsthand. So, and we have just such a variety of different sending organizations and denominations. And so we're just, we, we're. We hope to be a place where it's like, it doesn't matter. Like what, you know, the theological side, I mean, it matters, but I'm just saying like for us, we're, we're all about making sure that you get fully funded, like let's tackle the financial side of what you're doing.

[00:49:57] Mary Valloni: And and it, it, it's working. So we hope we can help a lot more people in the future.

[00:50:03] The Missional Life - Dan: Absolutely. As we're bringing this to a close, I'm just wondering what kind of time commitment , is your program? And as you're working with a lot of different missionaries, what are some of the, different points that you realize, man, like they need help and how do you help push them through those situations with your coaching? And how do you at the, coaches feel after you see the fruit of your insight and your wisdom?

[00:50:27] Mary Valloni: Sure. Well, there's the timeline that a lot of our missionaries go through. It, it varies, you know, very drastically, right? Some people are like, I got to get out on the mission field in the next month or two or whatever the timeframe is. And so, you know, we tell people come in, take whatever resources you need.

[00:50:44] Mary Valloni: Study, do it, execute it, go on, right? Like we're big on teaching people how to fish. Like the goal is not to, Hey, come on and stay here for the rest of it. And we have students who've been with us for all seven years. And it's great. Cause times continue. We had a pandemic a few years ago. And a lot of people were like, what do we do now?

[00:51:03] Mary Valloni: You know, so life is always changing. So that's, what's great about our program is that we're. Continuously updating and changing our materials to meet with the times. So some people have been with us for seven years and some people come in for a month and they take what they need and they move on. So there isn't really like a, like a major commitment that needs to be made from our students is just come get what you need and go execute.

[00:51:27] Mary Valloni: So we're, we're really big on execution, get. Get it done. Like go get it done. Okay. And then, you know, just as far as just the, the students who come in through our program, you know, they're, yeah, I, I mean, I'm trying to remember your second question, but your third one, the third part of that was just like, how do we feel when they've come through, you know, is that Oh, I remember now.

[00:51:52] Mary Valloni: Okay. Just as far as like, how do we keep them on track and how do they move through this program? And we do have a basically like a checklist. So when they join fully funded academy, we give them a S this is our seven step process and there's a checklist. So most of the students that come in, they are, they've done one in the first step, they've done, you know, one or two in the second step, they've done one or two in the third, you know, so, and, and usually they're asking for money, so they're already on step six and step seven of the process, they just are missing some gaps in the process.

[00:52:23] Mary Valloni: And what they're, how they're doing it. So we just encourage them to come through and start checking things off the list. And we have students who will just print off our checklist, tape it up on the wall, and they'll start working their way through where the gaps are. And it allows them to actually get to the end result, which is a fully funded budget and not just a fully funded budget, but.

[00:52:45] Mary Valloni: A consistent, sustainable year after year, fully funded budget is what we're looking for. And so, and then yes, on the back end of things, like what happens, you know, like how, you know, it's, it's hard to put into words because like. You know, for those of you who have seen a lot of people come to know the Lord, it's kind of like that where you're like, every time somebody makes a decision, you're like, yeah, you know, like, it's like that just happened.

[00:53:14] Mary Valloni: You know, like, it's like there is that moment, but collectively you're like, of course they should all come to know Jesus and like, you know, it's like this one big, but I, I'm the same way when it comes to our students that it's like, you know, you hope that the light will turn on. You don't know if it will, you know, like you don't know if they're going to, if it's all going to click and they're going to see, Oh, wow, it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be.

[00:53:37] Mary Valloni: Or I didn't, I totally misunderstood how, how to do this. And that support raising is absolutely ministry. And it's. All a part of the big thing, you know, like all of it can bring joy. All of it can be a great part of the ministry. And so when those things start clicking and people start seeing it, it's like, yeah, that's, that's where I'm like, okay, mission accomplished.

[00:54:01] Mary Valloni: You know, the vision is being executed and and that's obviously a good day. So I always love hearing when people say I'm fully funded, you know, like the debt free thing. Free scream on Dave Ramsey, you know, it's like, I'm fully funded, you know, but like, nobody wants to scream it too loud. Cause they're like, Oh, one person drops off fully funded today.

[00:54:20] Mary Valloni: I'm fully funded today. So, but that's a, that's a really, really good day in our world for sure.

[00:54:29] The Missional Life - Dan: Amen. But you you also host the Start and Grow Your Nonprofit Podcast and the fully funded podcast. And so you have a lot of different resources. You have books, you have an academy, you have multiple podcasts.

[00:54:41] The Missional Life - Dan: Tell us how our listeners can connect with you .

[00:54:43] Mary Valloni: Yeah. So what happens back to when I was just saying like, Oh, the good day when people become fully funded. The nice thing is, is that what usually happens is that God says you did great with little let's give you more.

[00:54:55] Mary Valloni: And so there is a tendency for missionaries to then start their own nonprofits. And to start their own 501c3 mission agencies. And so that's really what start and grow your nonprofit is about. I started that business with a former student of mine because I was like, what happens when you feel called to create the bigger thing?

[00:55:14] Mary Valloni: You know? So we walk with people from the startup phase of, of building out their nonprofit and they're all people of faith that we work with there. So if that's you, if you're like, Ooh, I feel like I'm supposed to start that thing, or I am doing that. You know, that might be a great resource for you, but I always just tell people, go to maryveloney.

[00:55:31] Mary Valloni: com. I have everything there as far as our, my podcasts and resources, and I can help direct you from there. And if you're interested, we can have a conversation. You can click to you know, book a discovery call and we can have a 20 minute conversation and see how I can. can help you. So I love having conversations with people because I love building relationships with people.

[00:55:53] Mary Valloni: So if I can help, I would love to do that.

[00:55:56] The Missional Life - Dan: Well, we're so thankful for how you are being faithful to the call and the vision that God has put in your life. And we just pray and speak blessing over everything you put your hand to. And we are so thankful for the time with you today, Mary. What a blessing.

[00:56:09] The Missional Life - Dan: Thank you.

[00:56:10] Mary Valloni: Yeah, absolutely. So good to meet you guys. And, and for those of you who are listening, I just, I, I know that Dan and Amanda have a heart for you and I do as well. And so if you're feeling discouraged or down, like, you know, take a few minutes and just pray and reach out to somebody. I think that that's so important to know that you're, you're not alone.

[00:56:27] Mary Valloni: So thanks again, guys.