Serving
Global Aid & Outreach Ministries Since 1985

At DickersonBakker, serving Global Aid & Outreach Ministries is not just what we do. From our earliest beginnings, overseas service has been woven into our DNA. Our very first client was a global outreach ministry. Our President comes from a missionary family. Our founder served for many years in leadership with a ministry operating behind the iron curtain during the Cold War. Many of our other team members have lived and worked globally for decades; some have spent their entire careers serving Global Aid & Outreach Ministries. In some cases, their adult children are now following in their footsteps.

What do you want to accomplish?
We can help you achieve a greater impact.

Our clients in this space face unique challenges. Many have a robust donor base, but their donors are often narrowly focused on supporting missionaries or sponsoring children. They are also challenged by geography with donors often spread out across all corners of the country; a small, under-resourced fundraising staff trying to engage with them; and most of their ministry impact occurring on the other side of the world.

Over the 35+ years that our firm has been in business, our team has helped numerous Global Aid & Outreach ministries overcome these challenges and meet their goals. Our work in this area spans five continents. We have served clients all across the United States, Canada, and several countries overseas, including South and Central America, the United Kingdom, European Union, Scandinavia, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. Many of our team members have decades of professional experience and a broad network of connections in the Global Aid & Outreach Ministry space.

What does forward look like for you?
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Capital Campaigns

  • 5-Phase Plan
  • Feesability Study
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Executive Search

  • Find the Right Fit
  • Discovery and Strategy
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Fundraising Servies

  • Gift Development Consulting
  • Partnership Selection
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Grant Development

  • Foundation research
  • Grant Portfolios Management
What does forward look like for you?
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Fundraising Solutions

We can help you raise the resources you need to fuel your mission

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Executive Search

We help non-profits find and recruit talent for key fundraising and executive leadership roles

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Capital Campaigns

We have helped thousands of non-profits raise billions of dollars for their campaigns

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Grant Services

We have helped dozens of non-profits win millions in new grant funding

Testimonials
From our Clients

Rob W

Vice President of Advancement, Pioneers, Orlando, FL
DickersonBakker has been a vital part of our fund development strategy. Under their guidance, we experienced a significant increase in general fund giving over the prior year. They helped us shape a funding plan for the current year, toward which key donors are now making generous commitments. DickersonBakker understands the lay of the land with respect to high-capacity donors in the Great Commission arena, and they have been trusted friends and advisors as we continue to see God’s blessing in our fundraising efforts.
Global Aid & Outreach
Experts
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President
Derric Bakker, MBA
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McKinley, MBA
Barbara Bowman
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Senior VP Client Partnership
Jeff Crabtree

Meet The Team

Meet the experienced and talented folks that you will be working alongside.

Some of the Global Aid & Outreach Ministries We've Served

Pathways:

No doubt you’ve heard it said that successful major gift fund development is “all about relationships”. We couldn’t agree more. At the same time, however, it just isn’t that simple. Real success in major gift fundraising is about strategically managing relationships with high-value donors in order to maximize their understanding of, interest in, involvement with, and commitment to your organization and its underlying mission. Even the word “relationships” is ambiguous. Major donors don’t have “relationships” with organizations. They have relationships with people in the organization. Too many put too much emphasis on the relationship with the development officer and overlook the importance of others. Relationships between your organization and its major donors actually have multiple dimensions, each increasingly important as you advance to higher tiers of giving.


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Presentation:

The case statement, also known as the “case for support,” provides a glimpse into the heart of a non-profit organization and is a vital part of any major gift fundraising effort. With over twenty years experience working with major donors we know what they are looking for in an offer. We will work with you to craft a compelling and professional case for support and guide you through the development of additional collateral materials needed to effectively present your case. We will also spend time in the field with your team to help them hone their presentation skills and train them in the “Art of the Close”.


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People:

Of all the building blocks needed to create a major gift program, none is more important than the people you have in place on your major gift leadership team. Having the right people in the right roles is a critical part of the Keystone Solution™ and we will work with you to ensure that your staff and volunteers are well-trained and appropriately gifted for their roles. If necessary, we will work with you to recruit additional members to your major gift leadership team.


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Prospects:

Any good fisherman knows that you can’t catch a big fish if you’ve got your line in the wrong pond. The future success of any major gift fund-raising program is built upon the organization’s ability to attract new donors to support its mission. To ensure on-going growth, a wide base of dynamic support is necessary, which presumes that a significant number of new major donors must be acquired and subsequently nurtured and elevated to rising giving levels. Using both “high-tech” and “high-touch” approaches we will work with your organization to identify a pool of best major gift prospects for your major gift program and to segment them into prioritized lists. As part of our prospecting services, we are also able to provide Donor Research Services to help you realize the major gift potential in your donor database and circles of influence.


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Practices:

Successful major gift fundraising is both an art and a science. The art is in the relationships, but the science is in the systems. Someone once said, “Motivation is what gets you started; good habits are what keep you going.” Putting good major gift development policies and procedures in place and getting into the habit of living by them is a critical part of making a program sustainable. Dickerson, Bakker & Associates will work with your organization to implement best practices within your major gift development department to ensure that the improvements we put in place will continue not just beyond our term of service but can be consistently applied even if you have a turnover of staff.


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Brand:

An organization’s brand is perhaps its most important asset. Most people think of brand superficially—considering only those aspects encompassing the “look and feel” of an organization (e.g. name, logo, etc.). Those brand marks are just outward expressions of your brand, however. At a deeper level, BRAND represents a promise to your constituents of those quintessential qualities that define who you are, what you do, and what you stand for as an organization. Doubt about the integrity of an organization’s brand promise almost always has a detrimental effect on giving, regardless of the effectiveness or competency of the fund development staff. Establishing and adhering to a clear focused brand is foundational in your ability to communicate who you are, what you do, where you are going, and how you will get there.


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Culture:

CULTURE refers to the collective attitudes that characterize and impact the ways that an organization’s people will perceive one another and work together. A “development-friendly” culture provides a fertile soil for giving to flourish. Dickerson, Bakker & Associates has identified six ingredients that together comprise a vibrant, development-friendly culture, and—if consistently applied—will significantly improve your organization’s ability to consistently garner high-level investments from major donors.


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Quality:

While mainstream donors may be satisfied with a simple understanding of what an organization does, major donors are more interested in what an organization achieves, or—more specifically—will achieve with the money they invest. Major donors want to know how their investment is helping bring about positive change in the lives of people. Major donors increasingly condition giving upon delivery of impact metrics, often requesting information on outcomes even before investing. Organizations that are serious about achieving success in major gift development will therefore do best when they embrace a culture that supports and encourages outcomes thinking.


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