Winning in Business (and Life)!

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, it can be easy to fall prey to a discouraged spirit. The same is true of starting up a new business and figuring out how to go from zero customers to sustainability. For that matter, it can be discouraging for even organizations that have been around for decades to constantly have to reimagine marketing, especially when reaching out to a very specific niche.

The lattermost marketing challenge can be particularly difficult for a small Christian school that simply desires to accomplish well its mission. In the case of The Cornerstone Christian School, that mission is “To engage and educate young people to know and be transformed by Christ through the ways they think, act, learn, serve, and work together for God’s Kingdom.” It is not easy to navigate how to most effectively and affordably find and market to families who desire to partner with a school that will teach their children from a biblical worldview. As a 501(c)(3) that is designed to support Christian education by supporting this school, we at Cornerstone Educational Support, Inc. also experience a similar challenge.

The difficulty is particularly true now that we live in a world of information overload. Since the advent of the World Wide Web and email and texting and app push notifications and social media and so on, the over-sharing of knowledge has become the norm. Many people simply muffle the cacophony by quickly skipping past the word noise. This does not bode well for organizations that must communicate their mission in order to survive (both nonprofit and for-profit entities alike).

Here’s the thing. There is one God, and we are not Him. He alone is responsible for results. He simply calls us to be faithful to the steps He calls us to take (including pivoting when He calls us to change course), while trusting Him for the results. So, there are three interlocking keys to avoiding discouragement by what seems to be an insufficient result: (1) Seek God’s wisdom on steps to take (moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour, day-by-day); (2) Rely on the Holy Spirit for the empowerment to take those steps; and (3) Trust God for the results. Only then can we rise above discouragement and WIN at accomplishing what He has set forth for us to do, all for His glory. The same goes for both business and life!

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Big Dream Blog

What Motivates You to Help?

By Tammy Choleva • January 20, 2025

When it comes to motivation to do something that needs to be done, the best motivators are intrinsic. In other words, the ideal is doing (or helping to do) what needs to be done simply because one has the inner sense that helping to meet the need is the right thing to do. Extrinsic motivators, on the other hand, are the promise of external rewards for helping out (or the withholding of negative consequences for not helping out). When seeking help to meet a large group need, extrinsic motivators do not typically move the meter, because not everyone is motivated the same way. Some may find small prizes to be motivating; for others, only big prizes. Some may find simple praise to be motivating; for others, only public recognition. Some may find winning a trophy to be motivating; not so for others. Some may find not being punished to be motivating; others do not care about the threat of punishment. You get the point. Here is the conundrum with getting families on board with school fundraising. If families support the need for raising funds for the cause at hand, they will naturally want to do everything they can to bring success to the fundraiser. They will be intrinsically motivated to help to the best of their ability. On the other hand, if they do not support the need for raising funds and/or do not comprehend the potential outcome if funds are not raised, they will (at best) put in the bare minimum of effort or (at worst) not help at all or even speak negatively about the need for fundraising. Likewise, donors are intrinsically motivated to give or they are not. Extrinsic motivators do not typically raise goal thermometers. This is the bottom line. Since we cannot motivate others intrinsically (that's the work of the Holy Spirit), the leaders of nonprofits (including schools) must instead pray for intrinsically motivated helpers to step up. Even so, we can still provide extrinsic motivators, but not with the expectation that they will move helpers to help more or givers to give more. Instead, the purpose of extrinsic motivators is to help keep the need in the forefront and to try to add some "fun" to FUNdraising.

Looking Ahead to Year-End Giving

By Tammy Choleva • November 25, 2024

As a public charity 501(c)(3), CES is responsible to pass the public support test. “In other words, [CES] must be supported by the general public. For that to be true, a significant amount of revenue (at least 33%) must come from relatively small donors (those who give less than 2% of the organization’s income), other public charities, or the government. That leaves 67% to potentially come from other, less diverse sources.” ( “Private Foundation vs. Public Charity: Spot the Difference,” by Greg McRay, EA, Founder and CEO of Foundation Group ) To help us reach this year's public support charity test, we are looking for friends of CES and CCS to help spread the word that we are challenging ourselves to receive 100 donations of $500 each (or 50 donations of $1,000) by December 31, 2024. Keep in mind that many companies generously match the charitable contributions of their employees, and some may also match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses. To find out if your company has a matching gift program, check with your company’s Human Resources office to ask if they offer gift matching. Your Human Resources department will provide a matching gift form to complete and mail to Cornerstone Educational Support, Inc., 903 Main Street, Manchester, CT 06040, or email to Tammy@CornerstoneEducationalSupportInc.org. Company matching programs give your donations twice the impact! In addition, taxpayers who have already reached the age of 70.5 years or older may plan on making their charitable contributions directly from their traditional IRAs via qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), thus possibly reducing their taxable income. With other age restrictions being considered, these donations might also count as required minimum distributions (RMDs). A QCD is a direct transfer of funds from the traditional IRA custodian, payable to a qualified charity, such as Cornerstone Educational Support, Inc. QCDs are counted for the tax year in which they are taken and (if meeting the additional age requirements) might also count toward satisfying that year’s RMD. Disclaimer: We are not accountants or lawyers, and this is not tax or legal advice. You will need to talk with your tax and/or legal advisor to see if you qualify and to learn how current federal and/or state tax laws affect you.

A Foggy Lens

By Tammy Choleva • July 31, 2024

The Cornerstone Christian School is a private K-12 (+ PreK) school in Manchester, Connecticut. All schools (whether public, magnet, private, or homeschool) operate according to a worldview. Even when the worldviews of the individuals helping to run a particular school do not mesh together, that in itself is a worldview. A relativistic worldview says that all worldviews are equally valid, with no one view being Truth. What is a worldview, and why is it important? A worldview is the lens through which a person (or persons comprising an organization) sees and interprets what is happening in the world. That lens thereby informs and affects every thought and action of that person (or persons). In the case of an educational program, the prevailing worldview serves as the cornerstone of the program. For public schools, the cornerstone is a relativistic worldview. For The Cornerstone Christian School, it is a biblical worldview. A relativistic worldview is subject to the cultural or political or “whatever” winds that are blowing through at the time. A biblical worldview, on the other hand, is rock solid, unchangeable, unshakable. How can we be certain that a biblical worldview does not change? Because it is based on God’s Word, and neither God nor His Word ever change. God is Truth (“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’” [John 14:6, NIV]); and Truth is absolute. Imagine being a child who is learning in a school that does not teach according to the core value of a biblical worldview. That child will be taught in school that a biblical worldview is not absolute. Even if the child is taught a biblical worldview by the parents at home and Sunday School teachers on Sundays, imagine the conflict in the mind of the child, being taught one view at home and church and a relativistic worldview at school. At best, the child will have a foggy lens through which to view and interpret the world. When constructing a building with a masonry foundation, the most crucial part of the building’s design is the placement of the cornerstone. This stone is placed first and serves as a reference point for all the remaining stones. The integrity of the structure is determined by the cornerstone. A weak cornerstone leads to a weak foundation, which leads to a weak structure. The cornerstone core value of The Cornerstone Christian School is teaching according to a biblical worldview. This value serves as the reference point for all its other core values (integrity, compassion, inquiry for wisdom, and service to community). Enrolling students in The Cornerstone Christian School helps build a firm foundation for the students. In turn, they become better equipped to recognize and embrace the Truth amongst the onslaught of relativism that they will inevitably encounter throughout their entire lives. Supporting CES supports The Cornerstone Christian School, but the support does not end there. Since 1981, the school’s firm and biblically-based foundation has enabled and empowered its students to boldly walk in and share the Truth within their local communities, nation, and world. Supporting CES, which supports this small school with a big heart, supports sharing the Truth with the world. Will you come alongside us in asking local and regional families to consider enrolling their students at The Cornerstone Christian School? Will you come alongside us in helping to support the school’s extraordinary and unbudgeted needs? Visit our Giving page for more information.