Sometimes Saturday morning is significant

A couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, our church hosted a missions event aimed at high schoolers.

I didn’t know that morning would be so significant for me.

About halfway through the event, one speaker introduced a concept I’d never heard before.

It was called “Plus One.”

Discover how the "Plus One" concept transforms overwhelming long-term goals into actionable 12-month plans for fundraisers and faith leaders.

The idea was simple: Instead of asking high school students, “What do you want to be in 20 years?”—which feels overwhelming and impossible—they ask: “What’s your plus one? What’s your specific plan for the next 12 months after graduation?”

Will you be enrolled (in education)?

• Enlisted (in service)?

• Or employed (in work)?

That’s it. Just one year. One concrete step.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

Why did this set me on fire?

As I look at teaching this Finishing Well framework—helping people see that their most powerful season is ahead, not behind, here’s what I’ve struggled with:

When I ask someone at 28, or 45, or even 55, to envision their “Power Quarter” at age 65, their eyes glaze over.

• It feels too far away.

• Too abstract.

• Too impossible to imagine.

But Plus One changes everything.

Instead of asking, “What do you want your Power Quarter to look like?”

I can now ask: “What’s your Plus One—your specific plan for the next 12 months that moves you toward your most powerful season?”

Suddenly, the Finishing Well vision becomes actionable today, not someday.

Here's what this means:

Instead of being paralyzed by a 20-year vision, you can focus on one concrete year.

Your Plus One becomes the bridge between where you are today and your most powerful season ahead. Every 12-month goal—whether you're 28, 45, or 55—is apprenticeship for the next level of impact.

This works for everyone.

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IF YOU ARE A FUNDRAISER OR LEADER IN THE FAITH COMMUNITY, KEEP READING

Fundraising alone can be overwhelming.

But what if you had a Plus One for your fundraising and a small community of others on the same path?

What if, instead of trying to figure out your 5-year strategic plan, you focused on one specific goal for the next 12 months that would:

1. Serve your mission today (immediate impact)

2. Prepare you for your most powerful season (long-term preparation)

That’s exactly what I want for you.

An invitation

In the past, I’ve run a Fundraising Accelerator—a bi-weekly Zoom call where fundraisers came together to:

✅ Clarify their Plus One (their 12-month fundraising activities)

✅ Build systems that work today and tomorrow

✅ Learn from each other’s wins and challenges

✅ Stay accountable to their Finishing Well vision

• It’s not a course.

• It’s not a webinar.

• It’s a community of fundraisers helping each other finish well.

We meet every other week on Zoom for 60 minutes.

And I want to invite you to join us. Free for the first few months. This allows me to get started and get a feel for what we can accomplish together.

One of my core values is that fundraising is divine. I totally believe that one of the most God-like actions we can do is raise money for visionary purposes.

It’s that conviction that gives me the boldness that I need to invite people to join my team financially.

I want you to have that also.

So, I would like to spend the first 30 minutes doing a “Faith-To-Ask” portion where I teach fundraising from a prophetic angle. This would allow you, if you’re not in the faith community, to tune in 30 minutes after we start and not have to sit through it.

Or, if you are a faith leader, you can tune in for the first 30 minutes then leave.

Why am I doing this?

That Saturday morning at the missions event, I realized something:

I’ve been given a gift.

• The gift of seeing that my most powerful season is ahead—not behind.

• The gift of 45 years of fundraising experience that I can share.

• The gift of a framework (Finishing Well + Plus One) that actually works.

The more I give; the more I will receive.

Here’s how to join

If this resonates with you, here’s what to do:

Hit reply and tell me:

I’ll send you the Zoom link and details for our next session.

Cost: Free for the first few months. This will allow us all to assess it’s value in our lives.

What I expect from you:

• Time commitment: 60 minutes every other week

• Show up to be a blessing. Don’t show up to get one. It is in helping others that you will get the help you need.

What you’ll get: A community of likeminded fundraisers, faith to ask, practical tools, and a clear Plus One that moves you toward your most powerful season

That’s how transformation works, isn’t it?

You show up.You stay open.You give yourself away.What you do for others; God does for you.

And then you invite others into the journey.

That’s what I’m doing now.

I’m inviting you to join me in this Accelerator—not because I have all the answers, but because I believe we can figure this out together.

Hit reply and let me know you’re in.

Because it’s not how you start that defines you.

It’s how you finish.

I would like to meet 1st & 3rd Tuesdays ad 12:00 p.m. EST.

Let’s plan to meet next week for the first time: Tuesday, March 19, 12 p.m.

Hit reply and let me know, I will send you a calendar invitation.

www.davidoaks.net