At this year’s New Wineskins conference, Ame Eldredge offered a MAP talk titled Your Ministry, Fully Funded. Ame serves as Chief Culture Officer and Senior Consultant at The Focus Group, a firm devoted to helping ministries and non-profits grow through proven development strategies. She is also the wife of the Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge, CEO of the American Anglican Council and Director of Anglican Revitalization Ministries. Together, they have made ministry and mission a lifelong calling, and it was evident in her teaching that she brings both professional expertise and personal passion to the work of equipping others.
Her central message was simple yet profound: fundraising is not about the latest technology, clever tactics, or chasing trends. It’s about cultivating relationships. Ame stressed that the heart of fundraising is found in developing lifelong partners who are not just donors, but friends and advocates, people who share a vision and are excited to invest in the mission. She reminded the audience that sustainable ministry support grows out of trust, shared values, and ongoing personal connection.
Instead of offering a quick-fix method, Ame introduced a framework of time-tested principles that have guided countless ministries toward long-term financial health. She encouraged attendees to step away from the anxiety that often surrounds fundraising and to see it instead as a deeply relational process; one that can be both more sustainable and more satisfying than transactional approaches. Her perspective reframed fundraising from a burden to a joy, showing how it can become an extension of ministry itself.
Ame also spoke candidly about the challenges leaders face when they feel pressure to “just raise the money.” She offered encouragement and practical wisdom for shifting the focus from meeting immediate needs to building a foundation that will carry a ministry for years to come. For Ame, fully funded ministry is not simply about securing resources. It is about answering the call of God with confidence, knowing that the mission is supported by faithful partners who believe in the work.
About Ame Eldredge
Ame Eldredge is the Chief Culture Officer and Senior Consultant at The Focus Group, where she works with ministries and non-profits to strengthen their fundraising practices and organizational culture. With a background in leadership development, coaching, and strategic planning, she has dedicated her career to helping leaders thrive both personally and professionally. Ame is also active in teaching and speaking, with a gift for making complex ideas clear and practical. She and her husband, the Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge, live out their calling together in service to the church and its mission. The Focus Group is a consulting firm founded in 1982 that specializes in providing fundraising counsel and strategic guidance to nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their missions by cultivating relationships with major donors and implementing effective campaign strategies. They focus on relational fundraising, offering services such as strategic planning, capital campaign counsel, annual fund development, major donor development, and online training to help nonprofits accelerate funding for their work. To find out more visit https://thefocusgroup.com.