09 - Jason Gerdes (Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministry/ALDE): The Camp Experience

Jason Gerdes is Executive Director of Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministry and president of the Board of Trustees of ALDE. ALDE is a membership organization founded 40 years ago to bring together Lutheran fundraisers working in ministry. Originally called the Association for Lutheran Development Executives, ALDE is now growing and seeks to serve development professionals of all Christian denominations. I had a really great time talking with Jason about his work raising money for and now leading Outdoor Ministries as well as the role that ALDE serves bringing together fundraisers to build community and learn from one another. Jason attended the Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries as a camper and counselor and was inspired when he was invited to give back to help others attend camp. The development director then asked Jason to come work in the development office and he has worked there now for 17 years. Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (https://www.nlom.org/) has two camps in Nebraska that serve youth and adults through camping and retreat experiences. The Carol Joy Holling Camp is 40 years old and serves approximately 1,600 kids over the summer. Additionally, approximately 20,000 attend annually for retreat and leadership opportunities. Blessings by the Bushel (https://www.nlom.org/blessings-by-the-bushel) is a giving program which allows individuals to donate commodities directly to charity which can be a more cost effective manner of donating. Jason worked with Cacey Fuerst to develop the marketing of NLOM and felt like that helped set them up for more success as a ministry. Casey now runs Tic Tac Toe Marketing (https://www.tictactoemarketing.com/) to be able to serve more clients and ministries. ALDE (https://www.alde.org/), formerly known as the Association of Lutheran Development Executives, is a membership organization with a mission to “inspire, educate and mentor the Christian fundraising community to spark generosity for mission.” With approximately 600 members, ALDE is growing to serve members from a variety of organizations: congregations, schools, outdoor ministries, retreat centers, youth ministries, higher education, seminaries, campus ministries, districts/synods, church bodies, financial services, charitable foundations, consulting firms, museums, arts/culture, social ministries/services, health care, and more. ALDE has local chapters which serve development officers in regions around the country. To connect with Jason or learn more about his work, visit https://www.nlom.org/ or email Jason at [email protected].