Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns

"... And joy is the appropriate attitude with which to help others because acts of generosity are a source of blessing to the giver as well as the receiver..."

This week, I’m reading a quote from John Chrysostom from the 400 A.D.s.

Reflection questions:

• When was there a time when you were overwhelmed with the generosity of others because their generosity to you was given with such a spirit of joy that you received the generosity with pleasure?

• Is there an area of your fundraising work that you would like to bring in that same spirit of joy?  How will you do so this week?

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"...There is no mode of disposing of surplus wealth creditable to thoughtful and earnest men [and women] into whose hands it flows save by using it year by year for the general good..."

This week, I’m reading quotes from the Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie, published in 1889.

Reflection questions:

• When you consider your financial means, are you paying attention to how you are using your surplus above moderate wants?

• No matter your age, have you decided how you will leave your wealth?

To read this writing: Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie

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"... Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success..."

This week, I am reading quotes from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu from his various works.

Reflection questions:

• Are you watering your fund development goals with worry and desperation?  Or, are you watering them with kindness and optimism?

• How are you embracing the saying, “do your work, and then step back. The only path to serenity”?

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"Living generously. . . also often provides new learning experiences and exposure to sides of life and society that would have otherwise remained unknown."

This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition.

Reflection questions: 

• How are we inviting donors, especially new donors, to encounter our missions and feel that sense of belonging?

• How are we being both patient and intentional about helping donors expand their horizons and understand our missions? 

To purchase this book: The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson.

Copyright: Oxford University Press 2014. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

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To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

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"This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition... is... the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments. That wealth and greatness are often regarded with the respect and admiration which are due only to wisdom and virtue; and that the contempt, of which vice and folly are the only proper objects, is often most unjustly bestowed upon poverty and weakness, has been the complaint of moralists in all ages..."

This week, I’m reading a quote from The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith. Published in 1759.

Reflection question:

How are you reminding yourself, as you lift up the neglected and the vulnerable, that you are taking the road of character of wisdom, virtue, and justice?

To read: The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.

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"...When we don’t give the opportunity - especially to someone who is new to the journey of generosity, we encouraging the donor to throw a stone in the hole and cover it up.  Whereas, instead, we could let the donor make use of the treasure for good in our communities..."

This week, I’m reading a story from Aesop’s Fable, titled the Miser.

Reflection Question:

Do you struggle with the fear of offending someone as it relates to fundraising? What would it take to shift to a mindset of letting the donor give their treasure for good? 


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".... Help your brother’s boat across and your own boat will reach the shore..."

This week, I’m reading a quotes from three different cultures to help us reflect on our mentality of scarcity.

Reflection questions:

• What ways can you cultivate joy for other nonprofits when they receive generous donations?

• When you know that a potential donor has a passion for a different cause, how will you encourage them to be generous to that different cause?  To bless them and release them to be generous to a different organization?

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To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

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"...the paradox of generosity also seems to entail this relevant truth: generosity cannot be faked in order to achieve some other, more valued, self-serving end. Generosity itself needs to be desired..."

This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition.

Reflection questions: 

• Are any of our fundraising activities and messaging encouraging self-interested, fake generosity?  If so, how can we tweak them to reflect authentic generosity?

• How can we share the stories of genuine generosity with our community?

To purchase this book: The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson.

Copyright: Oxford University Press 2014. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

What do you think? Send me a text.

To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

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I was asking others to be generous - even sacrificially generous, yet I had never stopped to reflect on my own generosity. 

This week, I’m reading a quote from the Jewish wisdom on generosity from Proverbs 11.

Reflection questions:

• If you were to receive an unexpectedly large financial windfall to you personally, how much would you spend, save, and give?

• How are you leading this week in your daily life with the intention of generosity in your own life?

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To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

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"...actually living generously results from an existential confrontation with what is ultimately humanly valuable and important in life and the world."

I’m reading a quote from the Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. 

Reflection question:

• How are we giving space and the opportunities for the donor to reflect and discuss what is humanly valuable and important to life and the world as it relates to the cause we are asking them to join?

To purchase this book: The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson.

Copyright: Oxford University Press 2014. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

What do you think? Send me a text.

To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop