Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns

Small Town Capital Campaigns
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Kick off your week with a 5-minute reflection on generosity to ground yourself in the right mindset for capital campaigns.  Each reflection includes a question to ponder throughout the week to aid your work.

  1. 4D AGO

    143: Authentic Giving - The Cycle of Joyous Generosity

    “Giving brings happiness in every state of its expression.  We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous; we experience joy in the actual act of giving something; and we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.” This week, I’m reading 3 quotes from the Buddha. Reflection question: How might your follow-up conversations change if you viewed them as helping donors complete their joy cycle rather than simply maintaining relationships throughout the campaign?Reflection on quotes: Today is our final episode in our series on authentic giving and avoiding transactional approaches. We’ve discussed the difference between transactions and authentic giving, donors demanding transactional approaches, and the roots of loneliness and guilt in transactional donations.  Finally, when we give authentic giving opportunities, the donor experiences joy throughout the generosity cycle during a capital campaign.  The writers from centuries ago understood things about human nature—about giving, receiving, and gratitude—that we're just now proving with brain scans and research studies. There's something beautiful about discovering that ancient wisdom and modern science keep arriving at the same truths. As a reminder, you can go back to the series on neuroscience and giving to hear about the science.  These quotes show something we often forget during capital campaigns —giving isn't a burden we place on people. It's a gift we offer them. Think about your own experience. Remember the last time you gave something meaningful? That warm feeling you got? That was your brain releasing actual joy chemicals. The quote reveals this beautiful truth: we experience joy when we decide to give, joy when we actually give, and joy when we remember giving. Triple joy. But here's where we make an authentic gift feel like a transaction for donors. We work so hard to capture that first moment—getting someone to say yes—then we disappear and start talking to the next donor. We forget about joy number three. We abandon our donors before they can fully experience what they've done. When we follow up, when we share about the campaign and construction progress and the donor’s impact on that progress, when we help donors remember their generosity—we're not just being polite.  We're completing their joy cycle.  Start celebrating it throughout the campaign. This work has entered the public domain. 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

    5 min

  2. MAR 23

    142: Authentic Giving - Removing the Guilt from Generosity

    "...Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream...” This week, I am reading a quote from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and a quote from A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior, by Graton and Mailliez, published in 2019. Reflection question: With what are you watering the messages to donors? With guilt? Or, authentic giving?Reflection on quote: Today is our fourth episode in our series on authentic giving and avoiding transactional approaches.  We’ve discussed different approaches, donor demanding transactional approaches, and the root of loneliness in transactional donations.  Another root for transactional approaches is guilt.  Capital campaign donors can be guilted into a donation either by the campaign messages or through the donor’s inner values.  What happens when a campaign rely too heavily on guilt?  As we are building our case for support for the capital campaign, we are making intentional choices in the framing message and the images we use.  We can choose overtly guilt inducing messages and images to pressure donors to give; such as crying clients or a building falling down.  These images and messages coupled with an urgent call to action, such as “you must give now,” will provoke a backlash.  Instead, when we choose messages and images that show need, empower agency, and provide the opportunity to give as part of the solution, the donor can take any guilt they may feel and channel it into positive gift.  That is, we are watering authentic generosity.    To read: A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution. The quote from Lao Tzu is in the public domain. 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

    5 min

  3. MAR 16

    141: Authentic Giving - An Approach for Belonging

    "...Fund-raising must always aim to create new, lasting relationships...." This week, I’m reading a quote from The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen, originally presented in 1992. Reflection questions: Which campaign donors do you need to offer communion, belonging, and friendship to this week?Thinking about the case for support, is it just an ask for a donation or is it also an offer for authentic giving and belonging?Reflection on quote: Last week, we discussed the scenario when the donor treats their donation as a transaction.  Often times, the root of transactional giving by donors is loneliness.  In an authentic giving approach, we offer donors a relationship and an opportunity to belong. Henri Nouwen spoke about this approach and his words have shifted the mindset of many working in capital campaigns across various mission types and not just faith-based organization. When donors approach us with a transactional gift, we offer an opportunity for friendship and belonging in return.  The real, person to person opportunity to belong and to make a difference.  Instead of seeing the conversation as a transaction, we invite donors to belong and seeing their money as a way to join with others to create a vision and life together that is fruitful beyond just the building that will built.  The building itself changes to a place of community for both the donor and the constituent.  To purchase: The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen Used with permission from Upper Room Books. 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

    5 min

  4. MAR 9

    140: Authentic Giving - Generosity Can't Be Faked

    "...Generosity cannot be counterfeited, and fake generosity does not make us happier, healthier, and more purposeful in life..." This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. Reflection question:  Are any of our fundraising activities and messaging encouraging self-interested, fake generosity?  If so, how can we tweak them to reflect authentic generosity?Reflection on quote: Last week in our series on authentic giving, we discussed avoiding transactional approaches.  What happens if the donor wants to treat the donation as a transaction during a capital campaign?  And, if we encourage these donors to be generous for their self-serving reasons, will they reap the benefits of generosity? Capital campaigns can bring the joy of seeing donors become more kind, more amenable, more generous the more they give. And, yet, we may also encounter donors who become more demanding, more angry, more sour the more they give.  These are donors who are, as the authors said, going through the motions of generosity simply in order to reap the desired rewards.  If we tie giving to self-interested rewards, then we are more likely to encourage fake generosity and attract other donors like them.   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

    4 min

  5. MAR 2

    139: Authentic Giving - Avoiding a Transactional Approach

    “When conventional economic and marketing assumptions shape and undergird the work of charitable fundraising, .... potential donors will often be approached with the expectation that they will be more interested in having their names in the program or on a plaque or in receiving a premium or a tax break than in giving to help others "out of the goodness of their hearts." This week, I am reading a quote from Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger, published in 2000. Reflection questions: How are we approaching donors with a mindset of authentic giving that acknowledges the world-changing and life-giving power residing the donors’ hearts and souls?Reflection on quote: We are starting a short series on authentic giving.  Due to the nature of capital campaigns, it is easy to fall into the trap of asking for a transactional donation because of various common features of a campaign, such methods to give to save on taxes documents and naming rights; that is, give this donation and you can name this part of the building. Let’s start this series about authentic giving in looking at our approach. Several years ago, I learned this principle through a bit of a failure. I was working with a nonprofit client that had a donor who planned to give a gift of appreciated stock.  Immediately, I advised the nonprofit to set up the process for the donor to transfer the stock to the client and avoid capital gains tax.  However, when the donor was told how to avoid capital gains tax, they refused and instead insisted on selling the stocks, paying the capital gains tax, and donating the proceeds. This donor cared more about the world-changing and life-giving power that was present in or working through the goodness of his heart and soul than the tax break.  And, frankly, the donor was a bit offended to be offered a way to save money in his giving.   Imagine if the conversation had gone differently.  What if I hadn’t assumed that the donor would want a tax break?  What if I had encouraged the nonprofit to first approached the conversation with an acknowledgement that this donor was giving out the goodness of their heart. What if only after that was fully acknowledged, then the nonprofit had a conversation with the donor about what they wanted to accomplish through their method of giving?  When we approach donors with the assumption that they wish to give authentic gifts without receiving anything in return, we can better avoid any feeling that the gift is a transaction. To purchase this book:  Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger. Copyright permissions granted for use of this quote. 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

    4 min

  6. FEB 23

    138: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - With Our Messages

    "...true charity is given, not with what is left over, but with what we need..." This week, I’m reading from the former Pope Francis and his homily from November 8, 2015. Reflection question: Are you asking for leftover generosity?  Or, are you asking for true generosity in your messages to donors?Reflection on quote: In our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors and we discussed how we have to build that mindset within our ourselves.  As we end this short series, and there is so much more to say, let’s discuss how we encourage our capital campaign teams and volunteers to ask out of an abundance mindset. As we have discussed in this series, true generosity creates a personal and life-giving transformation for donors. Donors thrive in an abundance mindset. Unfortunately, however, our capital campaign messages take on a scarcity mindset. Instead of sharing messages about giving from fullness, we beg for leftovers. Can you spare a dollar?  Every bit counts.  Would you just fill the gap? Remember us in your will. If you don’t have other commitments. All of these phrases give the impression that the donor would only want to give to the capital campaign from their leftovers.  That wording deprives donors of true, sacrificial generosity.  As we train our staff, Board, and campaign volunteers, we must model an abundance mindset in our campaign materials and in messaging, wording, and scripts we use in building relationships with donors.  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

    5 min

  7. FEB 10

    137: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - With Joy Within Ourselves

    "Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor loss of composure. Where there is poverty borne with joy, there is neither grasping nor hoarding. Where there is quiet and meditation, there is neither worry nor dissipation." This week, I’m reflecting on Of the Virtues putting Vices to Flight by Francis of Assisi, first published in English in 1906. Reflection questions: Where do you see evidence of a scarcity mindset within yourself?Which virtue do you want to cultivate this week?Reflection on quote: Last week in our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors.  As we continue this series, for most organizational leaders, the amounts that must be raised during a capital campaign can be shocking and overwhelming, leading to a mindset of scarcity. In those overwhelming moments, we have to start the process of cultivating an abundance mindset within our team, the Board, the staff, and the campaign volunteers. And that process starts with ourselves. In the face of leading the organization through the most significant fundraising effort likely in the organization’s history, what do these virtues do?  When we lean into patience and humility as leaders, we react calmly to the extensive time the campaign will take, knowing that cultivating an abundance mindset among our team and donors requires more intentional efforts. When there is poverty borne with joy, we as leaders communicate the reality that this capital campaign is larger than we can accomplish on our own and we invite volunteers and donors to join in the joy of accomplishing it together.  When we pause for quiet and meditation, even during the busiest seasons of the capital campaign, we calm the frantic efforts and worry that feeds into a scarcity mindset within us. As we keep practicing these abundance-building virtues, we will more quickly  escape the scarcity mindset and return to the abundance mindset.   This work has entered the public domain. 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

    3 min

  8. FEB 2

    136: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - A Gift to Donors

    "...No matter how it happens, the testimony of those who have shifted in their minds, spirits, and emotions from an imagined world of scarcity and insecurity to one of abundance, blessing, sufficiency, and overflow is almost always the same: it is liberating......" This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. Reflection question:  Do you believe that when you are asking, you are giving abundance, blessing, sufficiency and overflow to the donor?Reflection on quote: This week, we are starting a series on cultivating an abundance mindset during capital campaigns. When we cultivate an abundance mindset, the act of generosity from donors actually changes. During capital campaigns, we will encounter donors who give out of a believed world of scarcity and we will encounter donors who give out of a believed world of abundance.  When we approach prospective donors to our capital campaign out of a mindset of abundance, we offer donors the opportunity to shift their imagined world from scarcity and insecurity to a world of abundance, blessing, sufficiency, and overflow.  In small towns, we are giving a great blessing to our neighbors even as we are asking. 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

    5 min
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Kick off your week with a 5-minute reflection on generosity to ground yourself in the right mindset for capital campaigns.  Each reflection includes a question to ponder throughout the week to aid your work.

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