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. 21 GIỜ TRƯỚC

    146: Managing Stress - Grieve Too

    .."And then with a cry from his soul despairing,He bowed him down to the earth and wept. But a voice cried aloud from the driving rain;“Arise, old man, and plant again!” This week, I’m reading a poem, Disappointed, written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, published in 1913. Reflection question: Has there been a disappointment in the campaign where you need to stop and weep before moving forward?Reflection on the quote: Capital campaigns are full of some many moments that can be also hard and taxing on the staff, volunteers and the organizations.  In this series, we are looking at ways to manage the stress. Last week, we discussed the stress associated with waiting and how to use the waiting to nurture relationships with donors. This week, we will discuss areas of stress; that is, when something that seemed certain doesn’t happen during the capital campaign. Because of the length of a capital campaign, it is likely that something that seemed guaranteed will fall through.  A grant is suddenly pulled.  A donor experiences a sudden financial reversal and can’t give.  A key member of the campaign moves, gets sick or passes away and can no longer champion the campaign.  Or, a portion of the project has to be scaled back due to a lack of community giving. These disappointments can range from minor and yet build up to the reality best described as a “death by a thousand paper cuts.” Or, the disappointment is sudden and overwhelming.  One way we can respond is to push through and act as though the disappointment didn’t happen.  Yet, we can’t keep pushing without burning out.  This poem gives a third way.  Acknowledge the disappointment and pain.  And then allow yourself a time to truly despair and weep.  But, then have hope and arise again to the work of the capital campaign in your small town. 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 phút

  2. 20 THG 4

    145: Managing Stress - Waiting and Nurturing

    "...Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb...” This week, I am reflecting on selected quotes from Henri Nouwen from the The Path of Waiting, published in 1995 and Bread for the Journey, published in 1996. Reflection questions: When you are meeting with donors, are you listening with full attention and waiting with the donor to discover more about themselves and their potential capital campaign donation?Think about the areas where you are waiting, is there something you can do to nurture the donor relationship?Reflection on the quote: Capital campaigns are full of some many moments that can be also hard and taxing on the staff, volunteers and the organizations.  In this series, we are looking at ways to manage the stress. Last week, we discussed feeling overwhelmed about the goal and learning into joy.  This week, we will be exploring the seasons of waiting, which can be stressful.  We wait for the right timing to ask.  We wait for donors to decide to give.  We wait for news about a grant application.  We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting is not inactive.  Instead, it involves nurturing the moments of waiting. As we wait, we are active in nurturing relationships.  We listen and wait while donors discover more about themselves and their potential donation to the capital campaign. We give them opportunities to explore our mission, our cause, and their potential impact more deeply. We share updates to engage their interest. If we become impatient and just move onto the next new potential donor relationship, while it feel like we are doing something, in reality, we will find that the moment, that new space, is just as empty. We wait, trusting that our patient work in nurturing relationships will bring about the fruit of generosity. 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 phút

  3. 13 THG 4

    144: Managing Stress - Hold onto Joy

    "...Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, Cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard." This week, I’m reading a poem written by Greville MacDonald to his father George MacDonald in 1930. Reflection question: Who on your list of donors who have already given can you call this week to hold onto joy in the midst of your stress? Reflection on the quote: Capital campaigns are full of some many moments that can be also hard and taxing on the staff, volunteers and the organizations.  In this series, we will look at ways to manage the stress. It is easy to become overcome by the enormity of the capital campaign goal and the number of donors who need to be cultivated and asked.  When we are overwhelmed by the enormity of the goal and the number of donors who need to be cultivated and asked, this is when we must take the joy within our reach. One of the most beautiful ways to take hold of that joy is through stewardship of the donors who have already given.  Rather than seeing stewardship as one more task in the campaign, instead it can be a way to manage the stress.  By reaching out to donors who have already given to say thank you again and to give an update again, they will likely respond with joy and gratitude.  That joy then gives further meaning and purpose to the other cultivation and asking calls on your to-do list.The day breaks, and the shadows flee away. 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 phút

  4. 30 THG 3

    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 phút

  5. 23 THG 3

    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 phút

  6. 16 THG 3

    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 phút

  7. 9 THG 3

    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 phút

  8. 2 THG 3

    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 phút
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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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  • Nhà sáng tạo
    Small Town Capital Campaigns
  • Năm hoạt động
    2023 - 2026
  • Tập
    147
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    © 2026 Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns
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    Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns