Claim OwnershipReflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns
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© 2026 Reflections on Generosity for 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.
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“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...
"...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.&nbs...
"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 thi...
"...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, sufficien...
"Urgency triggers a distinctive neurobiological state. In fundraising terms, this means an urgent appeal can literally put a donors brain in “alert mode” prioritizing rapid action over careful deliberation." I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection question: How will you maintain a sense of urgent and hopeful intentionality while being strategic during a sudden crisis?Reflection on quote: This is the last installment i...
"Volunteering can satisfy psychological needs: the need to belong to a community, to see one’s values an action or to develop skills and purpose." I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection question: How are you showing gratitude to your campaign volunteers? Reflection on quote: We are exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a...
"...Donors don’t just invest their money, they invest their trust. Admitting uncertainty or limitations can actually boost credibility...." I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection question: How are you consistently updating donors, even when the capital campaign or construction is facing challenges?Reflection on quote: We are continuing exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human a...
"...If a donor donates regularly – even small amounts –they gather evidence from their own behavior that “I am a generous person.” Once someone embraces a donor identity, they naturally want to act consistently with it..." I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection questions: When you are talking with long-term donors, are you entering into conversations of curiosity to find out why they give?Are you aligning your capita...
As you know, this podcast highlights the transformative beauty of generosity. I will be taking a brief break until January, and in the meantime, I encourage you to reflect on the role of generosity within your own holiday traditions. As I consider the myriad of holidays during this season, I am reminded of the universal themes of generosity and connection that they all share. Yet, in the flurry of holiday preparations, it's easy to overlook the simple but profound gift of giving that is at t...
"... In light of the science, inviting someone to give is really inviting them to tap into these biologically rooted joys of generosity..." I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection questions: What stories are you telling that lead into the tours of the construction or the displays of the architectural renderings? Are you fully embracing the concept of generosity as a deeply rooted biological need for being human?Refle...
This is a "re-air," because during economic uncertainty it's important that the leader continues to communicate consistently during this year-end giving season. "...If you don’t know what harbour you sail for, no wind is favourable. Because we live by chance, chance necessarily has great power over our lives..." In our series on uncertainty during small town capital campaigns, This week, I’m reading from Seneca’s Letter 71, first published in 65 AD. Reflection questions: How trusted is the Ex...
This is a "re-air," since economic uncertainty continues this year-end giving season. "...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs..." This week, I am reflecting a quote from George Eliot’s Middlemarch, published in 1871 to ask the question, "will donor give during uncertainty?" Reflection Questions...
"...And expanding one's horizons in such ways, being exposed to new information and new possibilities in life, tends to enhance human well-being..." This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. Reflection questions: What unique stories can your program staff share about the necessity of the capital campaign?How can you best include their stories in the campaign? Reflections on quote: At the Nonprofit Storytelling Confere...
"...Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!.." This week, I’m reading from Give, an essay from Anne Frank, published in 1959. Reflection questions: Pick a task on your to-do list this week and imagine others in the campaign doing the same task. What impact does your combined efforts have on the campaign? Where are you lacking in courage? To whom can you turn in our organization or the campaign committee to...
"...More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind..." This week, I’m reflecting on the words of Cicero as weaved through several of his works, published between 89 BC and 43 BC. Reflection questions: Where you are stuck in indecision and procrastination? How can you bring confidence, hope, or trust in a good outcome to the capital campaign?Reflection on quote: Although we have seen a greater vision for generosity in the c...
"...No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted...." For some ancient wisdom about donors who don’t give, this week, I’m reading a story from Aesop’s Fables, titled the Lion and the Mouse as told sometime between 620 and 564 BC. Reflection question: What kindness can you give to a donor who have previously said no to the capital project? Reflection on quote: Last week, we discussed building communities of donors during the campaign. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking tha...
..."It is the most beautiful, the most noble side of neighbourly love, wherein the word has fully become deed...." This week, I’m sharing quotes from The Untapped Power of Jewish Fellowships and Forgotten Approaches to Care to connect the practice of hevrot to our work in fundraising. Reflection questions: How are you "thinking in relationship" to avoid depersonalizing our donors to goals or metrics?How are you bringing groups of donors together during the capital campaign to create communiti...
"All that happens, happens right: you will find it so if you observe narrowly..." This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD. Reflection questions: When you think about a failure during the campaign, how are you observing narrowly for the right things that came out of it? How are you using failures to spark deeper conversations with donors? Reflection on quote: In working with capital campaigns, it’s not surprising that I’m well-acquainted wit...
"Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs." This week, I’m reading from the Analects by Confucius, written sometime between 551 and 479 BC. Reflection questions: Is there any hesitancy among your leaders about giving first and publicly to your campaign? What are ways you can address that hesitancy?Are you willing to have the necessary conversation to ask a leader to give a gift meaningful to them or leave the Board or campaign committee for the success of the ...
"...In the struggle for existence, it is only on those who hang on for ten minutes after all is hopeless, that hope begins to dawn..." This week, I am reading selected quotes on hope from GK Chesterton. Reflection question: Where do you need to lean into the desperate, forlorn hope this week and keep moving forward? Reflection on quote: Last week, we discussed the first of two opposite errors in our campaign messaging that we can fall into. The first error is blaming others and encoura...
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