"...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 When was the last time you did a temperature check with your donors? Asked them how t...
Over the past two years, we've begun each week together with a meaningful reflection on the beautiful space where generosity occurs, paired with coaching questions designed to ground you for the week ahead. Starting next week, this podcast will take on a slightly different focus. Each reflection will center on cultivating a generosity mindset specifically for capital campaigns, complete with coaching questions to ground you for the week ahead in your capital campaign planning and work. Here...
"...had bequeath to his executors for charitable purposes his personal clothing and nought else..." This week I am re-reading "The Ethics of giving: The Ratio of Generosity to Income" by "a Drafter of Many Appeals" from the Hospital Magazine, published in 1915. Reflection question: When will you take the time to find the humor in our fundraising work through humorous videos or cartoons focused on fundraising or, maybe, have conversation with a colleague about their funniest moments in ...
"...It is not the critic who counts..." This week, I am sharing a musical version of the Man in the Arena from Citizenship in a Republic, a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 and with original music written and performed by Deidre Corson. Reflection questions: Imagine with the ending of your current campaign will look like. What joy will you feel? How can you encourage the donors and volunteers who are with you in the arena that the horizon of joy is coming?Reflection on...
"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 questions: When you approach potential donors this week, are you apologizing for an interruption or celebrating an invitation to experience joy? How might your follow-up conversations change if you viewed them as helping donors complete their joy cycle...
"...It is only the spirit of giving that counts, and the very poor give without any self-consciousness..." This week, I’m reading from Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller, published in 1909. Reflection question: Do you celebrate and promote the generosity of Board members, especially those at the lowest income levels? Reflection on quote: I had a conversation with a colleague on whether the requirement to give to prevents lower income Board members from serving....
"...O let us live in joy, although having nothing! In joy let us live like spirits of light!.." This week, I’m reading a quote from the Dhammapada, written down in the 1st century BC. Reflection questions: First, when was the last time you stepped back to view the greater horizon of your mission? Maybe it's time to do that again—to reconnect with the love, health, peace, and joy of what you get to fundraise for. Second, think about your donors. Who are the people you could share that j...
"...We must not consider how great presents are, but in what spirit they are given..." This week, I am reading a story and quote from On Benefits by Seneca the Younger, published in 59 AD. Reflection questions: Consider the volunteers you interact with, how are you going beyond thanking them for their time and instead honoring the gift of their own self? How are we giving them an opportunity to grow and restore themselves into better versions of themselves?Reflection on quote: In the nonpr...
"...We frequently make our gifts conditional on the giving of others, not because we wish to force people to do their duty, but because we wish in this way to root the institution in the affections of as many people as possible who, as contributors, become personally concerned, and thereafter may be counted on to give to the institution their watchful interest and coöperation...." This week, I’m reading from Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller, published in 1909. Ref...
"...When we have decided to accept, let us accept with cheerfulness, showing pleasure, and letting the giver see it, so that he or she may at once receive some return for their goodness..." This week, I am reading a quote from On Benefits by Seneca the Younger, published in 59 AD. Seneca uses the word “benefit” to denote an act of charity. Reflection question: Think back to the last few donations you’ve received. How have you received them? With lukewarmness, distraction, pr...
"...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: If you are writing a fundraising appeal for an urgent need, step back and ask yourself these two questions. What will the donor feel when they read or hear your appeal? Does the appeal honor the subject’s dignity or, if a place or thing, the...
"...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 have failed in your work recently, how are you observing narrowly for the right things that came out of it? Are you seeking perfection or goodness in your fundraising activities? Reflection on the quote: In working with over 100 clients, it’s not surprising that I’m well-acquainted wi...
..."See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. For in truth it is life that gives unto life—while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness...." This week, I’m reading on this poem On Giving by Khalil Gibran from The Prophet, published in 1923. Reflection question: Are you an instrument of giving? Reflection on quote: What is the first action that every fund development professional should do upon taking a job? Giv...
"...Acknowledging that one does not know is a humble kind of ignorance, one that is, in fact, filled often with the joy of discovery and wonder at what is discovered..." This week, I’m reading a quote from Imposed Ignorance and Humble Ignorance - Two Worldviews by Paul Heltne, published in 2008. Reflection Questions: Are we building structures and processes in our work that demand certainty or are we building those structures and processes to encourage discovery and wonder? Are we willin...
"...We cannot attempt to recount here the long story of all good causes which came to be recognized only after lonely pioneers had devoted their lives and fortunes to arousing the public conscience, of their long campaigns until at last they gained support..." This week, I’m reflecting on this quote by Friedrich Hayek from The Constitution of Liberty, published in 1960. Reflection questions: As you consider this quote, are there donors that come to mind? Donors who will devote the...
"...Two different roads are presented to us, equally leading to the attainment of this so much desired object; the one, by the study of wisdom and the practice of virtue; the other, by the acquisition of wealth and greatness..." This week, I’m reflecting on a quote by Adam Smith from The Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. Reflection question: As we show generosity to wealthier donors, are we also cultivating a character of humble modesty and equitable justice?Reflection on quote: ...
"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” This week, I’m reflecting on the words of Henry Drummond from The Greatest Thing in the World, published in 1874. Reflection question: How are we showing the generous love found in service, courtesy, and giving this week?Reflection on quote: How we treat those we serve...
"...Donor prospects are not objects; they are subjects, and like all of us, they want to contribute to something meaningful and life-giving and successful. Like us, they too search for meaning, have fears and hopes, desires and regrets, and beliefs that should be acknowledged and reverenced..." In honor of the 100th episode, this week, I am re-reading two quotes from the first episode from Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service. Kerry Alys Robinson. 20...
"...Humble ignorance can imagine that it might be wrong and hopes that its community will correct it early enough to avoid harm. It can marvel at what it sees that it cannot hope to understand or control...." This week, I’m reading a quote from Imposed Ignorance and Humble Ignorance - Two Worldviews by Paul Heltne, published in 2008. Reflection Questions: Are we building structures and processes in our work that demand certainty or are we building those structures and processes to en...
"...Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait." This week, I'm reflecting on a poem, A Psalm of Life, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1838. Reflection questions: How does thinking of your donors as partners as well change your perspective?If you are in the middle of a fundraising campaign, when was the last time you gave an update to your donors, to your partners...