Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns – Details, episodes & analysis

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 the heart of each celebration.

As we move through this season, I invite you to reflect on this question:

How will you show generosity to yourself during this busy season, so you can pour from a full cup of love and kindness to others?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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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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"... 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?

Reflections on the quote:

Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a book recently released by my friend and colleague Cherian Koshy.  

As we pull out the donor packet with architectural renderings and details about the construction and renovations to show a potential capital campaign donor, it is vital that we don’t forget the role of empathy.  Beautiful drawings of the new building or renovation won’t spark giving.  As Cherian wrote, empathy is the bridge to giving.  A story of a beneficiary walking into that building to receive the services they desperately need. A story of a program staff having the space finally to creatively overcome the challenges their nonprofit seeks to solve. A story of a place where the public to be immersed in goodness, wonder, and beauty.  These stories of other humans are the sparks that bridge a donor’s understanding to the act of giving to capital campaigns in our small towns.  In addition, it is through these stories and one-on-one conversations that we see the donor for their hopes, fears, and comfort.  When we see the donor and the pleasure and bonding that giving brings, we can present the case for support as an opportunity for the donor to experience the deep roots of joy.

Here's how to purchase Neurogiving from Wiley or Amazon.

Quote used by permission.

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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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"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 campaign?

Reflection on quote:

As we consider capital campaigns during times of uncertainty, what are ways to increase trust and giving within the community?  The first step is for the leaders of the nonprofit and the campaign to give first and be public about their giving.  This is not a new principle; instead it comes from ancient wisdom. 

Over twenty-five hundred years later, this wisdom still holds true. When your Executive Director, board members and campaign leaders make their gifts first and let the community know about it, something powerful happens. They're sending a signal that goes way beyond the donation.

They're showing confidence despite uncertainty. Think about it. There's never a perfect moment to launch a campaign. But when your leaders step forward with their own money, they're saying, "We believe in this. We believe in it enough to invest our own money, right now, even when we can't predict everything that's coming." That kind of confidence is contagious.

Board members and campaign volunteers are also demonstrating they're willing to put their own money at risk. This isn't someone else's problem to solve. They're not asking others to do something they're unwilling to do themselves. We notice this in small towns. Who talks a good talk but doesn't back it up? Versus, who leads despite the risk?

Those donations signal a commitment to work hard no matter the obstacles that will inevitably come. For example, when the Executive Director makes a significant gift early in the campaign, they've just told everyone, "I'm all in. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure we reach this goal." Because nobody wants to see their own investment fail.

The second part of this ancient wisdom flows from the first: "be laborious in their affairs." Leadership giving only works when it's connected to genuine care for community needs. Your campaign leaders need to be present and engaged. They need to show up, have conversations, listen to concerns, and demonstrate through their actions that this campaign matters because the community matters.
So, during times of uncertainty, don’t skip this first step. Don't ask others to give first. Start with your Executive Director, your board, your staff leadership, your campaign committee. Ask them to give at levels that are meaningful for them, and then share those stories publicly. Let your community see the example. Let them feel the confidence. Let them know that their leaders are going first, working hard, and deeply connected to the needs you're trying to meet.

Because when you do, you're not just raising money. You're building trust during uncertainty.

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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"...Remove gift and gratitude from human society, and what remains is not a community but a "lonely crowd," in the famous words of the sociologist David Riesman..."

This week, I am reading various quotes from Being Generous by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, published in 2009.

Reflection questions:

• Have you ever considered if some of the donors to your missions are giving because of that idea of community and dependency?  Seeking to acknowledge that we are interdependent on each other?

• What risks will you take this week in building relationships with donors?

To purchase this book:  Being Generosity by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch.   To receive a 30% discount with free shipping, use code: RUSA30.

Permissions granted by Templeton Press 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.

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As you know, this podcast focuses on the beautiful spaces of generosity. I will be taking a break until January 5.  Instead of reading a quote this week, I encourage you to explore the roots of generosity within your own holiday traditions. As I reflect on St. Nicholas Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Christkind, Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day and so many of the other holidays, I am struck by the universal elements of generosity and relationships.  Yet, we can get so busy in planning for these holidays that we miss the simple truths that generosity brings to each of these holidays.  So, let’s reflect on one question until January 5:

• In the midst of the busyness, how will you be generous to yourself so that you can give out of the cup of generosity to others?   

Until January 5.

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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"...One would give generous alms if you had the eyes to see the beauty of a cupped receiving hand..."

This week, I am reading various quotes from the writings of Goethe who lived in present-day Germany from 1749 to 1832.

Reflection questions:

• What are you carrying in your heart this week: generosity, abundance, or scarcity?

• When will you take time this week to jot down a reflection on the beauty of the mission you serve?

To explore more: the writings of Goethe

These quotes have entered the public domain.

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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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"...our first moral criticisms are exercised upon the characters and conduct of other people; and we are all very forward to observe how each of these affects us..."

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

Reflection question:

In your network of influence, perhaps in your family or friends, how are you sharing the joy of giving as a model to the younger generation?

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

Copyright expired. 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.

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"... just as those tools which are kept in use, and are daily touched by the hand, are never in danger of growing rusty, while those which are not brought before our eyes, and lie as if superfluous, not being required for common use, collect dirt by the mere lapse of time..."

This week, I am reading a quote from On Benefits by Seneca the Younger, published in 59 AD.

Reflection Questions:

• When will you pause this week to remember the donors from yesterday or last week or even last year?

• How can you structure your days to spend time each day in grateful remembrance? 

To read this writing: On Benefits by Seneca the Younger

This work has entered the public domain.

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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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"... by complaining I shall not make myself deserve to receive more, but shall become unworthy of what I have received...."

This week, I am reading a quote from On Benefits by Seneca the Younger, published in 59 AD.


Reflection Questions:

• Have we noticed signs of self-esteem, greed or jealousy slipping into our thinking when we consider our donors or donors to other organizations?

• What are ways you can lean into gratitude this week?
  
  

To read this writing: On Benefits by Seneca the Younger

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.

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"...the moral challenge of generosity can also push people to confront and overcome their emotional, existential fears about insufficiency, their psychological perceptions of scarcity as a mode of life that governs their world..."

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

Reflection questions:

• If you work in an organization with a culture of insecurity and scarcity, what are ways you fortify a culture of abundance in yourself and that which you have direct control over?

• If one of your community partners is stuck in a culture of insecurity and scarcity, how can you create boundaries so that culture doesn’t permeate the culture of the nonprofit you serve?  And, how can you model the culture of abundance in your organization to your 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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