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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"... 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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..." It is in itself an expression of gratitude to speak of one's self as overwhelmed by kindness."

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


Reflection Question:

• No matter the donor or the donor’s motivation, how are you and I receiving gifts? What is the attitude of our hearts?

To read this writing: On Benefits by Seneca the Younger

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"... You see how the mind even in the straitest circumstances finds the means of generosity."

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 restoring them to themselves; that is, sharing with them the greater impact the gift of their time and person has in the mission together we serve?

To read this writing: On Benefits by Seneca the Younger

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"When conventional economic and marketing assumptions shape and undergird the work of charitable fundraising, whether for Christian organizations or others, 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 by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger. 2000 edition.

Reflection questions:

• Is there a donor to whom you have tried to offer an exchange of a tangible items and they seemed not to want it?  How can you shift to a mindset of relationship in your conversations with that donor?

• How are you nurturing relationships with donors that are excited to see the world-changing and life-giving power of their donations?

To purchase this book:  Growing Givers’ Hearts by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger.

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Raising major funds in a small town can feel overwhelming—especially when your team of staff and volunteers is stretched thin and capital campaign experience is hard to find.

Welcome to Reflections on Generosity, where each week brings you a five-minute reflection centered on cultivating the generosity mindset essential for capital campaign success. You'll get coaching questions to ground you in your campaign work, drawing from timeless wisdom and practical insight.

Here's the beautiful truth: the principles that make capital campaigns succeed work for all fundraising. This mindset applies whether you're planning a campaign or simply want to strengthen your fundraising.

Join me each Monday for Reflections on Generosity. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and visit ServingNonprofits.com to explore small town capital campaign coaching.

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

Reflection questions: 

• How are we continuing to give opportunities for donors to be generous to the mission we serve as they are also giving to others because of world events?

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.

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"Once there was a tree..."

This week, I’m reading The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, published in 1964.

Reflection questions: 

• As fundraisers, when are we the tree and when are we the boy?

• How are we sitting down and resting with our giving partners?

To purchase this book: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

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"... 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:

• When was there a time when you were overwhelmed with the generosity of others because their generosity to you was given with such a spirit of joy that you received the generosity with pleasure?

• Is there an area of your fundraising work that you would like to bring in that same spirit of joy?  How will you do so this week?

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"...There is no mode of disposing of surplus wealth creditable to thoughtful and earnest men [and women] into whose hands it flows save by using it year by year for the general good..."

This week, I’m reading quotes from the Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie, published in 1889.

Reflection questions:

• When you consider your financial means, are you paying attention to how you are using your surplus above moderate wants?

• No matter your age, have you decided how you will leave your wealth?

To read this writing: Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie

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"... Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success..."

This week, I am reading quotes from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu from his various works.

Reflection questions:

• Are you watering your fund development goals with worry and desperation?  Or, are you watering them with kindness and optimism?

• How are you embracing the saying, “do your work, and then step back. The only path to serenity”?

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"Living generously. . . also often provides new learning experiences and exposure to sides of life and society that would have otherwise remained unknown."

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

Reflection questions: 

• How are we inviting donors, especially new donors, to encounter our missions and feel that sense of belonging?

• How are we being both patient and intentional about helping donors expand their horizons and understand our missions? 

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.

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"This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition... is... the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments. That wealth and greatness are often regarded with the respect and admiration which are due only to wisdom and virtue; and that the contempt, of which vice and folly are the only proper objects, is often most unjustly bestowed upon poverty and weakness, has been the complaint of moralists in all ages..."

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

Reflection question:

How are you reminding yourself, as you lift up the neglected and the vulnerable, that you are taking the road of character of wisdom, virtue, and justice?

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

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"...When we don’t give the opportunity - especially to someone who is new to the journey of generosity, we encouraging the donor to throw a stone in the hole and cover it up.  Whereas, instead, we could let the donor make use of the treasure for good in our communities..."

This week, I’m reading a story from Aesop’s Fable, titled the Miser.

Reflection Question:

Do you struggle with the fear of offending someone as it relates to fundraising? What would it take to shift to a mindset of letting the donor give their treasure for good? 


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".... Help your brother’s boat across and your own boat will reach the shore..."

This week, I’m reading a quotes from three different cultures to help us reflect on our mentality of scarcity.

Reflection questions:

• What ways can you cultivate joy for other nonprofits when they receive generous donations?

• When you know that a potential donor has a passion for a different cause, how will you encourage them to be generous to that different cause?  To bless them and release them to be generous to a different organization?

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"...the paradox of generosity also seems to entail this relevant truth: generosity cannot be faked in order to achieve some other, more valued, self-serving end. Generosity itself needs to be desired..."

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

Reflection questions: 

• Are any of our fundraising activities and messaging encouraging self-interested, fake generosity?  If so, how can we tweak them to reflect authentic generosity?

• How can we share the stories of genuine generosity with our 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.

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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 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 encouraging rage giving.  The second is to create desperate pleas for emergency giving with the implicit threat that the capital campaign project will fail without the donations.  This week, let’s reflect on the weaknesses with desperate pleas during a capital campaign.  

I typically counsel my capital campaign clients that they get one shot at giving a desperate plea in a small town and they need to use it wisely. Why? As GK Chesterton stated, fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.  But, if dragons keep getting resurrected, and resurrected, and resurrected, then children cease to believe that dragons can be killed. Repeated desperate pleas sap hope from the community.  Instead, when we are facing obstacles, it is better for us to lean into hope.  It’s not the hope of bright prospects.  It’s the hope of desperate circumstances.  It’s the hope that holds on for 10 minutes more.  The hope that keeps calling potential donors with the vision of impact the project will have. The hope that keeps asking the community to partner together to finish the project.  The hope that keeps moving forward.  

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I was asking others to be generous - even sacrificially generous, yet I had never stopped to reflect on my own generosity. 

This week, I’m reading a quote from the Jewish wisdom on generosity from Proverbs 11.

Reflection questions:

• If you were to receive an unexpectedly large financial windfall to you personally, how much would you spend, save, and give?

• How are you leading this week in your daily life with the intention of generosity in your own life?

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"...actually living generously results from an existential confrontation with what is ultimately humanly valuable and important in life and the world."

I’m reading a quote from the Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. 

Reflection question:

• How are we giving space and the opportunities for the donor to reflect and discuss what is humanly valuable and important to life and the world as it relates to the cause we are asking them to join?

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.

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"Giving brings happiness in every state of its expression..."

This week, I’m reading 3 quotes from the Buddha. 

Reflection questions:

• If you have a task of asking a donor for a gift this week, what is your mindset going into the ask?  A necessary task?  Or, a joyous opportunity for the donor to join in the power of giving?

• If you have a task of stewarding a donor this week, what is your mindset?  Is something to get off of your to-do list?  Or, do you see the task as planting a seed filled with joy for the donor to consider a life of service and compassion?

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"...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 questions: 

• As you reflect on some of the donors to the organization you serve, how have you seen a transformation from scarcity to abundance?

• What about you and I? Are we seeing that transformation from scarcity to abundance in our lives?

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.

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"Books which it would have been impossible for me to obtain elsewhere were, by his wise generosity, placed within my reach; and to him I owe a taste for literature which I would not exchange for all the millions that were ever amassed by man..."

This week, I’m quoting a story from the Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. Published in 1920.

Reflection questions:

• When was the last time we asked our most committed donors about their story for giving to the cause we serve?

• When your fundraising tasks seem overwhelming, imagine what impact today’s generosity by donors and volunteers will have on the future.

To read this book: Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie

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"An association is an educated and powerful body of citizens which cannot be twisted to any person's will or quietly trodden down, and by defending its private interests against the encroachments of power, it saves the common liberties....."

This week, I’m reading selected quotes from Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville. Published in 1835.

Note: his use of the word association is our current word for nonprofit.

Reflection questions:

• Many individuals with the means to donate experience giving as a transaction. How will you bring the mindset that you are giving back to the donor the tremendous value of the knowledge of the common good your mission to bringing to the community?

• How will you consider the ways in which generosity to the cause you serve promotes democracy and saves common liberties?

To read this book: Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville.

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"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:

• When was the last time you stepped back to view the greater horizon of the mission you serve?  Is it time to step back again and live in the love, health, peace, and joy to see what you get to fundraise for?

• Think now of donors, who are the donors that you can share that joy of living in the greater horizon of the mission? Not to cultivate, ask, or steward, but to simply have a conversation of joy with them.  Who are the donors coming to mind now?

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"Helping a person in need is good in itself.  But the degree of goodness is hugely affected by the attitude with which it is done...."

This week, I’m reading a quote from John Chrysostom from the 400 A.D.s.

Reflection questions:

• When was there a time when you were overwhelmed with the generosity of others because their generosity to you was given with such a spirit of joy that you received the generosity with pleasure?

• Is there an area of your fundraising work that you would like to bring in that same spirit of joy?  How will you do so this week?

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"They would all therefore find themselves helpless if they did not learn to help each other voluntarily.  With associations, feelings and ideas are renewed, the heart enlarged, and the understanding developed only by the reciprocal action of people one upon another...."

This week, I’m reading selected quotes from Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville. Published in 1835.

Note: his use of the word association is our current word for nonprofit.

Reflection questions:

• How are we sharing the vision of the causes we serve?  In sharing our visions, are we welcoming our communities to unite with us and have their hearts enlarged?

• How are we showing donors the collective impact we have together by combining our efforts?

To read this book: Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville.

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"These are among the poorest and most destitute people you will ever meet. Never take away the right of another person to be generous....”

This week, I’m reading a story from Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service by Kerry Alys Robinson. 2014 edition.

Reflection question:

• While we never want our clients to feel as if they owe the nonprofit for the services they receive, how are we giving our clients and, especially former clients, the opportunity to be generous?

To purchase this book:  Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service by Kerry Alys Robinson

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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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"...Hatred of evil should constrain you to right, not fear. When her anger is kindled by injustice, goodness changes her form...."

This week, I’m reading from the Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave, written during the 1st century BC. 

Reflection question:

• If you are experiencing a funding obstacle, how are you creating a positive message for your potential campaign donors?
  
  

Reflection on quote:

During times of uncertainty, there are two opposite errors in our campaign messaging that we can fall into.  We start blaming others and encourage rage giving to our capital campaign.  Or, we create desperate pleas for emergency giving with the implicit threat that project will fail with the donations.  This week, I will be reflecting on weaknesses with rage giving and, next week, with emergency giving.  So, let’s reflect on rage giving. My favorite cartoon is Calvin and Hobbes.  On July 7, 1995, the cartoonist Bill Watterson published a particularly apt description of a trend in fundraising.  While I encourage you to view the cartoon and I have placed the link in the show notes, let me read the captions. Calvin states, “I’m writing a fund-raising letter.  The secret to getting donations is to depict everyone who disagrees with you as the enemy.  Then you explain how they’re systemically working to destroy everything you hold dear.  It’s a war of values! Rational discussion is hopeless!  Compromise is unthinkable! Our only help is well-funded antagonism to keep up the fight.  Hobbes replies. How cynically unconstructive.  Calvin responds, Enmity sells.”  Enmity in fundraising does sell.  The short-term gains by creating enemies and fear are measurable, but long-term is very unprofitable as some wisdom from the past shows us. 

We can get angry when a key grant or donation is cancelled mid-construction without any cause or notice.  We can get angry at the reason for the funding to be cancelled, especially when it is seemingly for an inhumane or nefarious purpose.  Yet, there can be some advantage and with patience that advantage will reveal its hidden riches.  The advantage could be greater community support to fill the gap.  So, as we message through a funding loss, it’s important to shift any enmity in our messaging to positive outcome that our donor base can embrace.  Although rage giving result in short-term increases in donations, enmity excludes potential donors; whereas, goodness in our messaging can expand the donor base.  With this expanded donor base, we see long-term sustainability in ongoing giving after the capital campaign is over.

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

"... donors see the potentially world-changing and life-giving power that may be present in or working through the goodness of the donors' hearts and souls; if only someone would acknowledge it, call it forth, and nurture it!...”

This week, I am reading a quote from Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger. 2000 edition.

Reflection questions:

• Where are there areas that we are failing to recognize the world-changing and life-giving power that resides in the donors’ hearts and souls?

• How are you and I giving space for donors  to share their desire to be world changing and life giving?

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

"Donors, grantees, and beneficiaries need each other to bring something beautiful and life-giving to fruition. It is a collaboration borne of deep desire to find meaning, to be a blessing, to be part of something successful and consequential, and to heal the sorrows of life....”

This week I am reading two quotes from Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service. Kerry Alys Robinson. 2014.

The quote begins. “What we realized was that we were unwittingly viewing donors as objects to try to get as much money from as quickly and painlessly as possible, rather than as subjects in their own right. 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.”

“When we enter into sacred discussion with donors or grantees or beneficiaries of a ministry, vulnerability is established. Donors, grantees, and beneficiaries need each other to bring something beautiful and life-giving to fruition. It is a collaboration borne of deep desire to find meaning, to be a blessing, to be part of something successful and consequential, and to heal the sorrows of life.” 

End quote.

Let’s reflect on these questions this week:


In thinking about those who support our missions, especially those areas that deal with human tragedies, How are we helping to heal the sorrows of life for, through, and with our donors?

How do we give space for donors to redeem their tragedies through generosity?

To purchase this book:  Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service.

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

"...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 Executive Director or CEO among your donors and the community?
• Is the vision for the capital campaign being communicated clearly, consistently, and with courage amidst uncertainties?

Reflection on the quote:

Continuing with the theme of economic or societal uncertainty during a small town capital campaign, I’ve been reflecting on the role of the Executive Director or CEO.  While the trust of Board and the Campaign Chair matters, it’s the Executive Director that matters most in terms of the success of a capital campaign. 

When an Executive Director is trusted in the community, the community is more open to hearing the vision. Then the vision must be communicated clearly, consistently, and with courage.  The community has to know which harbor the nonprofit is directing the community to fund under the leadership of that Executive Director. Otherwise, trivial circumstances and chance events will blow the capital campaign off course. However, when there is trust and a clear vision from the leader, the vision becomes steeped into the community and the community embraces the vision and generosity towards that vision despite uncertainty.

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

"...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 they are feeling in the uncertainty?  Asked them how they are keeping the darkness at bay? And, just listen.
• Then consider, will your vision inspire donors to give to a capital campaign?
  
  

Reflection for Capital Campaigns

One common question I receive is “is this the right time for a campaign because of … the fill-in-the-blank economic or societal uncertainty?”  Will donors give?

During uncertain times, the ordinary people who are our donors often feel overwhelmed.  When there is increased division, enmity, and strife, it’s easy to feel powerless and to focus inward. We begin to feel as though nothing will change and, for some, this can lead to a decrease in their giving. 

And, yet, neuroscience has proven that the act of giving boosts a donor’s mood and their feelings of agency.  When we give donors a concrete way that they can help their community, they no longer feel as powerless.  Their donations become the small acts of kindness and love that they can do to push back against the enmity.  Through giving, we empower them to partner with us to keep the uncertainty in check.  We empower them to grow the good in each of our communities through these unhistoric acts.  

A well-planned capital campaign can cast a vision that becomes a visible reminder of the good they can do in the community.  

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

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's what I want you to also know: the principles that drive successful capital campaigns apply to all fundraising work. The generosity mindset essential for capital campaigns is the exact same mindset needed for flourishing in any fundraising endeavor—regardless of the size of your campaign or activities.

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

"...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 this profession?

Reflection on the quote:

As we enter into fall and preparing for year-end giving season, I thought that I would re-share a bit of humor from a fundraising colleague who toiled in our profession over a hundred years ago.  This professional was obviously the chief writer of many year-end fundraising appeal. 

To the drafter of many appeals.  We still hear you.  There are days when we too want to throw up our hands and ask why.  Why did they only donate used clothing as this donor did?  Or the sailboat that is not water worthy?  Do they not know that generosity should not cost the nonprofit?  And, yet, in the midst of the weird moments of fundraising, we also see the sacrificial donors who wish to join us in the work of our missions and wish that they could give more.

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

"...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 the quote:

This evening, I have the joy of celebrating the grand opening of a music school.  The Executive Director of this music school had reached out to me for a one-time coaching call during a challenging season of the capital campaign. A few months later, after I released a podcast with this quote, this Executive Director sent me a musical version of the Man in the Arena.

In the middle of any challenging campaign, it can seem like the sweat, blood, and failures are unending.  Like this Executive Director who continued to be in the arena, fund development is making effort after effort without knowing how each effort will turn out. Yet, by pressing to the end, there is a celebration when we have invited donors and volunteers into the arena to strive with us valiantly and to dare greatly. 

The Man in the Arena has entered the public domain.

Musical version was written with original music and performed by Deidre Corson and used by permission.

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

"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 rather than simply maintaining relationships?

Reflection on quote:

There's something beautiful about discovering that ancient wisdom and modern science keep arriving at the same truths. 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.

These quotes show something we in the nonprofit world often forget—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 wasn't just sentiment—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 mess up. We work so hard to capture that first moment—getting someone to say yes—then we disappear into our urgent program work. 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 impact, when we help donors remember their generosity—we're not just being polite. We're completing their joy cycle. We're helping them access that third happiness that makes them want to give again.
So stop apologizing for fundraising. Start celebrating it. You're not asking for money—you're offering transformation. For your community, and for every generous heart who joins you.

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

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 Executive Director or CEO among your donors and the community?
• Is the vision for the capital campaign being communicated clearly, consistently, and with courage amidst uncertainties?

Reflection on the quote:

Continuing with the theme of economic or societal uncertainty during a small town capital campaign, I’ve been reflecting on the role of the Executive Director or CEO.  While the trust of Board and the Campaign Chair matters, it’s the Executive Director that matters most in terms of the success of a capital campaign. 

When an Executive Director is trusted in the community, the community is more open to hearing the vision. Then the vision must be communicated clearly, consistently, and with courage.  The community has to know which harbor the nonprofit is directing the community to fund under the leadership of that Executive Director. Otherwise, trivial circumstances and chance events will blow the capital campaign off course. However, when there is trust and a clear vision from the leader, the vision becomes steeped into the community and the community embraces the vision and generosity towards that vision despite uncertainty.

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

"...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. This is a bit of a soapbox for me and I have some strong feelings. When we assume that lower income Board members can’t give, we are making an assumption that has been easily contradicted for generations.

When we assume that a lower income Board member can’t give and therefore don’t allow them to participate in a Board giving requirement, we are making the decision for the Board member.  We are removing agency from that Board member.  We are asking for their opinions, advice, and expertise as a Board member and at the same time, we in essence don’t believe they have the ability to make giving decisions.  Eek.  That smacks of privilege. Professionally and personally, I believe and wisdom from ages past shows us that the poor can teach us the true spirit of generosity. Lower income Board members have the right to choose whether their passion for the cause extends to giving. Spoiler alert.  If they are giving their time, they will give their money as well.  In a time of abundance and luxuries among most Board members, the lower income Board members can model generosity and the importance of obligations to others on the Board.  

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

"...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 joy with—not to cultivate, ask, or steward them, but simply to have a conversation filled with genuine excitement about your mission? Who's coming to mind right now?

Reflection on quote:

I read a reflection on generosity from various world religions and science.  One insight comes from Buddhism in how we show up in the spaces where we work.

Working with nonprofits across every sector imaginable—from arts and culture to human services, conservation to animal welfare—never gets old. My reaction is always the same: "You get to do what and raise money for that? Your mission is incredible!" When people ask what I do for work, I find myself talking about the amazing missions I get to support rather than fundraising tactics or strategies.
Here's what I've noticed: we get so laser-focused on the next campaign deadline or goal that we lose sight of the bigger picture. That tunnel vision weighs us down and leads straight to burnout. But when we step back and look at the greater horizon of our work, something shifts. We remember that we're bringing love, health, peace, and joy to our communities.

Think about it—you're living out love through arts, culture, or historic preservation. You're creating health for clients, communities, and people in your care. You're building peace for those in conflict or helping people find safety. And you're cultivating joy through the abundance of generosity, giving donors the chance to experience that same deep satisfaction.

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

"...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 nonprofit world, we frequently use some form of the saying, Work, Wisdom, and Wealth, to refer to the various forms of generosity. With that first gift, work, we are seeing a decline in volunteerism.  So, let’s consider how to care for the generosity of time.  

From Seneca’s perspective, time is a gift of one’s self and of great price. In fundraising, we discuss the donor’s journey and how we are stewarding them. What is the donor journey for volunteers?  We have an opportunity to recognize these volunteers as some of our greatest donors.  We give them the circumstances to expand their sense of belonging, their community, and their knowledge. The circumstances for self growth. Finally, as our volunteers show up with joy, we can allow that attitude to permeate our organization’s culture.

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

"...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.

Reflection questions:

• Who are the donors in your donor database that would likely catch the vision of leveraging additional generosity through their matching or challenge gift?

• What is your plan for growing the affections and the engagement of the donors who respond to that matching gift challenge? 

Reflection on quote:

Christmas in July is a marketing gimmick. However, preparing for our year-end campaign in July and August is not.  One aspect of year-end campaign planning is matching or challenge gifts. While often seen as a recent phenomenon in fundraising, it actually has a long history.  

Rooting the nonprofits we serve in the affections of as many people as possible who, as contributors, become personally concerned in the cause is the primary goal of matching or challenging gifts.  It’s not about the amount or number of donations.  It’s an opportunity to gain more donors and engage current donors more deeply in the causes they care about.  Because of this, when we ask for matching or challenge gifts, we can confidently ask the donor to help leverage additional generosity through their matching or challenge gift.  We can confidently ask the donor to grow the affections of other potential and current donors.  

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

"...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, pride, or true expressions of gratitude?

Reflection on quote:

When a donor makes a gift to our organizations, they're not just writing a check. They're extending trust, hope, and belief in our missions. Yet too often, our lukewarm responses leave them wondering if their gift even mattered. Seneca understood something profound: how you receive that first donation determines whether there will be second and another. Gracious, public gratitude creates a positive cycle where donors experience immediate joy from seeing their impact, naturally leading to deeper engagement. And, as this quote outlines, authentic gratitude which celebrates both the gift and the giver creates abundance. When we celebrate donors enthusiastically, we are inviting our entire community into a story of collective transformation that's far more powerful than any individual effort.

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