"...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 midd…

"...There is a difference between quantity and fullness. You can have a lot of money and still be empty. There is no fullness in your heart...." This week, Pope Francis passed away. In honor of his teaching on generosity, I am reflecting on his homily from November 8, 2015. Reflection question: Are you asking for leftover generosity? Or, are you as…

"... If donors are largely unaware of fluctuations in the grants received by charities, then reductions in fund-raising becomes a sensible explanation for crowding out..." This week, I came across a large scale research article from 2009 titled, “Is Crowding Out Due Entirely to Fundraising?” Reflection questions: If your organization suddenly lost …

..."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 a…

"...There's only one thing I will not concede: that it might be meaningless to strive for a good cause." This week, I’m reflecting on his words from Summer Meditations by Vacslav Havel, published in 1993. Reflection question: What is the internal battle within yourself that you are facing related to the external threats to the cause you serve? And,…

"...Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity..." This week, I’m reflecting on several sayings of the Prophet Mohammad and the Quran and along with the definition of Sadaqah. Reflection questions: How are framing our messaging around giving to include this meaning of charity as speaking truth? How do we give our donors the op…

“...Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great and honorable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself...” This week, I’m reflected on the words of Cicero as weaved through several of his works, published between 89 BC and 43 BC. Reflection questions: Is there an area where you are stuck in indecision and procrastination? How …

"Thenceforth they are no longer isolated individuals, but a power conspicuous from the distance whose actions serve as an example; when it speaks, people listen...." 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. R…

"....The Stage which was not for low Farce design'd, But to divert, instruct, and mend Mankind." This week, I’m reading from the play The Modern Husband by Henry Fielding, published in 1732. Reflection Question: There are times when stress is only relieved with a bit of dark humor. How will you gather with your community of friends and colleagues t…

"...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: Which virtue do you want to cultivate this week? Complete this sentence, This week, I want our donors to know and fee…

"...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts;..." This week, I am reflecting a quote from George Eliot’s Middlemarch, published in 1871. Reflection questions: When you feel caught up in the uncertainty of this time, what are a few acts of love and kindness that you can do? When was the last time you brainstormed smal…

"...God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children!..." This week, I am reading the words of Jesus and His approach to opponents from Matthew 5 and 6. View the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon about Enmity and Fundraising Letters from July 7, 1995. Reflection questions: If you were to give your fundraising appeal to an opponent …

"..No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” 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 this week? Reflection on quote: It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the relationship with don…

"...How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straight away!..." 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 your colleagues in other nonprofits doing the same task. What impact does y…

"...It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong person stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better...." This week, I’m reading from Citizenship in a Republic, a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910, changing the word man to person. Reflection questions: Are you second-guessing yourself or le…

"...Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment.." 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 dono…

As you know, this podcast highlights the transformative beauty of generosity. I will be taking a brief break until January 6, 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 c…

"...Therefore one should not cease from planting. Rather, just as he found, one should still continue to plant even though he is old..." This week, I’m a story from Midrash Tanchuma Kedoshim 8:1, written sometime between 500 to 800 AD and published in 1885. Reflection question: How will you plant seeds for fund development programs, like legacy giv…

"...In the same way, as you are unable to take care of all of your fellow people, treated as the luck of the draw when the time and circumstance brings some into closer contact with you than others." This week, I’m reading a quote from De Doctrina Christiana by Augustine, published in 397 AD. Reflection questions: Is there an area of your work wher…

“Whoever practices charity and justice fills the world with loving kindness.” This week, I’m reading quotes from Sukkah 49b about tzedakah. Reflection questions: How are we giving donors that vision of repairing the world through their gifts? What are ways that we can practice tzedakah with donors? That is, practicing justice, peace, and loving kin…

"...that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act; and that which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road..." This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD. Reflection questions: Is there a response from a donor that you need to stop giving too much weight to and instead put it in it…

"...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. Reflection Question: What is one thing you can do this week to let y…

"...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. Reflection Question: No matter the donor or the donor’s motivation, …

"...A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed...." This week, I’m reading a quote from the Jewish wisdom on generosity from Proverbs 11. Reflection questions: As you wait for donors to respond to a campaign, have you given to the mission you serve? How are you leading this week in your daily life with the intention …

"...For with wisdom cometh patience, And with patience cometh rest..." This week, I am reading the poem The Hardest Time of All, by Sarah Doudney. Written in 1896. Reflection Questions: Where are you waiting for some major change to occur as a result of your work? Is it time to gain more wisdom or to be more patient or to stop and rest in that area…

..."An association [nonprofit] is an educated and powerful body of citizens which cannot be twisted to any person's will or quietly trodden down,..." 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 questi…

"...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 Basin…

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.” JK Rowling This week, I’m reading various quotes to reflect on how generosity covers our failures. Reflection question: Are we letting failure harden or shame us? Or, are we lettin…

"...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 observing narrowly for the right things that came out of it? Are you seeking perfection or goodness…

..."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: Is there an area of your work where you have been disappointme…

"...Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, Cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard. Remove the covering and you will find beneath it a living splendor, Woven of love, by wisdom, with power..." This week, I’m reading a poem written by Greville MacDonald to his father George MacDonald in 1930. Reflection question: W…

"...To think and to will without doing, when there is opportunity, is like a flame enclosed in a vessel and goes out; also like seed cast upon the sand, which fails to grow, and so perishes with its power of germination. But to think and will and from that to do is like a flame that gives heat and light all around, or like a seed in the ground that…

"...The first and the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity..." This week, I’m reading a quote from On the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke, published in 1756. Reflection questions: What is your personality like: do you prefer the new and novel or the familiar and dependable? What do you think your donor base needs …

"...Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity..." This week, I am reading quotes from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu from his various works. Reflection questions: Are you watering your fundraising appeals with worry and desperation? Or, are you watering them with kindness and optimism? During a busy fundraising season, how are you embrac…

"...Consistent with social learning theory, individuals tend to carry beliefs about money and money skills learned in childhood into their adult lives..." This week, I’m reading selected quotes from Money Beliefs and Financial Behaviors by Bradley Klontz, Sonya Britt, and Jennifer Mentzer, published in 2011. Reflection Questions: Have you spent tim…

"...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himse…

"...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 …

"...real generosity requires requires learning something different, something that may not feel natural for many people. It often requires real personal change. A better understanding of how generosity works can aid that learning and change..." This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 201…

"...The brain is stirred. The emotions may be provoked, desires clarified, the imagination stretched...." This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition. Reflection questions: Will you choose a cause other than your own where you can meet with their staff or volunteers to listen wi…

"...You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you..." This week, I am reading the words of Jesus and His approach to opponents from Matthew 5 and 6. Reflection questions: If you were to give your fundraising appeal to an opponent to read, how would t…

"...Ninthly, that meekness is invincible, where it is genuine, and sincere without hypocrisy. For, what can the most insolent do to you, if you stedfastly persist in kindness to him, and, upon occasion, mildly admonish and instruct him thus, at the very time he is attempting to do you an injury?.." This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations b…

"...many of our disappointments and much of our happiness arise from our forming false notions of things and persons. We strangely impose upon ourselves; we create a fairy land of happiness..." This week, I am reading from Abigail Adams’ letter to Hannah Lincoln, written in 1761. Reflection questions: Where are you experiencing disappointments with…

"No one can have a happy life if he looks only to himself, turning everything to his own advantage. If you want to live for yourself, you must live for another..." This week, I am reading from Seneca’s Moral Letters, published in 65 AD. Reflection questions: How do we view a donation? Is it simply money for our organization’s advantage? Or, do we v…

"...In which class are you? Are you easing the load Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road? Or are you a leaner, who lets others share Your portion of labor, and worry and care?" This week, I’m reading a poem, The Two Kinds of People by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, published in 1896. Reflection questions: Is there a new fund development professional …

"...Suppose someone standing by a clear, sweet spring were to curse it: it just keeps right on bringing drinkable water bubbling up to the surface. Even if he throws mud or dung in it, before long the spring disperses the dirt and washes it out, leaving no stain..." This week, I am reading quotes from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around …

"...pride is to be feared even when we do right actions, lest those things which are done in a praiseworthy manner be spoiled by the desire for praise itself." I sought wisdom from Augustine. First, from Augustine’s book, On the Happy Life, published in 386 AD. And, then from his letter 118, written in 410 AD. Reflection questions: How often are we…

"...On the psychological level, precommitment could induce a preference for avoiding inconsistency, leading people to act in line with their past or committed behaviour. Our study provides behavioural and neural evidence that supports the link between generosity and happiness..." This week, I’m reading quotes from A neural link between generosity a…

"...Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits...." This week, I’m reading a quote, often attributed to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1873. Reflection questions: In our fundraising materials, are we guard them from weeds of hatred and strife? Related, do we seek to fill…

The Drafter of Many Appeals ends the article with ... "But the fact is that motives of pure reason to explain voluntary action are usually difficult of discovery, and not in charitable spheres only..." This week I am reading "The Ethics of giving: The Ratio of Generosity to Income" by "a Drafter of Many Appeals" from the Hospital Magazine, publishe…

"...[Generosity] removes a weight, a burden, a nagging fear. It sets one free to appreciate and enjoy what one has, rather than being burdened with the wish that one had more or worry about losing it. This kind of personal transformation shores up the personal security grounded in believing that, whatever the future holds, one will always have enou…