Jay Blossom, editor of In Trust magazine and the In Trust blog, offers a humorous post about bad donor behavior. Check it out. And while you’re there, take a look at my article about the Carver model of board governance.
Twitter co-founder touts the compound interest in altruism
March 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In yesterday’s post I noted that giving is a lousy wealth building strategy, but if it’s joy you’re after, generosity is THE way to go. My son, Jay, alerted me to a blog post by Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, that is a powerful ditto to my humble ramblings. You’ll want to read the whole post, but here’s some [...]
Giving is a lousy wealth buiding strategy
March 30, 2011 By 6 Comments
It’s become a rite of tax season at our house. My husband wraps up his prep work with the benediction, “If we didn’t give so much, we would have a lot more money.” I nod and we move on. There’s nothing to discuss. Giving is a lousy wealth building strategy, regardless who you are. (Case [...]
Let’s talk about crunch time for nonprofits
March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’m known for urging leaders in faith-based nonprofits to grab hold of the promise of God’s amazing abundance. I encourage folks to tune out messages of scarcity and to avoid the hang-dog, poor-us presentation of many ministry organizations these days. Yet I’m also quick to caution that a casual overconfidence in God’s sufficiency is equally destructive to Christian [...]
Friday afternoon reflections on another week of generous matters
March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The following short posts highlight topics that captured my attention during the week just past. Americans have donated more than $105 million to relief and recovery efforts in Japan, three-quarters of which has gone to the American Red Cross, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Although there are indications the economy is gaining strength, America’s nonprofits are expecting 2011 to be [...]
Even good ideas may have to die
March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
On first read, the phrase “murder board” is a jolt to pacifist sensibilities. But not to fear. It’s excess ideas, not the folks who dream them up, that author and Silicon Valley strategist Nilofer Merchant targets in The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy. She explains: Murder boarding is a kind of counter-weight [...]
What would John Wesley tell Albert Pujols to do?
March 23, 2011 By 3 Comments
This week’s Christian Century reports on trouble brewing in St. Louis among Cardinals fans who also are evangelical Christians. Some, including a Presbyterian pastor turned tweeter, worry that superstar Albert Pujols risks tarnishing his Christian image with too aggressive bargaining tactics. Others think Pujols should grab as much as he can get and then use his millions [...]
The accidental stewardship educator
March 21, 2011 By 2 Comments
In my experience, it’s the unusual newcomer to fundraising for a faith-based organization that thinks of him or herself as called to ministry. And when it comes to CEOs and boards, even fewer conceive of fundraising as a spiritual activity. Yet many Christians report that their most intimate conversations about faith and money have been with development staff of a religiously affiliated [...]
The appropriately civil board
March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A few posts back, I identified “dysfunctional civility” – a culture that shuts out hard questions and differences of opinions – as potentially hurtful to board performance. A board that refuses to hear, see, or speak about problems doesn’t add much value to an organization. However, board members who ignore the rules of appropriate governance behavior aren’t so helpful either. The [...]
My kingdom for a good idea
March 16, 2011 By 2 Comments
If I’m asked to participate in one more brainstorming session involving flip chart paper and colored dots, I’ll run from the room screaming. This time-worn planning strategy may have generated a usable idea or two for some organization at sometime, but I’ve yet to see it. Which probably explains my euphoria upon discovering the marvelous video [...]
