It’s been a crazy few days here in south central Pennsylvania as we prepared for and then weathered Hurricane Sandy. Unlike our neighbors to the east, this corner of the Mid-Atlantic region came through the storm with limited damage – an outcome you’d expect to elicit a unanimous chorus of praise. However, when the worst [...]
Generosity in quotes
October 26, 2012 By 1 Comment
“If wisdom, as someone said, is seeing things from God’s point of view, praise is the natural reaction to that viewpoint. It’s our typical expression of joyful confidence and triumphant thanksgiving at what God has done, is doing, and is going to do.” Robert Morgan, author, speaker, and long-time pastor of The Donelson Fellowship in [...]
Generosity in action
October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
If you missed this heart-warming story of generosity in action as reported by Canadian television and then picked up by Christian Century magazine, read and be encouraged. Passengers on a bus in Winnipeg, Manitoba, were stunned on a cool morning early this fall when their driver stopped the bus, got out and called to a [...]
Betting long on donor acquisition
October 22, 2012 By 2 Comments
I was late to the audit presentation, but it only took a sec to realize the conversation was heading south. In response to the auditor’s charge of “too high” (his words) fundraising costs, the finance committee was in full retreat. They were talking deep cuts to the development budget, and without so much as a [...]
Generosity in quotes
October 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“What began as well-meaning boundaries has become stinginess. ‘No’s’ were useful in helping me focus on what’s important. But when I began to say ‘no’ from a stance of ‘not enough,’ I was hoarding time, effort, attention and money. When I saw the abundance in my life, I could become truly generous. When I finally [...]
Turning fundraising losses into gains with the help of old friends
October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This just in from the Association of Fundraising Professionals: 2011 was a tough year for America’s nonprofit community. That’s the word based on an analysis of fundraising data from 3,184 respondents covering year-to-year fundraising results for 2010 and 2011. According to the 2012 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey: Every $100 gained in 2011 was offset by $100 [...]
Counting shared governance chicks as they hatch
October 15, 2012 By 4 Comments
As my adventure in online teaching comes to a close, excuse me for clucking like a proud mother hen. In eight short weeks, the “chicks” in HIED 512: Organizational Culture and Governance have gone from knowing almost nothing about shared governance to being able to make a strong case for it. I’ve pulled the following [...]
Generosity in quotes
October 12, 2012 By 2 Comments
“The people of Israel . . . were told to worship, not because they felt good, not because their budgets were flush, and not because they had everything that they wanted. Indeed, quite the opposite, they are told to worship as they leave the land of Egypt…. and set out in to the wilderness for [...]
The Music Man syndrome and board member (mis)perceptions
October 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I just returned from a board retreat, and once again, I’m in awe of the ability of board members to NOT see their organization as others see it. In fact, it’s the rare board that thinks of the organization as anything less than the bee’s knees. The best of its kind. Top flight. World class. [...]
