I feel the pain of nonprofit CEOs and development staff who rail about board members’ reluctance to step up to the fundraising challenge. I’ve served on the development staffs of three Christian colleges, including a short stint as a VP for Advancement. For the past 15 years, I’ve provided development counsel to faith-based nonprofits. I’ve [...]
Appreciating philanthropists as they appreciate you
February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I wasn’t expecting a shout out to named gift opportunities in the middle of a lecture about the humanities. Imagine my delight, then, when the speaker spoke appreciatively of the donor recognition plaques lining the hallways of Messiah College’s newly opened Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. To hear a humanities [...]
Generosity in quotes: Bob Brown
February 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“Sometimes our ‘needs’ mask a false altruism or a false concern. Needs (real or perceived) often come from fear, not from hope and love. When we name the reason behind the need, then we can deal with the concern instead of a fearful obligation. If we want God to be glorified, then we need to [...]
Advice for making the most of your organization’s birthday
February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The nonprofit organization for which I serve as board chair turns 40 this year and that has me on the hunt for advice about how to make the most of an anniversary celebration. Okay, four decades of ministry outreach isn’t Guinness World Records material. But we’re proud of how far the organization has come. Now [...]
Is generosity the new sexy?
February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But if it’s a woman’s heart you’re after, guys, try generosity. That’s the word from the research team over at Razoo, the fast growing online crowdfunding platform. When asked “What qualities, if any, do you think makes someone sexy?” responses with a tip of the hat to generosity [...]
Generosity in quotes: Kurt Willems
February 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“The season of Lent offers an opportunity to opt out of the American Dream in some subtle way just long enough to recognize that what we actually long for in the deepest crevasses of our inner-selves is not the pseudo-satisfaction of food, power, or manipulating God. We long for, deep in our bones, to know [...]
Re-visioning nonprofit boards as innovators and change-agents
February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I recently challenged boards faced with tough decisions to choose this day (month or year) which way the organization should go. (here) Yet I know deciding is easier said than done. For boards and the nonprofits they serve, there’s no going back to how things once were. The way forward is obscured and without guarantees [...]
The very reason for fundraising as ministry
February 11, 2013 By 4 Comments
When looking for proof texts in support of their craft, fundraisers of faith know they can depend on the Apostle Paul. The Old Testament prophets, along with the Psalmist(s), are other mother lodes of useful passages. And of course there’s Jesus. He had a lot to say on the subjects of money, possessions, and our [...]
Generosity in quotes: James Alison
February 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“The word if is the entry to privation, not abundance. . . When we perceive that abundance is no longer driven by scarcity, fear, and if and when we know ourselves loved, we become lovable. Becoming lovable, we do not fear recognizing in public the power of one who walked for us in deep dark [...]
When your board comes to a fork in the road . . .
February 6, 2013 By 2 Comments
My work this week is with a theological school board in the midst of a presidential transition – board members standing at one of those Robert Frost moments. You know the drill. Two roads in front of them. One familiar and comfortable. The other, less traveled by peer institutions.
