Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns

"A person is a person through other persons" Ubuntu, an African proverb. Reflection question: How are you cultivating those multiple connections to community leaders before your campaign starts? Reflection on generosity:  This week, I want to share a case study on this connectivity. Early in the planning process for capital campaigns, we often need to convince elected officials to approv...

"A person is a person through other persons" Ubuntu, an African proverb. Reflection question: Where do you already see the web of connection around your organization? Reflection on generosity:  As a blessing or curse, people are more connected in a rural area. This month, we are starting a four-week series on the connectivity of small towns and its impact on capital campaigns. By connect...

"..For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts,” Middlemarch by George Eliot Reflection questions: Have you removed a prospective foundation or donor who funds similar nonprofits just because you don’t think you can compete? How can you shift your mindset to being confident in the impact your campaign will have? Reflection on quote: Can we compete? Is our campaign...

"..For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts,” Middlemarch by George Eliot Reflection questions: Have you considered what the greater impacts of your capital campaign will have in your community by growing your donor base and the generosity to other nonprofits? How will you share those impacts within your organization and campaign committees to deepen the excite...

“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts,” Middlemarch by George Eliot Reflection questions: What are the long-term impacts that your capital campaign will have on your community?    If you are not in a capital campaign yet, what greater impact could your mission have on the community with...

"...But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts..." Reflection question: where are you comparing your work with urban fundraising? Reflection on quote: You’ve just googled capital campaign and now you are overwhelmed. How do I know that?  Because I’ve talked to clients just like you....

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

As we wrap up Season 4 of this podcast, we're re-airing one episode from each of our nine series—a chance to revisit the foundational wisdom on capital campaigns, from navigating uncertainty to leading with integrity. Next season, we're turning our attention to the specific context of rural giving, exploring what makes small-town fundraising different, how deep relationships shape genero...

"...whatever you do, let your aim be goodness, goodness as it is rightly understood. Hold to this in every action..." This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD. Reflection questions: Think about a recent setback in your campaign. What would it look like to tell your donors about it honestly, seek their advice, instead of quietly working ar...

"...And he will refrain from giving to anybody and everybody, that he may have something to give to the right people, at the right time, and where it is noble to do so..." I am reading from Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, written in 350 BC.  Reflection questions: Where are you being vague in your conversations with donors or in your campaign materials? How will you lean into providing c...

"...Admitting uncertainties or limitations, for example, saying, 'We can’t help everyone, but here’s how we are trying,' can actually boost credibility..."  I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025. Reflection question: As you're preparing your case for support or talking with donors, consider where can you be...

"...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 question: As we are facing scrutiny, is our posture one of defensiveness or invitation and curiosity? Reflection on quote: When we are at the beginning of...

"...We must now consider what is the main cause of ingratitude..." 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 excessive esteem, greed or jealousy slipping into our thinking when we are reviewing our campaign goals and what donors have given? What are ways you can lean into gratitude this week...

"...Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out..." I’m reflecting on this quote by Vaclav Havel from a series of interviews, published in the book Disturbing the Peace , translated to English in 1990. Reflection question: How are you cultivating hope in so...

"...this old man was one of the most useful citizens of the world in his humble way. He has made a greater contribution to our civilization than we realize. He has left a place that never can be filled. Farewell, dear old eccentric heart, your labor has been a labor of love, and generations, yet unborn, will rise up and call you blessed..." Let’s listen to the tribute from Sam Houston ar...

"...This we must shed; this we must cast away, or else remain in misery..." In this second episode in our series on developing discipline, we are discussing the the effects of indecision and procrastination and the necessity of prioritizing the essential tasks of a capital campaign. This week, I’m reading the words of Cicero as weaved through several of his works, published between 89 BC...

"..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 Question: Which money script have you been operating in and how might...

"...Fancy is fruitful and promises fair, but, like the dog in the fable, we catch at a shadow, and when we find the disappointment, we are vexed, not with ourselves, who are really the impostors, but with the poor, innocent thing or person of whom we have formed such strange ideas..." This week, I am reading from Abigail Adams’ letter to Hannah Lincoln , written in 1761. Reflection quest...