Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns
Kick off your week with a 5-minute reflection on generosity to ground yourself in the right mindset for capital campaigns. Each reflection includes a question to ponder throughout the week to aid your work.
173: Connectivity - Decision-Maker, Client, Supporter, and Connector
"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 approve our building permits or zoning change or conditional use permit. For one client, their mission had suddenly become controversial. Would their permit be approved? The board worried. The executive director assured t...
172: Connectivity - 6 Degrees of Community Connections
"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 connectivity, I mean the web of relationships that tie a community together. Now, let's be honest. We know that small town gossip and nosy neighbors are real. Anonymity i...
171: Greater Impact - Telling the Story of a Smaller Capital Campaign
"..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 too small? Smaller capital campaigns have a greater impact in our small towns and rural communities. Yet, when applying for capital grants or preparing to meet with...
170: Greater Impact - Campaign Builds Community’s Donor Base
"..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 excitement for the campaign?Reflection on quote:
A client planned a simple solar project, then a hailstorm came through. So capital campaigns aren't just planned during strategic planning processes. In rur...
169: Greater Impact with Smaller Capital Campaigns
“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 a bigger or better suited space?Reflection on quote:
Did you know that the largest capital campaign completed in 5 years was for $9.6 billion that’s billion w...
Introducing Season 5: The Beauty of Rural Generosity
"...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. I have found that many capital campaigns in small towns and rural areas are launched out of necessity: your building is too small to serve increased need...
Series 9: Leading with Integrity (Episode 155-158)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Leading with Integrity series:
155: Leading with Integrity - Inviting Scrutiny
156: Le...
Series 8: Developing Discipline (Episodes 150-154)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Developing Discipline series:
150: Developing Discipline - Inviting Donors
151: Developing Discipline - Prioritizing Ta...
Series 7: Patience in Planning (Episodes 147-149)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Patience in Planning series:
147: Patience in Planning - Envision the Future
148: Patience in...
Series 6: Managing Stress (Episodes 144-146)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Managing Stress series:
144: Managing Stress - Hold onto Joy
145: Managing Stress - Wa...
Series 5: Authentic Giving (Episodes 139-143)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Authentic Giving series:
139: Authentic Giving - Avoiding a Transactional Approach
140: Authentic Giving...
Series 4: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset (Episodes 136-138)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Cultivating an Abundance Mindset series:
136: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - A Gift to Donors
Series 3: Neuroscience and Giving (Episodes 130-135)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Neuroscience and Giving series:
130: Neuroscience and Giving - Empathy Builds Buildings
132: Neuroscience an...
Series 2: Genuine Community Building (Episodes 123-127)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in Genuine Community Building:
123: Genuine Community Building - Communities of Care
124: Genuine Community Building...
Series 1: Navigating Uncertainty (Episodes 117-122)
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 generosity, and how to build capital campaigns that honor the unique dynamics and constraints of rural communities.
Episodes in the Navigating Uncertainty series:
117: Navigating Uncertainty - Growing Generosity
118: Navigating Uncertainty - A Trusted Le...
158: Leading with Integrity - Openness About Setbacks
"...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 around it?Where could a moment of openness with a donor actually deepen their trust in the project rather than shake it?Reflection on quote:
...
157: Leading with Integrity - Clarity for the Giver
"...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 clarity to our donors in your leadership?Reflection on quote:
This month, we are exploring what it means to lead with integrity d...
156: Leading with Integrity - Honesty Builds Trust
"...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 more honest about limitations instead of glossing over them or exaggerating the impact your campaign will have.Reflection on quote:
Last week, we discussed how leading a capital campaign is like standing at th...
155: Leading with Integrity - Inviting Scrutiny
"...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:
Reflection on quote:
When we are at the beginning of a capital campaign, it is like standing at the base of a mountain where the trail is obscured from view by...
154: Developing Discipline - Ongoing Stewardship
"...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?Reflection on quote:
In our final episode on developing discipline during capital campaigns, we are discussing ongoing stewardship and the mindsets that can...
153: Developing Discipline - Following Up
"...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 something good, even if your follow-up call results in a no?Reflection on quote:
If capital campaigns are like a riding a wi...
152: Developing Discipline - Planting Seeds to Raise Awareness
"...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 around 1847 upon Johnny Appleseed’s death.
Reflection questions:
What approach are you taking: scattering seeds or planting seeds with intentional outc...151: Developing Discipline - Prioritizing Tasks
"...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 and 43 BC.
Reflection questions:
What are the obstacles to completing your campaign tasks? Which discipline do you need to develop to prioritize campaign tasks?Reflection on quot...
150: Developing Discipline - Inviting Donors
"..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:
Reflection on Quote:
An experienced campaign volunteer once told me that a capital campaign is like riding a wild, unbroken stallion without a saddle. I’ve conte...
149: Patience in Planning - Hold Loosely to Wishes
"...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 questions:
148: Patience in Planning - Persuading Partners
"...The leadership of individuals or groups who can back their beliefs financially is particularly essential in the field of cultural amenities, in the fine arts, in education and research, in the preservation of natural beauty and historic treasures, and, above all, in the propagation of new ideas in politics, morals, and religion."
This week, I’m reflecting on this quote by Friedrich Hayek from The Constitution of Liberty, published in 1960.
Reflection question:
As you plan for your small town capital campaign, how are you reaching out to potential donors, not to ask, bu...147: Patience in Planning - Envision the Future
"...Books which it would have been impossible for me to obtain elsewhere were, by his wise generosity, placed within my reach; and to him I owe a taste for literature which I would not exchange for all the millions that were ever amassed by man. This is but a slight tribute and gives only a faint idea of the depth of gratitude which I feel for what he did for me and my companions..."
This week, I’m quoting a story from the Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. Published in 1920.
Reflection questions:
If yo...146: Managing Stress - Grieve Too
.."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:
Reflection on the quote:
Capital campaigns are full of some many moments that can be also hard and taxing on the staff...
145: Managing Stress - Waiting and Nurturing
"...Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb...”
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:
144: Managing Stress - Hold onto Joy
"...Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering,
Cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard."
This week, I’m reading a poem written by Greville MacDonald to his father George MacDonald in 1930.
Reflection question:
Who on your list of donors who have already given can you call this week to hold onto joy in the midst of your stress?
Reflection on the quote:
Capital campaigns are full of some many moments that can be also hard an...
143: Authentic Giving - The Cycle of Joyous Generosity
“Giving brings happiness in every state of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous; we experience joy in the actual act of giving something; and we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.”
This week, I’m reading 3 quotes from the Buddha.
Reflection question:
How might your follow-up conversations change if you viewed them as helping donors complete their joy cycle rather than simply maintaining relationships throughout the campaign?Reflection on quotes:
Today is our final episode in our series on authent...
142: Authentic Giving - Removing the Guilt from Generosity
"...Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream...”
This week, I am reading a quote from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and a quote from A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior, by Graton and Mailliez, published in 2019.
Reflection question:
Reflection on quote:
Today is...
141: Authentic Giving - An Approach for Belonging
"...Fund-raising must always aim to create new, lasting relationships...."
This week, I’m reading a quote from The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen, originally presented in 1992.
Reflection questions:
Which campaign donors do you need to offer communion, belonging, and friendship to this week?Thinking about the case for support, is it just an ask for a donation or is it also an offer for authentic giving and belonging?Reflection on quote:
Last week, we discussed the scenario when the donor treats their donation as a transaction. Often times, the...
140: Authentic Giving - Generosity Can't Be Faked
"...Generosity cannot be counterfeited, and fake generosity does not make us happier, healthier, and more purposeful in life..."
This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition.
Reflection question:
Reflection on quote:
Last week in our series on authentic giving, we discussed avoiding transactional approaches. What happens if the donor wants to treat the donation as a tra...
139: Authentic Giving - Avoiding a Transactional Approach
“When conventional economic and marketing assumptions shape and undergird the work of charitable fundraising, .... potential donors will often be approached with the expectation that they will be more interested in having their names in the program or on a plaque or in receiving a premium or a tax break than in giving to help others "out of the goodness of their hearts."
This week, I am reading a quote from Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry by Thomas Jeavons and Rebekah Burch Basinger, published in 2000.
Reflection questions:
138: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - With Our Messages
"...true charity is given, not with what is left over, but with what we need..."
This week, I’m reading from the former Pope Francis and his homily from November 8, 2015.
Reflection question:
Are you asking for leftover generosity? Or, are you asking for true generosity in your messages to donors?Reflection on quote:
In our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors and we discussed how we have to build that mindset within our ourselves. As we end this short series, and there is s...
137: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - With Joy Within Ourselves
"Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor loss of composure. Where there is poverty borne with joy, there is neither grasping nor hoarding. 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:
Where do you see evidence of a scarcity mindset within yourself?Which virtue do you want to cultivate this week?Reflection on quote:
Last we...
136: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - A Gift to Donors
"...No matter how it happens, the testimony of those who have shifted in their minds, spirits, and emotions from an imagined world of scarcity and insecurity to one of abundance, blessing, sufficiency, and overflow is almost always the same: it is liberating......"
This week, I’m reading a quote from The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson. 2014 edition.
Reflection question:
Reflection on quote:
This week, we are sta...
135: Neuroscience and Giving - Generosity During Emergencies
"Urgency triggers a distinctive neurobiological state. In fundraising terms, this means an urgent appeal can literally put a donors brain in “alert mode” prioritizing rapid action over careful deliberation."
I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.
Reflection question:
How will you maintain a sense of urgent and hopeful intentionality while being strategic during a sudden crisis?Reflection on quote:
This is the last installment in exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impa...
134: Neuroscience and Giving - Volunteering Feels Good
"Volunteering can satisfy psychological needs: the need to belong to a community, to see one’s values an action or to develop skills and purpose."
I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.
Reflection question:
How are you showing gratitude to your campaign volunteers?Reflection on quote:
We are exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a book recently released by my friend and colleague Ch...
