“…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: 

• Are any of our fundraising activities and messaging encouraging self-interested, fake generosity?  If so, how can we tweak them to reflect authentic generosity?

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 transaction during a capital campaign?  And, if we encourage these donors to be generous for their self-serving reasons, will they reap the benefits of generosity?

Capital campaigns can bring the joy of seeing donors become more kind, more amenable, more generous the more they give. And, yet, we may also encounter donors who become more demanding, more angry, more sour the more they give.  These are donors who are, as the authors said, going through the motions of generosity simply in order to reap the desired rewards.  If we tie giving to self-interested rewards, then we are more likely to encourage fake generosity and attract other donors like them.  

To purchase this book: The Paradox of Generosity by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson.

Copyright: Oxford University Press 2014. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

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Music credit: Woeisuhmebop