“…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 outcomes in mind?

  If you are in the pre-campaign readiness stage, have you considered the more effective ways to raise awareness in your community and brought in community leaders and potential donors to help you determine and implement those ways?

Reflection on quote:

Capital campaigns are like a riding a wild stallion without a saddle and one key to success is developing discipline. This series unpacks those disciplines. We’ve discussed how understanding our beliefs around money can assist us in creating the necessary disciplines around asking for donations. We’ve discussed how indecision and procrastination can steal opportunities and the importance of prioritizing tasks.  In this episode, we’ll discuss the discipline necessary to successfully raising awareness for our capital campaigns through the life and work of John Chapman; otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed.  Like many, I pictured Johnny Appleseed as wandering aimlessly around the countryside, randomly sprinkling seeds that grew into trees and, against all odds, orchards.  But that wasn’t the case at all.

Johnny Appleseed had a purpose for apple trees. He believed that apple trees were important to cultivate as cider to be an alternative to unsafe drinking water.  He then planned the process for planting seeds to grow into trees near villages and towns in Ohio.  His labor of love had an intentional process with both immediate and generational impacts.  In the same way, during a capital campaign, we too must be intentional in how we are raising awareness. We do not simply scatter seeds and hope our communities are paying enough attention.  Instead, we consider the audiences, the people, who need to hear about our vision first.  Then, we determine how we engage those community leaders, connectors, and potential donors in the planning process for the campaign.  Further, we are intentional in what information we share with the community, information that creates confidence and excitement in the goal, and when we share that information. When we are disciplined in raising awareness, those seeds will have a greater contribution to the success of the capital campaign and a greater contribution to the small towns and rural communities we serve.      

What do you think? Send me a text.

To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop