"...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 so much more to say, let’s discuss how we encourage our capital campaign teams and volunteers to ask out of an abundance mindset. As we have discussed in this series, true generosity creates a personal and life-giving transformation for donors. Donors thrive in an abundance mindset. Unfortunately, however, our capital campaign messages take on a scarcity mindset. Instead of sharing messages about giving from fullness, we beg for leftovers. Can you spare a dollar?  Every bit counts.  Would you just fill the gap? Remember us in your will. If you don’t have other commitments. All of these phrases give the impression that the donor would only want to give to the…

"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 week in our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors.  As we continue this series, for most organizational leaders, the amounts that must be raised during a capital campaign can be shocking and overwhelming, leading to a mindset of scarcity. In those overwhelming moments, we have to start the process of cultivating an abundance mindset within our team, the Board, the staff, and the campaign volunteers. And that process starts with ourselves. In the face of leading the organization through the most significant fundraising effort likely in the organization’s history, what do these virtues do?  When we lean into patience and humility as leaders, we react calmly to the…

"...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:  Do you believe that when you are asking, you are giving abundance, blessing, sufficiency and overflow to the donor? Reflection on quote: This week, we are starting a series on cultivating an abundance mindset during capital campaigns. When we cultivate an abundance mindset, the act of generosity from donors actually changes. During capital campaigns, we will encounter donors who give out of a believed world of scarcity and we will encounter donors who give out of a believed world of abundance.  When we approach prospective donors to our capital campaign out of a mindset of abundance, we offer donors the opportunity to shift their imagined world from scarcity and insecurity to a world of abundance, blessing, sufficiency, and overflow.  In small towns, we are giving a great blessing to our neighbors even as we are asking. To purchase this…