Reflections on Generosity

"...many of our disappointments and much of our happiness arise from our forming false notions of things and persons. We strangely impose upon ourselves; we create a fairy land of happiness..."This week, I am reading from Abigail Adams’ letter to Hannah Lincoln, written in 1761.Reflection questions:Where are you experiencing disappointments with donors?  Can you release the donor and not the vision?As you create a fairy land of happiness, that is a vision of impact, how will you hold the list of donors as changeable?This work has entered the public domain.Send me a Text Message.To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"...In which class are you? Are you easing the load     Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road?Or are you a leaner, who lets others share     Your portion of labor, and worry and care?"This week, I’m reading a poem, The Two Kinds of People by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, published in 1896.Reflection questions:Is there a new fund development professional in your network that you can reach out to in order to encourage?Or, do you feel like you are drowning a bit and need a lift from a colleague who is a bit wiser in the field?  Can you take a moment now and reach out by text or email?To read: The Two Kinds of People, aka, Which are You?This work has entered the public domain.Send me a Text Message.To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"...Suppose someone standing by a clear, sweet spring were to curse it: it just keeps right on bringing drinkable water bubbling up to the surface. Even if he throws mud or dung in it, before long the spring disperses the dirt and washes it out, leaving no stain..."This week, I am reading quotes from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD.Reflection questions:Are we holding onto ugliness from a past interaction with a donor?How can we let go of the ugliness and turn to kindness, simplicity and morality, as Marcus Aurelius states, or can we turn to generosity?This work has entered the public domain.Send me a Text Message.To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"...On the psychological level, precommitment could induce a preference for avoiding inconsistency, leading people to act in line with their past or committed behaviour. Our study provides behavioural and neural evidence that supports the link between generosity and happiness..."This week, I’m reading quotes from A neural link between generosity and happiness by S. Q. Park and several researchers, published in 2017 in Nature Communications.Reflection questions:How do we perceive donors who insist on a public pledge? Do we perceive these donors as acting out of ego or, as this research shows, acting a way that increases happiness and consistency?To read this research: A neural link between generosity and happinessThis article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution.Send me a Text Message.To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop