Generosity

"Once there was a tree..."This week, I’m reading The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, published in 1964.Reflection questions: As fundraisers, when are we the tree and when are we the boy?How are we sitting down and resting with our giving partners?To purchase this book: The Giving Tree by Shel SilversteinSend me a Text Message.To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"Donors, grantees, and beneficiaries need each other to bring something beautiful and life-giving to fruition. It is a collaboration borne of deep desire to find meaning, to be a blessing, to be part of something successful and consequential, and to heal the sorrows of life....” This week I am reading two quotes from Imagining Abundance. Fundraising, Philanthropy, and A Spiritual Call to Service. Kerry Alys Robinson. 2014.The quote begins. “What we realized was that we were unwittingly viewing donors as objects to try to get as much money from as quickly and painlessly as possible, rather than as subjects in their own right. Donor prospects are not objects; they are subjects, and like all of us, they want to contribute to something meaningful and life-giving and successful. Like us, they too search for meaning, have fears and hopes, desires and regrets, and beliefs that should be acknowledged and reverenced.”“When we enter into sacred discussion with donors or grantees or beneficiaries of a ministry, vulnerability is established. Donors, grantees, and beneficiaries need each other to bring something beautiful and life-giving to fruition. It is a collaboration borne of deep desire to find meaning, to be a blessing, to be part of something successful…