Reflections on Generosity for Capital Campaigns

"...whatever you do, let your aim be goodness, goodness as it is rightly understood. Hold to this in every action..."

This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD.

Reflection questions:

• Think about a recent setback in your campaign. What would it look like to tell your donors about it honestly, seek their advice, instead of quietly working around it?
• Where could a moment of openness wit...

"...And he will refrain from giving to anybody and everybody, that he may have something to give to the right people, at the right time, and where it is noble to do so..."

I am reading from Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, written in 350 BC. 

Reflection questions:

• Where are you being vague in your conversations with donors or in your campaign materials?
• How will you lean into providing clarity to our donors in your leadership?
...

"...Admitting uncertainties or limitations, for example, saying, 'We can’t help everyone, but here’s how we are trying,' can actually boost credibility..." 

I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.

Reflection question:

• As you're preparing your case for support or talking with donors, consider where can you be more honest about limitations instead of g...

"...that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act; and that which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road..."

This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD.

Reflection question:

• As we are facing scrutiny, is our posture one of defensiveness or invitation and curiosity?

Reflection on quote:

When we are at the beginning of a capital campaign, it is ...

"...We must now consider what is the main cause of ingratitude..."

This week, I am reading a quote from On Benefits by Seneca the Younger, published in 59 AD.

Reflection questions:

• Have we noticed signs of excessive esteem, greed or jealousy slipping into our thinking when we are reviewing our campaign goals and what donors have given?
• What are ways you can lean into gratitude this week?

Reflection on quote:

In our final episode...

"...Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out..."

I’m reflecting on this quote by Vaclav Havel from a series of interviews, published in the book Disturbing the Peace, translated to English in 1990.

Reflection question:

• How are you cultivating hope in something good, even if your follow-up ca...

"...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 ...

"...This we must shed; this we must cast away, or else remain in misery..."

In this second episode in our series on developing discipline, we are discussing the the effects of indecision and procrastination and the necessity of prioritizing the essential tasks of a capital campaign. This week, I’m reading the words of Cicero as weaved through several of his works, published between 89 BC and 43 BC. 

Reflection questions:

"..Consistent with social learning theory, individuals tend to carry beliefs about money and money skills learned in childhood into their adult lives..."

This week, I’m reading selected quotes from Money Beliefs and Financial Behaviors by Bradley Klontz, Sonya Britt, and Jennifer Mentzer, published in 2011.

Reflection Question:

• Which money script have you been operating in and how might you develop a new discipline?
<...

"...Fancy is fruitful and promises fair, but, like the dog in the fable, we catch at a shadow, and when we find the disappointment, we are vexed, not with ourselves, who are really the impostors, but with the poor, innocent thing or person of whom we have formed such strange ideas..."

This week, I am reading from Abigail Adams’ letter to Hannah Lincoln, written in 1761.

Reflection questions:

• Have you become too firml...

"...The leadership of individuals or groups who can back their beliefs financially is particularly essential in the field of cultural amenities, in the fine arts, in education and research, in the preservation of natural beauty and historic treasures, and, above all, in the propagation of new ideas in politics, morals, and religion."

This week, I’m reflecting on this quote by Friedrich Hayek from The Constitution of Liberty, p...

"...Books which it would have been impossible for me to obtain elsewhere were, by his wise generosity, placed within my reach; and to him I owe a taste for literature which I would not exchange for all the millions that were ever amassed by man. This is but a slight tribute and gives only a faint idea of the depth of gratitude which I feel for what he did for me and my companions..."

This week, I’m quoting a story from the Aut...

.."And then with a cry from his soul despairing,He bowed him down to the earth and wept. But a voice cried aloud from the driving rain;“Arise, old man, and plant again!”

This week, I’m reading a poem, Disappointed, written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, published in 1913.

Reflection question:

• Has there been a disappointment in the campaign where you need to stop and weep before moving forward?

Refle...

"...Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb...”

This week, I am reflecting on selected quotes from Henri Nouwen from the The Path of Waiting, published in 1995 and Bread for the Journey, published in 1996.

Reflection questions:

• When you are meeting with donors, are you listening with full attention and waiting with the donor to discov...

"...Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering,
Cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard."

This week, I’m reading a poem written by Greville MacDonald to his father George MacDonald in 1930.

Reflection question:

Who on your list of donors who have already given can you call this week to hold onto joy in the midst of your stress?

Reflection on the quote:

Capital campaigns are full of ...

“Giving brings happiness in every state of its expression.  We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous; we experience joy in the actual act of giving something; and we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.”

This week, I’m reading 3 quotes from the Buddha.

Reflection question:

• How might your follow-up conversations change if you viewed them as helping donors complete their ...

"...Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream...”

This week, I am reading a quote from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and a quote from A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior, by Graton and Mailliez, published in 2019.

Refle...

"...Fund-raising must always aim to create new, lasting relationships...."

This week, I’m reading a quote from The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen, originally presented in 1992.

Reflection questions:

• Which campaign donors do you need to offer communion, belonging, and friendship to this week?
• Thinking about the case for support, is it just an ask for a donation or is it also an offer for authentic giving and belon...

"...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 auth...