"...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 on developing discipline during capital campaigns, we are discussing ongoing stewardship and the mindsets that can block gratitude. Throughout this series, we used the metaphor of riding a wild stallion without a saddle. Previously, we discussed developing disciplines with money beliefs, prioritizing tasks, planting seeds of awareness, and the fear of rejection.

During capital campaigns, we can fall into one of these mindsets that block ongoing gratitude and stewardship because we are confident in the necessity of our work and this campaign project. As a result, we might believe that donors are duty-bound to give to our campaign. We might continually expect donors to give more and more to the campaign. Or, we might be jealous of other campaigns where a donor gave more.

It is easy for us to slip into these root causes of ingratitude, especially when we are faced with the pressures of a campaign. When we do, to paraphrase Seneca, we become unworthy of what we have received. And, in small towns, our ingratitude is often discussed among donors. The reality is that donors do not have to fund our campaigns or fund them at a greater extent than other campaigns. Instead, we develop a discipline of gratitude for every donation.

Next week, we will start a series on leading with integrity during a capital campaign.

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

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"...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 call results in a no?

Reflection on quote:

If capital campaigns are like a riding a wild stallion without a saddle, then facing rejection is like being bucked off and being afraid to ride again. This week, we will discuss how to develop the discipline of facing rejection. Previously, we discussed developing disciplines with money beliefs, prioritizing tasks, and planting seeds of awareness. In this episode, we’ll discuss how to develop the discipline of hope when facing rejection.

I am convinced that the moment we close the car door or we hit end on a call with a donor, the doubts begin to creep in. And, slowly or quickly, we wonder if we will be rejected when we make the follow-up call or visit we promised to the donor. That’s where the hope Vaclav Havel describes comes in. It’s the hope in something good, regardless of how the follow up turns out. Hope can be following up, only to find out that the donor can no longer give what they intended and yet bringing grace and humanity into the relationship. And, hope can be following up for 6 months at a donor’s request, wondering if the follow-ups are badgering the donor, then to receive with joy a major gift that is twice the amount the donor was originally considered. And, hope can be following up and sometimes feeling the sting of rejection and yet knowing that an answer, even if it is no, is better than the anxiety of not knowing for us and the anxiety of sharing hard news for the donor. This type of hope keeps us above water and moving forward during a capital campaign.

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

"...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

"...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:

• What are the obstacles to completing your campaign tasks?
• Which discipline do you need to develop to prioritize campaign tasks?

Reflection on quote:

Why does it become so hard to stay disciplined in contacting potential and current donors during a capital campaign? To pick up the phone? To schedule the meeting? To follow up after the meeting? To write the thank you note?

Perhaps we don’t know what to say. To which the discipline for indecision is to accept something said is better than nothing said. Perhaps, we are distressed from a past bad experience with a donor. To which the discipline is forgiveness of ourself or the other person. Perhaps, we are procrastinating and working on other urgent, more immediate tasks. To which the discipline is carve out time each day and prioritizing the campaign tasks. Otherwise, good and important tasks will steal the opportunities to move the capital campaign forward and keep us in distress.

Without these disciplines, our campaign can stall and in our small towns, the lack of momentum is noticeable. The good news is that you can start fresh today and cast away indecision, distress, and procrastination and replace it with confidence and generosity.

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

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

"..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?

Reflection on Quote:

An experienced campaign volunteer once told me that a capital campaign is like riding a wild, unbroken stallion without a saddle. I’ve contemplated those words often as I coach clients. When faced with an unruly stallion, we can either let the stallion take control or we can develop the discipline to work with him. The same applies to capital campaigns. We can let the capital campaign spin out of control or we can develop discipline for the crucial elements of the campaign. So, this month, we are starting a series on developing that discipline. The first discipline we develop is becoming comfortable with inviting donors by unpacking our own beliefs around money before discussing generosity with them.

During a capital campaign, these money scripts can allow the wild stallion to take over. Those with money avoidance scripts can struggle with even inviting a potential donor to find out more information about the project. Those with money worship scripts tend to engage in magical thinking around one major donor that will complete the campaign without engaging a broader base. Those with money status scripts can find crossing wealth classes intimidating when building a relationship with a more wealthy donor, and then approach that donor apologetically without confidence in the project. Those with money vigilance scripts may find capital campaign work too all-consuming and focus on tasks that don’t move the campaign forward. The good news is that, in my experience, once we recognizes our own money scripts, we can develop new disciplines in discussing generosity.

Copyright: Klontz, B., Britt, S. L., Mentzer, J., & Klontz, T. (2011). Money Beliefs and Financial Behaviors: Development of the Klontz Money Script Inventory. Journal of Financial Therapy, 2 (1)

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

"...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 firmly attached to the capital project you have envisioned and formed false notions of things and persons?
• Have you invited donors hear your wishes for the project and then listened to their input to make the project better?

Reflections on quote:

During the strategic, pre-development, and construction planning, we have grand wishes of what the project will be. We dream about our mission and how this building will further that dream. It is a beautiful element in every capital campaign. Unfortunately, we can move too quickly from the construction planning to the quiet phase of asking donors. And, in doing so, we can form false notions about things and persons; that, about the project and the donors who will fund the project. Then reality and disappointment will suddenly confront us when we are across the table making an ask to a donor who doesn’t have the same wishes for the project. Instead, we need to be to patient in planning, holding loosely our wishes and vision for the project until after we invite prospective donors to give their input into the project. Otherwise, we can become too firmly attached to an idea for the project that a potential donor won’t fund. When we listen to donor’s advice, we hold our wishes loosely and invite these donors to help us make our wishes and dreams for the project even more practical and life-giving to the small towns we serve.

This work has entered the public domain.

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

"...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, published in 1960.

Reflection question:

• As you plan for your small town capital campaign, how are you reaching out to potential donors, not to ask, but to persuade them to become a partner in the vision?

Reflection on Quote:

Today is our second in the series on having patience in the planning process of a capital campaign. Last time, we looked at the role of strategic planning and envisioning the future. This week, we will look at the relationship building and persuading partners.

In my rural community, a local nonprofit was building a beautiful arts and culture building and, in the middle of the campaign, the building costs spiked, adding millions to the cost. I can only imagine the initial despair. But, that despair only lasted for a moment. This nonprofit went back to their lead donor, explained what had happened, and the donor then filled the gap. Why was the donor so ready to fill the gap? Twenty years. That is how long the nonprofit had been weekly reaching out to this donor to build a relationship, persuading this partner to join the vision of the nonprofit and the future of arts and culture in my community. By being patient in the planning, the nonprofit persuaded this partner to become a devoted idealist willing to change the community with their wealth. While planning for capital campaigns may not last 20 years, it is essential to bring potential donors into the planning process long before any ask will occur.

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

"...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 Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. Published in 1920.

Reflection questions:

• If you are in the strategic and facility planning phase, ask — whose future are we designing this building or renovation for?

• Like Andrew Carnegie, are you sharing personal stories of your constituents to show the vision for the future?

Reflection on quote:

The strategic planning phase of the capital campaign is in my opinion often one of neglected phases. I’ve observed two opposite approaches to strategic planning prior to the capital campaign. Either, it is focused on the new facility details for projected growth without articulating the impact to clients as a part of the vision. Or, the strategic planning happens after the capital campaign is completed. This week, we are starting a series on being patient in the planning phase in order to have a more effective capital campaign.

As Andrew Carnegie shared his vision to fund the building of libraries around the United States and the world, he began with his own story to show the impact his libraries would have on future generations on children like himself. When we are in the strategic and facility planning phrase, we are not designing buildings because we have to move locations or we have ran out of room for our administrative and program spaces or we have a waiting list. Instead, we are designing buildings to meet our mission for specific constituents. Each constituent with a specific story for their future. So, therefore, it is important to envision what the future will be for your constituents in that new building and renovations. And, luckily, on our small towns, we can often ask our constituents to be a part of the strategic planning process to directly from them. The takeaway for your capital campaign in being patient in planning: donors don't give to buildings, they give to futures.

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