This coming week includes an annual educational intensive on the campus of the congregation I work for. It also includes me sitting in a class on the philosophy of prosperity. Ever since I began learning about fundraising, I’ve noticed the way that handling money and resources triggers people’s latent scripts about finances, value, and lessons about abundance and […]
Three ways to preserve the innocence of giving
Ever received a hand-made card from a child? The drawing might be bright and the handwriting might be inscrutable, but neither of those things are why we display children’s notes on our fridges or treasure the gifts they make. There’s an innocence in the act of open-hearted giving and receiving, and that innocence is worth […]
Philanthropy, Misanthropy, and Outrage
If there were a stock for outrage, conventional media, 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 non-profit and lobbying groups, and fundraising platforms would be mutual investors. Outrage is hot right now, and it’s making some people hundreds of thousands of dollars. Earlier this month I shared an Indiegogo campaign that closed having raised over $17,000 for a Chicago youth homelessness […]
New Writing, New Projects
We’re just two months away from the end of 2014, daylight hours are shortening (Eastern Daylight Time ends tomorrow morning), and I find myself turning toward revision and reflection. For the last few days I’ve been getting caught up in QuickBooks so I don’t have to futz with a million business receipts come January. And the […]
Abundance and Webs of Influence
Did you miss Alisa Valdes‘ article on fundraising and culture? Read it before you read on. Professional fundraising is one of those fields in which people’s latent beliefs about money and resources surface very, very quickly, either in support of an initiative or in ways that leave it isolated. There’s just no way to deal […]
Fundraising and Culture
Great post on overwriting cultural messaging from Latina producer and fundraiser Alisa Valdes: How to Ask for Money When You Grew Up Poor It’s no easier for me now than it was then, and it’s no easier for me to ask for things than it is for anyone else, but I’m forcing myself to do […]
