Focus and Planning for the “Big Dream” Chad (pseudonym) is an urbane middle-aged man, settled in a career, home, and partnership. Like many people, he has handled his money responsibly so is quite secure, yet not wealthy by most measures. […]
Category Archives: Blog
Funding Nonprofit Infrastructure Amplifies Impact
To the Boston nonprofits who receive them, a Barr Foundation grant is highly coveted. The Barr is a family foundation, established by Barbara and Amos Hostetter Jr., who made a considerable fortune in the nascent cable industry. The Barr Foundation […]
Is Year-Round Pledging for You?
Last week in Portland, Oregon I was a presenter for a workshop titled, “Year-Round Giving: The Next Big Thing?” Along with my co-presenters the Reverend David Pyle and Jason Kenworthy, we told a packed conference room about this challenging way […]
The Essentials of Electronic Giving
If you are only accepting cash or checks for donations, you are not offering your contributors options for giving – probably some they would prefer. This is not “making it easy” for people to give you […]
Talkin’ ‘Bout My G-G-G-Generation
There is constant media hype about Millenials, Boomers, and other generations; how they live, what they buy, and how & why they make donations. For instance, the title of this post is a nod to Boomers (like me!). Yet Generational […]
The Smart Way to Help Nepal
It is almost inconceivable that the earthquake that recently hit Nepal was roughly 16 times more powerful than the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. We will not know the extent of the devastation there, or the human toll, for quite some […]
Leaders, I’m Talkin’ to You!
Do you want to make a real difference in stewardship in your congregation? You want to see growth, engagement, improved finances? Well, the most potent place to start is with yourself. A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to […]
How the U.S. Stacks Up in Global Giving
We Americans consider ourselves some of the most charitable people on Earth. This may owe partly to the huge personal fortunes that Americans have given to charity, as well as or our internationally prominent philanthropic efforts, like the work of […]
Spiritual Economist Arturo Paoli
As someone who constantly thinks, writes, and talks about stewardship, I gather information broadly, from diverse sources. Over the last number of years, I have been inspired by a Catholic priest who is now 102-years-old: Arturo Paoli. Paoli is […]
Skillful Charitable Giving Begins With a Plan
Do you remember last month, when you were rushing around trying to get things together for holiday visits, gifts, and entertaining? At that same time, were you also scrambling to make charitable donations? Maybe you wanted to benefit your 2014 […]