Everyone gives. Giving and receiving are part of the natural cycle of life. Giving is one of the greatest joys and privileges of life.

Principles for those encouraging generosity

  • Labors of love attract community.
  • People give to people and causes that matter, not to institutions.
  • Henri Nouwen teaches leaders to be confident and joyful. Stand up and ask without apology.
  • Do not ask people to give anything you are not supporting with both time and money.
  • Invite people to give freely out of joy and grace, not guilt. (2 Cor. 9:7)
  • If you can’t boldly preach the cause, you might have the wrong cause.
  • Remember that you are not just raising funds for this moment, but teaching people a long-term spiritual relationship with their material positions.
  • Fundraising is a ministry of conversion. (Nouwen)
  • People will give most generously to a vision that makes their pulse quicken and their palms sweat, a vision that makes them sit up and say, “Wow, I want to be part of this.”
  • Do not ask people to give money only, but invite them to be part of the work if they wish, and at the very least part of the thinking and imagination that goes around the work. Generosity is more than a transaction.
  • Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
  • Make love your aim. 1 Corinthians 14:1.

Books on Generosity

Benjamin Franklin’s Legacy Giving

Benjamin Franklin, in his well, left a legacy that lasted over 200 years. You can read about it here: https://michaelrinehart.com/2018/10/29/benjamin-franklins-actual-estate-plan/

More Scripture Reflections on Generosity

  • “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
  • “Give and it will be given to you, good measure, press down, shake it together overflowing…” Luke 6:38
  • “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
  • After a gracious encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus gave 50%. Luke 19
  • The widow’s penny was 100%, everything. Luke 21:1–4
  • “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Matthew 7:7
  • “You have not because you ask not.” (James 4:2)
  • Even in their own poverty, the Christians in Corinth gave eagerly to the church in Jerusalem. 2 Corinthians 9
  • “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:7–8
  • “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity…” 2 Corinthians 9:11
  • “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31–33

Quotes on Generosity

  • “From the perspective of the gospel, fundraising is not a response to a crisis. Fundraising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission.” (Nouwen, p. 16)
  • “Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging… Rather, we are declaring, ‘We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you—your energy, your prayers, and your money—in this work to which God has called us.’” (Nouwen, p. 16)
  • “Fundraising is also always a call to conversion. In fundraising as ministry, we are inviting people into a new way of relating to their resources.” (Nouwen, p. 17, 19)
  • “People support what they help create.” (Deacon Peggy Hahn, LEAD)
  • “The kingdom is where God provides for all that we need. It is the realm of sufficiency where we are no longer pulled here and there by anxiety about having enough.” (Nouwen, p. 24)
  • “When Jesus fed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, he was showing us how God’s love can multiply the effects of our generosity (see Matt. 14:13-21).” (Nouwen, p. 46)