119: Avoid Rage Giving in a Campaign

Reflections on Generosity

"...Hatred of evil should constrain you to right, not fear. When her anger is kindled by injustice, goodness changes her form...."

This week, I’m reading from the Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave, written during the 1st century BC.

Reflection question:

• If you are experiencing a funding obstacle, how are you creating a positive message for your potential campaign donors?
  

Reflection on quote:

During times of uncertainty, there are two opposite errors in our campaign messaging that we can fall into. We start blaming others and encourage rage giving to our capital campaign. Or, we create desperate pleas for emergency giving with the implicit threat that project will fail with the donations. This week, I will be reflecting on weaknesses with rage giving and, next week, with emergency giving. So, let’s reflect on rage giving. My favorite cartoon is Calvin and Hobbes. On July 7, 1995, the cartoonist Bill Watterson published a particularly apt description of a trend in fundraising. While I encourage you to view the cartoon and I have placed the link in the show notes, let me read the captions. Calvin states, “I’m writing a fund-raising letter. The secret to getting donations is to depict everyone who disagrees with you as the enemy. Then you explain how they’re systemically working to destroy everything you hold dear. It’s a war of values! Rational discussion is hopeless! Compromise is unthinkable! Our only help is well-funded antagonism to keep up the fight. Hobbes replies. How cynically unconstructive. Calvin responds, Enmity sells.” Enmity in fundraising does sell. The short-term gains by creating enemies and fear are measurable, but long-term is very unprofitable as some wisdom from the past shows us.

We can get angry when a key grant or donation is cancelled mid-construction without any cause or notice. We can get angry at the reason for the funding to be cancelled, especially when it is seemingly for an inhumane or nefarious purpose. Yet, there can be some advantage and with patience that advantage will reveal its hidden riches. The advantage could be greater community support to fill the gap. So, as we message through a funding loss, it’s important to shift any enmity in our messaging to positive outcome that our donor base can embrace. Although rage giving result in short-term increases in donations, enmity excludes potential donors; whereas, goodness in our messaging can expand the donor base. With this expanded donor base, we see long-term sustainability in ongoing giving after the capital campaign is over.

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Music credit: Woeisuhmebop