Blueprint Fundraising

Thought for the day

“It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

A thought for Earth Day

“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”

-– Marshall McLuhan

Quotation: Teach them to long…

If you want to build a ship,
don’t herd people together to collect wood
And don’t assign them tasks and work
but rather, teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea.

– Antoine de Saint Exupéry
I absolutely love this quote. It’s so pertinent to fundraising. How many of us focus on the how-to details and forget to feed a passion for social change in the people sympathetic our causes?

Spotted on the Gift Hub blog. Photo by wili hybrid.

116 years later, we are still annoying

Hello friends! What a summer I’ve had. I haven’t actually been away ever since my last posting but you know how this time of year is… I hope your summer was relaxing and that you are tackling your fall fundraising with a feeling of refreshment.

I’m excited! I can’t quite say why, except maybe my time off really did its job. Lake Anne was wonderful. And my first (but not last) trip to Burning Man was amazing! I might blog about it from the perspective of Masterful Management of an Insane Special Event Involving 45,000 Unusual People and Lots of Fire.

Meanwhile, here’s something my partner Andy came across whilst doing some summer reading.

Have people been really complaining of donor fatigue since 1891? The answer is yes.

From The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde:

‘Humph! Tell your Aunt Agatha, Harry, not to bother me anymore with her charity appeals. I am sick of them. Why, the good woman thinks I have nothing to do but write cheques for her silly fads.’

‘All right, Uncle George, I’ll tell her, but it won’t have any effect. Philanthropic people lose all sense of humanity. It is their distinguishing characteristic.’

Quotation: The good news is…

This is cute.

“I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it’s still out there in your pockets.”

Spotted on The Extreme Fundraising Blog.

Quotation: Righting the wrongs of the 80s

It’s gonna cost more than a million…

“Do you really want to know why I’m doing all this goodwill, and why I’m an ambassador for Habitat for Humanity and why I gave a million to (Hurricane) Katrina?

“It’s because I feel guilty about the huge hole in the ozone layer my haircuts created. It’s my responsibility to right the wrongs of the ’80s.”

- Jon Bon Jovi

Quotation: What is the use of living…

“What is the use of living if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?”

– Winston Churchill

Quotation: I can live for two weeks…

“I can live for two weeks on a good compliment.” – Mark Twain

When was the last time you told a volunteer how much you appreciate them?

Quotation: One generation plants the trees…

“One generation plants the trees, the other gets the shade.” - Chinese proverb, found on a note card published by Volunteer Vancouver

Quotation: the give-nots

The main problem is not the haves and the have-nots — it’s the give-nots. - Arnold H. Glasow