Blueprint Fundraising

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.

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.’

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.

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

“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

“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?

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

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

Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do. - Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam

I’m starting a new category: quotes on philanthropy and fundraising. If there are any quotes that you like, please email me or post them as comments.

It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. - Proverbs 11:24-25

Via True Wealth Report