I just returned from the #leadingage19 Annual Meeting and Expo. There I co-presented a session about endowments with Bill McMorran from Green Oak Consulting. Thinking about endowments and legacy giving reminded me of this story which I posted late last year.

“Today is my mother’s birthday. She’s been gone for nearly 20 years but her legacy lives on in the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that are part of her family line.

Today she is the focus of an article about legacy because she is the perfect example of the phrase we use in our work: anyone can leave a legacy. As a first-generation American who lived through the Depression mom didn’t have much, yet what she did have she shared.

She gave in simple ways, in the church collection plate and by leaving food on the porch for people passing through the community who had no home. Those may seem small contributions but like the story of the starfish being thrown into the ocean one at a time, her gifts made a difference for each hungry person who came by our house.

I have come to realize that it was my mother’s example that led me to become a giver. In some ways it was also she who led me to become a fundraiser. I do what I do because, like my mom, I believe that giving is about changing and saving lives (sometimes of the donor as much as the recipient).

Mother, I didn’t say it when you were alive, thank you. Thank you for giving me life and for being the role model that you were, you may be gone, but your legacy lives on.”

My mom didn’t have the resources to create a financial endowment. However, she endowed her family with gifts equal to those given by the wealthiest of donors.

Is there someone who endowed you with a gift that has enhanced your life? Remember that donors may be thinking about someone like this when they choose to create an endowed fund in honor or memory of a loved one or friend (maybe even a pet).

As fundraisers, we come across people from all circumstances. Some appear to be lacking in resources yet are financially considered to be rich. Others have much, yet seem to be lacking in spirit and seek connection and meaning. Still, others are not able to contribute large sums of money but want to ensure a lasting impact by giving what they can in the form of a legacy gift.

All of these many other types of donors can create or contribute to endowed funds. We can help these individuals to make meaning of their lives and legacies. We can serve as conduits for them to pass on values or change the world in ways that will live on long after they have departed this world.

Whose life might you change today?

Looking for more writing like this? Check out posts by Jennifer Harris of JHCollective, Jim Langley of Langely Innovations, and Jay Frost.

Sophie Penney is the President of i5 Fundraising and the Senior Program Coordinator and a Lecturer for Penn State University’s online courses in fundraising.

Have you attended a donor recognition or campaign closing event where you heard a leader make one of these statements?

“This year we raised a $500,000 (or $300M)!”

“We reached a milestone, raising X% more than last year!”

“This year’s fundraising total reached a record $Y,000,000!”

“You didn’t raise it (money), donors gave it (their support)! As I have said in other missives, such as Flip the Focus, we need to change the narrative. Don’t believe me? Consider reading Ron Schiller’s book Belief and Confidence. In the introduction, Ron notes that:

“almost every major and transformational gift described as highly satisfying and/or the most successful was also described by the donors as self solicited.” (p. xvii).

Ron goes on to suggest that the dichotomy which I describe above, an “us or them” mentality, doesn’t best describe the type of relationship we as fundraisers should seek to have with donors – a philanthropic partnership:

“. . . it became clear that environments marked by high levels of belief and confidence produce philanthropic partnerships: a culture in which both organizational leaders and donors talk about each other as partners . . . which blurs the line between solicitation  and self-solicitation.” (p. xvii).

This led me to wonder, what might be the best way to declare that exciting goals or milestone have been achieved?

As partners in philanthropy we together have . . .

Thanks to your gifts the lives of people seeking to lift themselves out of poverty will be changed.

Together, we can and will (fill in the blank – find a cure, save a child, feed a family, etc., etc. etc.)

As you think about this you might revisit last week’s post, Summer Reading: Lessons Learned about Women and Philanthropy, which focused on women’s philanthropy. Kathleen Loehr’s book, Gender Matters, invites us to think differently about the language used when speaking with and about women as donors. The same can be said for Lilya Wagner’s Diversity and Philanthropy: Expanding the Circle of Giving.

What say you? What language do you employ at your recognition events or in your impact or annual reports? Is it all about your or your donors (or a bit of both)?

FYI, not sure where to begin? You might review this diagram from Mark Phillips (Bluefrog Fundraising Limited): The Fundraising Paradox. Also, check out Anne Manner-McClarty’s blog posts at Heurista. 

I look forward to hearing from you because through our work together we help change and save lives.

Together we can elevate the conversation far better than I can do on my own.

Sophie Penney, Ph.D. is the President of i5 Fundraising and the Senior Program Coordinator and a Lecturer for Penn State programs in fundraising. Sophie does not receive compensation for recommending any of the above persons or resources.