In the Old Testament book of I Kings we begin to see the shift from Exodus to Empire. Under the kingship of Solomon the Israelites who were once the oppressed are now becoming the oppressors. After Solomon’s death, the throne gets turned over to his son, Rehoboam, and he is faced with an immediate leadership decision.
The people come to him complaining and in great need. Rehoboam asks for the input of his elders and they tell him (in I Kings 12:7) to be a servant to his people...
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As the new normal rises and grows from the downfall of the economy, nonprofits have unimaginable influence. Nonprofits can create a ‘new normal’ for donors and fundraising. The days of transactional giving need to give way to transformational giving. Even the language we use is changing. Words like ‘donor’ and ‘ministry support’ morph into the new normal words of ‘champion’ and ‘cause development.’
I have been in fundraising for over 20 years. and I have never seen such as time as this...
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The new normal is upon us. Though uninvited and not fully defined, it is here to stay.
Here are some new normal outcomes for nonprofits to ponder:
In this new normal those who only gave out of their excess no longer have excess. Those donors are gone.
The builders and boomers who just lost billions in the largest stock free-fall since the great depression all have much lighter planned giving wallets. Planned Giving itself will morph with the new normal as planned giving will...
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The new buzz phrase for the world is the new normal. Does anyone really know what the new normal is? How is it affecting you? When I googled “new normal,” over 1 million entries popped on my screen in less that 1/3 of a second. Lots of people are talking about the new normal. What is it, and how does it affect nonprofits?
The economy is the driver of this new normal thinking, and the economic freefall has touched us all. A 2009 National “Economic Outlook Survey” just released by the...
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Do we as ministry leaders communicate our vision – our God-given vision – often enough to our people?
This was the question running through my mind as I recently prepared to teach a Mission Increase Foundation workshop. (BTW, visit www.MissionIncrease.org to learn about our monthly workshops.)
The answer: No we don’t.
This is something we all know but let me state it anyway: vision drains out of people. They hear it. They believe in it. They love it. There’s buy-in...
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