Jesus the (unlikely?) Fundraiser

I am drawn to Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus.   What a powerful redemptive story.  It is one, I believe, that is instructive to those of us who raise funds for non-profit causes.  

Let’s go back to that “freeze frame” moment when Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus (see part 1 of my reflection on this story here).  I imagine Jesus was thinking about fundraising (please bear with me on this). For this to be true, the definition of fundraising as we understand it today must change dramatically.

Jesus knew, as he stated many times, how often our money and possessions separate us from God.  Consider these teachable moments that occurred during Jesus’ time on earth:

You cannot serve two masters.

It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and care for the sick and imprisoned will be welcomed into eternal life.
Those who don’t?  I never knew you.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

As I reflect on the story of Zacchaeus it seems clear that Jesus knew this was an important moment in time.  Although Jesus was aware of Zacchaeus’ wealth, something more needed to occur in their encounter that day.  Something sacred.  Jesus was calling Zacchaeus to discover a whole new understanding of what God designed for his life.  He knew Zacchaeus’ expression of hospitality and generosity would be a transformational experience for Zacchaeus, his family, and the community around him.

As fundraisers I suggest we use this story to redefine the meaning of our sacred task.  There are many more stories in the Gospels where Jesus interacts with people around the subject of money.  Here are some key questions we can ask of ourselves:

🙄Are we reading people well?  

🙄Do we have some sense of what our potential donors are called to?

🙄Are we calling them to the heart of Jesus’ mission of hospitality and generosity?

How might this help inform a new definition of fundraising?  I’ll suggest something and let’s toss it about…I would love to hear your thoughts:

• A major gift fundraiser seeks to be a discoverer of, and a blessing to, people of wealth and influence…
• Inviting them to move toward those things which God has designed and called them to…
• Encouraging them to be generous and calling them to the heart of Gospel action…

Sometimes our fundraising work involves a specific reference to money and/or assets, just like the example of Jesus and the man who ran to him asking about eternal life.  In other cases our invitation may be demonstrated simply by our willingness to receive a gift we did not ask for (recall the woman who used expensive perfume to wash Jesus’ feet).  

Perhaps our invitation looks like Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus, carefully observing, connecting with the life of another…then inviting them to see what you see.  All of these invitations are highly relational and deeply transformational.

When our efforts to raise funds for the causes we support are simply transactional, we will raise up supporters who express their generosity ‘transactionally’.

When we raise funds with transformation in mind…we gain a front row seat to transformational generosity.  It is, without a doubt, a taste we can deeply savor of the Kingdom to come.

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‍I look forward to hearing about your good work.

Blessings,

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