Self Care for Major Gift Fundraisers (Part 2 of 3)
The first time I attended a Twelve Step meeting I was invited by someone who had been participating for several months. I was there simply to be a support, and observe. Arriving at the location, I carried a pinch of stigma and shame, sort of looking both ways, wondering if anyone we knew might see us walking into the building. The meeting was called “Debtors Anonymous”, a Twelve Step program designed to help individuals overcome compulsive spending and debt-related issues.
Two profound thoughts have lingered in my heart and mind since that experience:
#1 - This Twelve Steps thing is what Jesus was talking about.
Be honest…be relatable…stay on a path to healing…be humble…be transparent…give and receive grace.
#2 - This is exactly what a church community needs to embody.
This is what Jesus was talking about.
The Twelve Steps hold true for every human being. Why, you ask? Well, most of us have coping mechanisms which, at the end of the day, are probably unhealthy for our minds, bodies, and souls.
Here’s what I’ve discovered about my own coping mechanisms…they promise life, and they deliver death.
How do the Twelve Steps relate to our role as major gift fundraisers?
We are constantly building relationships with people, encouraging them to be generous to the world around them. What a privilege! Yet, most of us recognize there can be a dark side to spending large portions of our time around people of high wealth, extravagance, luxury, comfort, etc. With high esteem and love, I commend these Twelve Steps for your consideration. And I hope you will take time to consider how they might apply to your life and work.
The Twelve Steps
Step 1: Admit that I am powerless. “I can’t…”
Step 2: Believe that only something greater than myself can help me become better than I am. “God can…”
Step 3: Make a decision to turn my will over to something greater than myself. “I think I’ll let God…”
Step 4: Make a searching and fearless inventory of myself.
Step 5: Admit to God, to myself, and to another human being the exact nature of my wrongs.
Step 6: Become entirely ready to have God remove any defects of character.
Step 7: Humbly ask God to remove my shortcomings.
Step 8: Make a list of all the people I have harmed and become willing to make amends with all of them.
Step 9: Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Step 10: Continue to take personal inventory and when I’m wrong, promptly admit it.
Step 11: Seek through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, as I understand him, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for me and the power to carry it out.
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, I try to carry this message to others who are suffering, and to practice these principles in all my affairs.
The way of Jesus is to live an abundant life. May you experience life that leads to freedom.
(Special thanks to Salt House Church in Kirkland, Washington. Remarkably, their Lenten series this past Spring was based on the twelve steps. It’s called I Can’t. (listen to all of the sermons here.)
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Depending on your day to day needs in major donor fundraising, I have three options you can choose from to energize your efforts:
- The Catalyst Course - a major donor fundraising course for those who are new to the task.
- The High-Performance Course (inquire directly if interested) - a major donor fundraising course for experienced professionals.
- The Flywheel Package - a customized six month consultation for people who are leading teams of major donor fundraisers.
The Catalyst Course is affordable at a cost of $500 and can be done in a schedule that fits best for you, taking anywhere from four weeks to three months to complete. Everything I have learned, successes and failures, is packed into these courses for your benefit and enjoyment. I have taken hundreds of folks through this content, helping them with fundraising strategies to empower causes all over the world.
Now is the time to take advantage of these resources!
I look forward to hearing about your good work.
Blessings,
