STOP YOUR CHARITY!

After considering a Facebook friend's much deserved rant about an overly-expectant charity I feel a post emerging from my sluggish pen (i.e. keyboard) about our charitable giving . . . STOP! JUST STOP! Yes, I said STOP!

For just one month - for January 2017 - stop all giving (except your church tithe; yes, your first 10% should go directly to your place of worship/prayer/place of faith).

Why stop? To fast. Fasting makes you slow down . . . I guess that's a pun. Slow down and think, pray, feel. About your charity - your time, talent, and treasure. What is your purpose in sharing those three most valuable personal commodities? What impact are you making with them? Is it even measurable? Does the charity even measure its impact or success and communicate that to you?

What is your mission in giving (again, not just money). That's right . . . What's your end game? Make you feel okay about yourself? For a pat on the back? Get on the major donor list? Recognition at the annual gala?

Or to make others feel good - or maybe just better? Does your effort enable the suffering of others or actually develop the person and the community? Are you in it for the short or long haul? A quick fix or a relationship? For life or legacy?

What is your mission as a steward of what you've earned or been given? Remember, its not just money, your time (which some consider more valuable), and talents. What will your legacy look like? Yep...when you're dead and gone? What will you leave the world besides your ashes? Will you steward from beyond your grave?

So stop giving for a month and fast...think...feel...pray...meditate on your God-gifted Time, Treasure, and Talent. Then write your Stewardship mission statement for 2017, and whatever exists beyond it and your life's legacy to the world. What, why, when, how, how much, for what end, and how will you know you did well in doing good?

Then, and only then . . . Give . . . As a Steward.

Steward your life, wholeheartedly and with godly joy.

Here's a link to a short post to help with your meditating and to create your mission statement to make a lasting, Kingdom impact through stewardship.

Outline your Stewardship

What kind of impact do you want to make?

A critical question . . . "What kind of impact do you want your life to make in the world?" What is the legacy you want to leave your children, the next generations, the Church, the disadvantaged, the Least, the Last and the Lost?

Ever since our first year of marriage when we read several books about missionaries Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and three other men who gave their lives for the feared and undiscovered "Auca" people, my wife, Leslie and I have sought to make a difference. 

Coming up on our 35th anniversary, we can look back and see our service in churches, camping, as technical support missionaries, teaching in schools, homeless shelters, and even the business and corporate sector. For us there is no dichotomy of sacred and secular. What our hands find as a task is ministry - and makes an impact. Raising our four children into responsible adults will leave its mark as well. 

Investing our lives and resources is part of the impact we make and the legacy we leave. As we steward the time, treasure and talent we are given by God, into what "accounts" are you investing those resources? Following the example of the missionaries who have given their all to the Kingdom, may I make a suggestion? Consider the impact of this ministry and what it can do with your investment of life, finances, and prayer . . . 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Elliot and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Saint

"We CAN do what we do without you, However..."

As a ministry leader and fundraiser I have to confess that I have disliked the phrase from the first time I heard it . . .“We can't do what we do without you.” The misguided mantra we use in an effort to convince our donors and volunteers how valuable they are to the ministry.

After over a decade of feeling this way, my perspective was finally confirmed by my good friend Doug Shaw in his recently released book, “The Rules of Fundraising.” Doug’s Rule #9 states: You don't have to lie to raise money [or get people to volunteer].¹ This admonition is included with a few of the “little white lies” we advance, along with overstating the impact of our organization.  

Now don’t get me wrong – what ministry partners do and give is no less than critical to a successful and effective ministry. But to make such an overstatement robs the glory from the true origin of all our available resources and abilities to serve people in need . . . that of our heavenly Provider.

God is the true owner and provider of all that we have – and all that the donor and volunteer share with us. Those who share are merely His chosen stewards of what is His. I actually verbalized this a few times when thanking those who served my ministry by saying that while we could still do most our work without their involvement, their participation made it so much more meaningful and less challenging . . . and our success wouldn't be such a blessing if we weren't sharing it with them. I wondered though, if that resonated as much.

If what I feel is right, in what way can we make our gratitude known to those who invest their time, treasure, and talents in the ministry? We can appreciate them and their investment by acknowledging that they empower us to serve in a manner that is enhanced and more effective – and which pleases our Lord. I feel the more important idea to convey is the vital impact our partners bring to the table through their efforts.

Their involvement has a direct bearing on the breadth and depth of the ministry to, and the life-change produced in, those we serve. That impact is the mantra we should voice – and not understate.

¹ Douglas K. Shaw, The Rules of Fundraising, Naperville: DSA, 2013, pg 58, brackets mine.  

Leveraging the Passion of our Emerging Leadership in Philanthropy

Just a year ago in an article discussing the changing culture of nonprofits and the failing economy, I examined the decline of the nonprofit sector due to its failure of facing the realities of a changing market and demographic.* Following this marked decline, in just a few years we have seen an increasing flow of new blood in the sector . . . young leaders (I dislike tagging them “millennial”) are bringing a new passion and desire to impact their society.  

To this aging Boomer, having served most of my vocation in nonprofits, this brings a surprising feeling of promise and a desire to see them become empowered in a way my generation failed to realize through our efforts in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

This upwelling of philanthropic youth is more than evident here at the 50th International Conference of Fundraising in San Diego. The San Diego Convention Center is teeming with young people, wherein such a conference a decade ago would have witnessed an older attendee. In a review class for the CFRE – a certification for those with fundraising experience – there were quite a few young people who obviously did not bring experience of the level normally expected to such a class. I propose that not a few of them thought some of the material and processes discussed a bit mechanistic and antiquated. Additionally, the crowd was standing room only and overflowing the room of the First Timers orientation meeting.  This leads me to wonder what is the impetus of these new fundraisers? 

For those of us who have long been involved in nonprofit fund development, we may recognize the surge of funds now flowing from our generation’s estates, and how best to help divert them from the government and invest in charitable efforts. I sense, however, that the new conference attendees are not so much interested in investing these funds, but rather investing themselves in the empowerment of others. They recognize the weakness of government and institutions to meet the growing gap in services and bring a new paradigm to the task.

While wanting to encourage and empower this new generation, we need to sensitively guide them and their enthusiasm into this sector. Just as the ‘90s saw a growth of nonprofits that was impossible to properly fund, we can allow them to be change agents within existing organizations, as well as lead collaborations, acquisitions, and mergers which will increase capacity, reduce duplications, and bring a new face and paradigm to, not just the nonprofit sector, but to the for-profit sector and world-wide commerce as well.

How we assist, educate, encourage and empower this emerging leadership will be the fulcrum on which their impact is leveraged.  

http://ym.christianleadershipalliance.org/?CriticalShift

Noble Development vs. Toxic Charity

Food coops that donate to needy individuals who are not personally involved in the process can deter from the long-term goal of self-sustaining development. To be more effectively developmental charitable coops should invite underprivileged families to come and be involved in the process from scratch . . . Thereby cultivating their pride as well as their sustenance. They could then sell or trade the excess in a farmers market to buy other needed food items -- or donate to a shelter that provides for emergency shelter and meals. To do so for people beyond their emergency need unfortunately turns the noble effort into "Toxic Charity".

http://fcsministries.org/books/toxic-charity/

"Churches and charities have fallen into the bad habit of creating programs to help the poor when in reality the only people they are helping are themselves, creating a toxic charity that needs to be reexamined and fixed. In this groundbreaking book, Lupton shows how good-intentioned people are actually hurting the very people they’re trying to help. The poor end up feeling judged, looked down upon, only worthy of charity and handouts that end up making them more dependent instead of learning skills to help themselves. Churches and charitable organizations, though good-intentioned, have missed the mark when it comes to serving the poor, creating a toxic form of charity. Lupton says that a better system would be to treat the poor as business partners, empowering them to start businesses, build houses, plan communities, etc. He offers specific organizations as examples of this healthier model of charity and gives practical ideas for how to get involved in service projects that truly help. Together, we can serve our world in a way that actually effects life-altering change."

“I Gain More Than I Give . . .”

As a Christian, Kevin Clothier wanted to use his gifts to serve others and bring glory to Christ.

He teaches a creative writing course for guests here at the Mission to give them something they can be proud of and to show God’s work unfolding in their lives.

Kevin designed the course to suit various skill levels. It starts with simple journals chronicling their days here at the Mission and significant events of the past. These journal entries are then refined and the final pieces are read aloud during chapel services.

“For me, the most exciting aspect of this process is to watch the men begin to grasp God’s redemptive purposes as their work comes together. Inevitably each writer sees how his own creative expression fits into the grand scheme of God’s plan.”

If you are interested in volunteering at LBRM, contact Denise at (562) 216-7610 or volunteer@lbrm.org for more information.

Christmas Blessings

A week of Christmas events is now behind us; hundreds of men, women, and children have been blessed with meals and gifts . . . and the smiles and a touch from our donors and volunteers. It’s amazing how Christmas provides impetus for people to give, and give, and give . . .

As co-sponsor of the Christmas Gift Store at the 1st Congregational Church, the Mission joined forces with Better Balance for Long Beach, Long Beach First Lady Nancy Foster, and a band of volunteer elves in providing 500 families an opportunity to “buy” gifts for their kids, siblings, and parents.

Two years ago we separated the Mission’s Stocking Gift program from the meal event as both the growing number of people volunteering and those coming for meals and gifts were too much to handle at one time. We then split our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals into two-day events (mostly to accommodate more opportunities for our growing number of volunteers) which bless hundreds more people. We even have to employ a volunteer coordinator to facilitate the hundreds of people who desire to help at each event. She has a tough time getting volunteers to come for just a one-hour shift, as their heart’s desire is to spend all day at the Mission.

Local companies and community leaders call, seeking an opportunity to volunteer at our gift and meal events – to give to the less fortunate, the disadvantaged, and the homeless. It is a bit stressful to attempt to accommodate every request, and my mind was tired as I tried to think of how to honor a request from our local bank CEO. We had already filled all the volunteer shifts at our Stocking Giveaway, our two-day meal events, had each family covered in our Lydia House shelter for women and children . . . what else could we offer? I thought of someone who had recently asked about how we measure success and remembered that we DO have success stories – those who we are able to help reconcile back into society. We were able to contact six single mother families – alumnae of Lydia House – and have them come and receive gifts and dinner that were supplied by the CEO’s children. It was nice to see such leadership in a bank executive with his children as he helped them see what giving back really means – up close and personal.

We were in the midst of our Christmas Eve-eve dinner meal Tuesday when a 27 foot U-Haul drove up to our rear gate. It was loaded with pallets of turkeys, meats, and dry goods. I was almost speechless. Our food service director wasn’t though – he said that this was the largest single donation in his 22 years at the Mission. A company executive had heard about the Mission from his attorney and he rented the truck to fill it with needed items that will serve us well into 2009. This was like the proverbial “icing on the cake” to a holiday season full of giving and blessings from our supporters.

With all that now finished, at my dining room table over some oatmeal this morning I was watching the waves splashing over the breakwater and saw how that controversial wall of rocks provides a calm harbor for cargo ships, sailboats, oil islands, and protects our shoreline from the often tumultuous waves. That's a good picture of what we provide to the street weary men and women and at-risk families through our facilities, services and programs. That is what all those volunteers and donors provide to those coming through our doors . . . a safe harbor to rest and refresh from the cold, wet, and sometimes harsh human element of the street-life; a calm environment in which to consider the possibility and gift of a changed life.

Amanda (my eldest daughter), who helps run the Winter Shelter just called asking if she can order a bunch of pizzas for the 75 or so homeless taking refuge there during this rainy Christmas day. She's like that – wanting to give a little more than expected. My youngest daughter, Molly, interrupted my blogging to ask if we can light up the fireplace. I think a fire and a warm cup of cocoa would be nice right now.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and those least among us.
God Bless you & Merry Christmas!