149: Patience in Planning - Hold Loosely to Wishes

"...Fancy is fruitful and promises fair, but, like the dog in the fable, we catch at a shadow, and when we find the disappointment, we are vexed, not with ourselves, who are really the impostors, but with the poor, innocent thing or person of whom we have formed such strange ideas..."

This week, I am reading from Abigail Adams’ letter to Hannah Lincoln, written in 1761.

Reflection questions:

• Have you become too firmly attached to the capital project you have envisioned and formed false notions of things and persons?
• Have you invited donors hear your wishes for the project and then listened to their input to make the project better?

Reflections on quote:

During the strategic, pre-development, and construction planning, we have grand wishes of what the project will be.  We dream about our mission and how this building will further that dream. It is a beautiful element in every capital campaign. Unfortunately, we can move too quickly from the construction planning to the quiet phase of asking donors.  And, in doing so, we can form false notions about things and persons; that, about the project and the donors who will fund the project. Then reality and disappointment will suddenly confront us when we are across the table making an ask to a donor who doesn’t have the same wishes for the project. Instead, we need to be to patient in planning, holding loosely our wishes and vision for the project until after we invite prospective donors to give their input into the project. Otherwise, we can become too firmly attached to an idea for the project that a potential donor won’t fund.  When we listen to donor’s advice, we hold our wishes loosely and invite these donors to help us make our wishes and dreams for the project even more practical and life-giving to the small towns we serve.

This work has entered the public domain.

To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

0:00

Welcome back. Every week we pause to reflect because capital campaigns, especially in small towns, aren't just about buildings and budgets. They're about people choosing to be generous. This podcast explores the beautiful space where generosity occurs through ancient and modern writings from all cultures and religions seeking deeper wisdom for capital campaign work in small towns. Whether you're just starting out or deep in the middle of a campaign, these five minute reflections will ground you, encourage you, and remind you why this work matters. Today is the third in our series on having patience in the planning process of a capital campaign. Last time, we looked at the long process of relationship building with donors while we are envisioning and planning a capital campaign. This week, we will look at adapting our capital campaign plan to what donors will fund with wisdom from the past. I am reading from Abigail Adams' letter to Hannah Lincoln, written in 1761. Quote And now let me ask you, my friends, whether you do not think that many of our disappointments and much of our happiness arise from our forming false notions of things and persons. We strangely impose upon ourselves; we create a fairyland of happiness. Fancy is the fruitful and promises fair. But like a dog in the fable, we catch at a shadow, and when we find the disappointment, we are vexed, not with ourselves, who are really the imposters, but with the poor innocent thing or person of whom we have formed such strange ideas. When this is the case, I believe we always find that we have enjoyed more pleasure in the anticipation than in the real enjoyment of our wishes. Dr. Young says, "Our wishes give us not our wishes. Some disappointments are indeed more grievous than others. Since they are our lot, let us bear them with patience. That person that cannot bear a disappointment must not live in a world so changeable as this." Unquote. During the strategic pre-development and construction planning, we have grand wishes of what we want the project to be. We dream about our mission and how this building will further that dream. It is a beautiful element in every capital campaign. Unfortunately, we can move too quickly from construction planning to the quiet phase of asking donors, and in doing so, we can form false notions about things and persons, that is, about the project and the donors who will fund the project. Then reality and disappointment will suddenly confront us when we are across the table making an ask of a donor who does not have the same wishes for the project. Instead, we need to be patient in planning, holding loosely our dreams and visions and wishes for the project until after we invite prospective donors to give their input into the project. Otherwise, we can become too firmly attached to an idea for the project that a potential donor will not fund. When we listen to donors' advice, we hold our wishes loosely, and we invite these donors to help us make our wishes and dreams for the project even more practical and life-giving in the small towns we serve. Let's reflect on two questions this week. Have you become too firmly attached to the capital project you have envisioned and formed false notions of things and persons, that is, the project and the donors? Have you invited donors to hear your and then listen for their input to make the project even better? Next week, we will start a series on developing discipline during a capital campaign Share this podcast if you enjoy these five minute reflections and subscribe to receive these reflections released every week. To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper, visit serving nonprofits.com. See you next week.