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Reflections on GenerosityAuthor: Serving Nonprofits by Chany Reon Ockert Consulting, LLC, CFRE
Kick off your week with a 5-minute reflection on generosity to ground yourself in the right mindset for capital campaigns. Each reflection includes a question to ponder throughout the week to aid your work. Language: en-us Genres: Business, Careers, Non-Profit Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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135: Neuroscience and Giving - Generosity During Emergencies
Episode 135
Monday, 26 January, 2026
"Urgency triggers a distinctive neurobiological state. In fundraising terms, this means an urgent appeal can literally put a donors brain in “alert mode” prioritizing rapid action over careful deliberation."I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.Reflection question:How will you maintain a sense of urgent and hopeful intentionality while being strategic during a sudden crisis?Reflection on quote:This is the last installment in exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a book recently released by my friend and colleague Cherian Koshy. This series has only looked at a handful of insights from this book; you can purchase his book using the link in the show notes. This week, we are looking at emergencies as it relates to capital campaigns because during capital campaigns in small towns there will be at least one crisis. Next week, we will look at abundance.When the capital campaign hits a sudden crisis—maybe the Executive Director or Campaign Chair steps down mid-campaign, or construction costs jump significantly, or a major pledge falls through—our instinct might be to send out a panicked fundraising appeal. While these messages will help donors prioritize quick action, the key is finding the right balance where we're honest about the challenge without overwhelming donors and we also include hope to inspire confidence and action.But here's the caution: we can’t cry wolf repeatedly. If donors feel manipulated or exhausted by constant emergencies, they will start tuning the capital campaign out. To avoid this, we must be strategic. Not every donor needs to be asked for every crisis. Instead, we are honest about the challenge. We share the plan to solve the crisis. Finally, we are intentional in determining which segment of funders we will ask to fill the gap. Here's how to purchase Neurogiving from Wiley or Amazon.Quote used by permission.What do you think? Send me a text. To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop
