Tag Archives: transformational giving

Kickoff Time for Investors

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Football season: the time of year when we invest over 2 hours watching men in one color of uniform repeatedly try to hold on to an odd-shaped ball while running toward a big “H” with the intent to get past that big “H” before someone in another color uniform trips him up or somehow manages to steal that ball and run with it in the other direction.

American football field and ball on green grass.

When one guy gets the ball over a white chalk line half of the crowd stands up and roars while the guy that took the ball over that line is mobbed by a bunch of men all dressed in the same color uniform.

Getting that odd-shaped ball over the white line is very important. Much like getting prepared for end of year giving.

Football fans love a good football game, and we love watching all those last-second decisions made by the players. They remind our customers that it’s time to make investment decisions that are both “transformational” and that will make an “impact.”

Transformational giving is what the nonprofit and the donor experience when the gift “transforms” or changes either or both parties. Think of transformational giving as the football player that assumes his role in order to win for his team. In transformational giving the financial returns do not come back to the investor, rather it generates revenue so that the organization doesn’t need additional grants to run its programs.

An impact investment is a socially responsible form of investing that creates measurable social or environmental impact alongside a financial return for the investor.

This model will not work for all charities (eg: disaster relief), but for most it enables a gift to keep on giving and attracts high net worth charitable investors. If this type of long term thinking fascinates you, inspires you, challenges you… or if you are a major gift or development officer, or you know someone who is, we’d like to lead the conversation.

Transactional vs Transformational Giving

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For transactional donors, recognition is often a driving factor. In return for their donation, the transactional donor may receive a plaque, their name engraved on a wall, or their gala attendance photo on the society page. Others are happy to simply receive a set of return address labels or notepads decorated with the nonprofit’s logo. A transactional gift rarely gives a donor the opportunity to understand and appreciate the non-profit’s vision and long-term impact. Without creating passion for the cause, the charity is left with no other resource that to keep the giver on their mailing list and ask over and over again.

collage of giving causes

Transformational donors are deeply concerned about the impact of their monetary gift. They are passionate about a cause and want to share their resources to support the nonprofit that shares that passion. Their gift is “transformational” — that is, the giving experience “transforms” or changes both the donor and the nonprofit. Donors have been described as “an actor in a story about how a group of people trying to build a better future were able to do it because there were so many heads, hands, and hearts playing the same role.

If you want to learn more about moving from transactional to transformational giving, or want to step up your game in a localized, personal way right here in Columbus (or anywhere in the world), the Stewardship Foundation can explain how you can develop a strategic approach for a lifetime of giving and engagement. Start now to make an impact in extraordinary ways. Contact Joe Finneran, (614) 800-7985

We Believe… in Transformational Giving.

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Psalm 24:1 tells us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” 

Last month we looked back on the Fifth Credo of the Stewardship Foundation — belief in the sanctity of human life, marriage between one man and one woman, sexual morality, religious freedom, and the rights of conscience. Our June message focused on the moral liberalism rampant in today’s society and in the press’s coverage of events. If you missed it, read it here.

This month we return to our First Credo, transformational giving. The one guiding question that permeates our thinking at the Stewardship Foundation is “where is your heart?” Within this question several others beg to be asked, such as, “what is the treasure you seek?”; “how much wealth is enough for you and your family?” and, “what does God expect of you?”

We encourage our clients to examine their giving motives, to more deeply explore where their hearts are leading them. It’s been said that what motivates us is revealed when we examine how we spend our time, and where we spend our money. Our purpose is to help connect our clients with the worthy charities and nonprofits that advance these passions and individual motivations.

Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world and should take care and look after it; to use and manage the resources given by God for His glory and the betterments of His creation. So how does it work?

We believe that Stewardship works when you identify where your hearts and passions lead you; when they are willing to seek, and share the treasure God desires for you. Stewardship works when you realistically define what is necessary to provide for your family now and in the future, and, most importantly, stewardship works when you honor what God expects of you.

This journey of financial stewardship involves a process of understanding, acknowledging, accepting, and acting. We embrace the opportunity to partner with you on this journey. Please share this message with like-minded friends and family, and call us at (614) 800-7985.