During the time between Thanksigiving and Christmas, the work schedule seems to wind down a bit. These are the times where I spend more time coming and going to events and places than I do sitting behind a desk. Recently on a drive behind the steering wheel of my truck, I had the time to reflect on the holiday season. We were just days removed from Thanksgiving and heading strong into Christmas. Personally, while I like Thanksgiving, Christmas is not exactly my favorite holiday.
For purely selfish reasons, I love Thanksgiving because it’s a day of low expectations. I know a lot of people try to “do all the things” on a day like Thanksgiving and try to reach for unattainable levels of perfection. Christmas, on the other hand, it all about the expectations. I can’t count how many Hallmark Christmas movies I have had to see, where the cute young woman has to decorate all the cookies, buy all the presents, fall in love with the quiet, flannel shirt guy all while saving the whole town from some existential crisis. What a load of malarkey. My wife and I are still wrapping presents watching the Pope deliver midnight mass on Christmas Even.
If you know me rushed and hurried is not my style. During Thanksgiving, I’ll gladly consume whatever is made and do it with a glad and cheerful heart and hopefully do it in the company of people that I enjoy being around. To me, the stories we tell around tables are much more valuable than anything under a tree. After all, good stories last longer than the best meals ever prepared.
But as I think about the holiday season, I think about the one tool I need as a non-profit executive director that I can’t do my job without and many ways, the holiday season is all about it. That tool is generosity.
It’s a term we don’t talk about much these days.
In a culture that has primed the pump on self-reliance and grit (both of which are important), generosity sometimes takes a back seat. Yet, it’s generosity that keeps our nonprofit shops open. And yet, it’s that generosity that is one of the most tangible examples of love that abounds in this world.
Love is a tricky word to define. If you ask ten people what love is, you’ll probably get eleven different answers. And it’s one of those words that is highly context dependent. Romantic devotion, generational bonds between families, friendships all conjure up love in different ways depending on where we are in life. But, if I had to put my finger on it, Love is probably best defined as “The Best in Me Serving The Best In You.”
And that’s where we find ourselves in the nonprofit world. No matter what role we play in the nonprofit world, we are always serving the best in others around us.
When we have our neighbors come to our front door, we gladly open the doors of our shop to listen, comfort and console those that are beaten down by the tyrannies of life. When our donors come, we share with them the powerful stories of how generosity changes lives and changes communities. When we speak to our communities, we remind them that the spirit we see in our work helps make our little corner of the world more like a home than just another place on the map.
Generosity brings our world joy, love and peace. And it’s the most important tool we need to do our job.
If we didn’t have the generosity of our donors, our volunteers and our communities we could not do what we do. No amount of strategic planning, no amount of survey research, no amount of financial stewardship can take the place of the warmth of the human spirit to bring out the best in others. There is no replacement for generosity. There is no substitute for love.
I am grateful for all of you, readers of this newsletter. I am grateful for the work you are doing to help make our communities wonderful places to live. I am grateful for the people who everyday see something broken in the world and they take the responsibility to try to fix it.
Friends, we are world changers and that is a huge responsibility. In our world, that is so defined by division, I hope we never lose our generous spirit. Because, we know that generosity is what will restore our world.
Generosity has fed the hungry child. Generosity has healed the sick. Generosity has taken a family from poverty. Division and discord couldn’t dream of doing any of those things.
Happy Holidays friends and Stay Generous!
The Weekly Notebook
A few notes and ideas of things I am seeing and hearing on the nonprofit world.
Now Hiring!
If you or your nonprofit would like to advertise a job opening here, please shoot me an email at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com. We have a large and growing base of readers and we are happy to get the word out!
How Can We Work Together?
Did you know that Pinnacle Strategies works individually with nonprofit and public sector leaders to help them solve problems, achieve goals and gain confidence in their roles?
Why?
Because, this work is hard and it’s often a lonely road. Our nonprofit and public sector leaders need people that they can talk to to get solid advice and encouragement to do the work that is in front of them. If you feel that this can be of value to you, or a member of your team, please reach out to pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com and let’s talk.
Ready to Learn Something New?
One of the prettiest cities in the Midwest is Indianapolis and travelling there can open a perfect opportunity to sharpen your skills and meet new professionals in the field. I would encourage you to look at some of the offerings of The Fund Raising School at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University’s campus in Indianapolis. The professional development school has great programming both on-line and in-person both in Indianapolis and at other sites across the country. Take a look at their course offerings here!
Online Learning Options from Texas A&M Announced
If travelling for professional development isn’t in the cards (or the budget), the Center for Nonprofits at Texas A&M University has some great offerings! I recently enrolled in one of their certificate programs and really enjoyed the online format and the online discussions that were developed. It was time and money well spent and I would highly recommend this program, especially for early or mid-career professionals. The next session begins in early February and you can learn more here!
Other Ways to Connect
Our coaching practice has openings and it has been a blast working with nonprofit leaders all across the country! If you are interested in working with me to get your nonprofit organization on a track to achieve the big missions you have, please reach out to me at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
Here are some other ways you can keep in contact with Pinnacle Strategies!
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