Thoughts on the Spirituality of Fundraising

We had a great discussion surrounding Retreat House’s latest read “The Spirituality of Fundraising” by Henri Nouwen.  Nouwen’s overall message is that asking for money is not something to be dreaded but embraced as a way to invite others into your vision and work of bringing about the kingdom of God.  When viewed through this lens, who wouldn’t want the opportunity to “invest what they have in the work of God.” (45)Nouwen argues that conversations about money are more taboo than talking about sex or religion.  He then asks what did we learn about money from our parents?  As we shared our answers to that question, we also thought about what we have taught our own children and the messages about money we wanted to give them.  In this discussion, I realized that my role as an accountant has provided me with great exposure to what is often kept private.  I am often one of the few people that know exactly how much people make and as a former church accountant, I knew how much people gave.  I had a front row seat that allowed me to see the generosity of others and it changed me.  Seeing others generosity inspired me to be more generous. This awareness left us with the questions of how can we be inspired by generosity when we keep talk about finances secret.One way would be to increase our wonder.  Children are naturally filled with wonder.  They can marvel at the beauty of a raindrop falling to the ground.  They stop and notice the everyday wonder that surrounds them.  When we are open to the beauty that surrounds us through wonder, are hearts and minds are expanded and we are moved to respond with greater generosity.Other ways could be to actively practice gratitude and generosity.  Spend time each day noticing 3 things you are grateful for that day.  As we expand our capacity for gratitude, we squeeze out a scarcity mentality.  Gratitude leads to more gratitude and scarcity give way to abundance.  Abundance gives way to generosity.We want to continue growing our ability to notice wonder and gratitude with our next book “Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life” by Shauna Niequist.As you read the book,  we invite you to write your own short story and bring it with you to our next book discussion in April.Gratefully,Deanna Hollas, Co-DirectorRetreat House