Resolutions? I dare you to try this. Foundry/454 images@Pixabay
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Well fiddledeedee! It’s that time of year to make New Year’s resolutions. One of mine is to make the word “fiddledeedee”* cool again. Might as well check it off as done. Accomplishment noted.
Beyond using new words, here is the first of two fundraising/stewardship resolutions that you can easily incorporate this year:
#1. Stay intellectually curious. I know that this may come as a shock coming from the person who just adores watching bad TV (How about those en suite HGTV bathrooms? Double vanities anyone? And one word: “Botched.”). Here’s a tip: you can watch bad TV and keep learning too.
I keep up with the development/stewardship world primarily through six excellent blogs. These are the ones that I read religiously (so to speak):
The Grow Report: Every Thursday, Pamela Grow produces an excellent letter highlighting some of the best blog posts that have recently been published. There are always great tips included to make your work better (and sometimes easier).
Movie Mondays: Need some new ideas? A little refresher on the basics? These short (four-five minute) videos by Chris Davenport mean that you don’t need to leave your office or home to be trained. The training comes straight to you.
Non-Profit AF: Honestly, I have no idea what the “AF” stands for (and I’ve tried to find out) but I do know that Vu Le writes one of the funniest and most incisive blogs around. Don’t be fooled by all the cute photos of animals and birds – Vu has a lot to say about justice and equity that is applicable not only to non-profits in general, but to the church as well.
Future Fundraising: This is a daily blog – generally short but almost always featuring a helpful idea or two. Here are the titles from two recent posts, “How to Save Your Fundraising by Killing Bad Ideas” and “Why I Love Bad Ideas.”
Center for Stewardship Leaders: Curated by Adam Copeland out of Luther Seminary, these posts are generally more thought pieces about stewardship written by different experts in the field. These posts will expand your thinking about the church and stewardship.
Leading Ideas: From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, these articles don’t always focus on stewardship but they do focus on leadership. And…good leadership can inspire people to be more generous.
While I might not read each one of these posts word-for-word (sorry!), I glean enough from them to know whether or not I’m on the right track, where there is need for improvement, ways to stretch my thinking, and how I can easily slip in a new idea or two. Check out one or two of them and see if you agree. Staying intellectually curious is a way to engage that brain that the good Lord gave us. And (I do declare) that ain’t no fiddledeedee.
*“Fiddledeedee” – defined as nonsense.
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