Generosity Means Sharing Ownership with Your Donors

Getting a generous response is all about helping donors understand how their giving makes a difference. A lot of donors feel as though their money is going into a dark abyss of nowhere when they give. When they make a donation, we want them to know that there is a specific vision we are accomplishing together. Communicating clearly with your donors when the vision or goal has been achieved will build trust and encourage more generosity in the future.

BEING GENEROUS GOES WAY BEYOND WHERE AND HOW WE ALLOT OUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES. GENEROSITY IS ALL ABOUT SHARING THE OWNERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CAUSE WHERE WE ARE CALLED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It’s important to come to the reality that asking for a generous response from others for your ministry or cause is not a selfish endeavor. Asking for a generous response is about inviting someone else to experience the blessings of investing in God’s Kingdom. Inviting others to respond generously is a way of discipling others in the grace of giving. When you are stewarding God's resources, you are using those resources to glorify Him and to accomplish what He wants you to do with them.

Randy Alcorn once said, “Giving isn’t a luxury of the rich, it’s a privilege of the poor.” Keep this in mind when you are considering the size of a gift or donation. A generous gift can be defined as "big" or "small”; it simply depends on the heart of the source. Take the widow with the two small coins in Mark 12:41-44 for instance:

"Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."

This woman gave two coins in the collection box of the temple, and Jesus said that because the gift cost her so much, it was worth much more than someone who gave out of surplus. She was generous, though most would see her gift as "small".

Being generous goes way beyond where and how we allot our financial resources. Generosity is all about sharing the ownership and responsibility of the cause where we are called to make a difference. Whereas someone might be generous financially, someone else might be generous with their time or connections. Another might commit to pray with you regularly or be willing to sit on your board. Your partners have many ways to be generous, even as you're being generous in sharing the difference made in this world with them.

Want to read more? Buy your own copy of the e-book today!

Russell Cooper, Co-Founder