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The Spiritualityof Fund-RaisingHENRI J. M. NOUWENThe more we touch the intimate love ofGod which creates, sustains, and guidesus, the more we recognize the multitudeof fruits that come forth from that love.
ContentsPrefaceiiAcknowledgmentsviFund-raising as Ministry2Helping the Kingdom Come About8Our Security Base10People Who Are Rich16Asking22A New Communion26Prayer and Gratitude32Your Kingdom Come36About Henri J. M. Nouwen38Henri J. M. Nouwen’s Works Cited40About the Henri Nouwen Society41i
PrefaceSpeaking one day to a large audience gathered tohear about fund-raising as ministry, Henri Nouwenlearned that the booksellers in the lobby had sold alltheir copies of his latest book. At noon, he set out for thenearest bookstore to purchase more copies for them tohave on hand. En route to his car, he was approached bya casually dressed young man who requested money toget back home in France. Characteristically, Henri said,“Jump into the car and come with me. Tell me aboutyourself.”As they drove along, the young man explainedhis unsuccessful attempt to secure a hoped-for position in Canada and his inability to get to his homebecause of lack of funds. Return ticket in hand, he wasleaving that evening for Paris but had no money to getfrom there to his hometown in the south of France.When they had completed their purchase, returned tothe conference center, and were parting, Henri gave theyoung man two hundred dollars and asked him to sendnews upon his safe arrival home.Later that day, following his lectures and justbefore leaving, the booksellers in the lobby handedHenri an envelope in gratitude for his kindness tothem. Opening the card, Henri found a thank-you noteand a check for two hundred dollars!Generosity begets generosity. This is especiallyso when generosity is rooted in the rich soil of relatedness. Henri, because of his open and Spirit-filled attitude, always sought points of relatedness with the people he met. Henri’s generosity with money grew from alarger generosity of self. His desire for authentic relationships stirred this desire in others, and so he experienced people as generous with their time, their concern, and also their money. Perhaps it is not surprisingii
that the same Spirit of generosity that animated Henrialso enveloped the publication of this booklet.As Henri’s literary executrix, I had been askedseveral times for permission to copy the following articlefor distribution to small Christian non-profit organizations. Then a longtime friend encouraged me to publishan improved version of this talk for a wider audience. Ifelt blocked by the weakness of the transcribed text,especially because I had heard the much more dynamicversion spoken by Henri himself. I made one attempt toedit it for publication but was soon disappointedbecause of my inexperience and hesitation to capturethe enthusiasm and conviction of Henri’s original presentation. I dropped the project for almost two years.However, when members of the Henri NouwenSociety Board of Directors asked about sharing thisvision of fund-raising as part of its ministry to others,I sprang into action and called for help. Nathan Ball, mycolleague at L’Arche Daybreak who works with the HenriNouwen Society, enthusiastically joined me, having usedthe article with a non-profit board of directors in the past.Despite our knowledge of Weavings editor JohnMogabgab’s busy schedule, we called, armed with ourconviction of the article’s potential, and we confidentlyasked him to donate his time, talent, and gift of criticalediting for the work. He responded with a willing, “Yes.”John began the editorial work and in turn invited his associates at Upper Room Ministries to managethe production process. He happily reported that theynot only felt honoured to share our vision, but theywanted to do it for us free of charge.Finally, secure in our sense of mission, weapproached financial donors who agreed to finance theiii
printing and distribution of this booklet. This free booklet is a product of pure gratuity!In many ways, Henri was a rich and generousman with the means and the openness to give. He alsoneeded funds to support his many passionate interests.So he experienced fund-raising from both sides, andhis vision of it arose from his actual experience ofbeing asked to donate money and of asking others tosupport his various ministries. Then, with time, hisvision extended beyond the personal to the universal.Like many of us, Henri’s vision began with thenotion of fund-raising “as a necessary but unpleasantactivity to support spiritual things.” But his passionfor ministry and for living from a spiritual motivationled him further and deeper until he could finally saywith conviction, “Fund-raising is first and foremost aform of ministry.”In this short talk Henri is on fire, passionateabout God’s Kingdom. He offers all those motivated bythe Spirit of God a new set of glasses to see and livetheir fund-raising ministry as integral to their mission: “Fund-raising is as spiritual as giving a sermon,entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feedingthe hungry!”As ministry, fund-raising includes proclamation andinvitation as well as conversion. “Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offerother people an opportunity to participate with us inour vision and mission.” For Henri, the proclamationand invitation involve a challenging call to conversionfor fund-raisers and donors alike. “Fund-raising isalways a call to conversion.” All are called into a new,more spiritual relationship with their needs and theiriv
resources. Henri encourages fund-raisers to becomemore confident and joyful, standing up in their askingwithout apology. And in this vision they do not profitalone, because donors also participate in a new communion with others while becoming part of a muchlarger spiritual vision and fruitfulness.So, this project and its passage from idea to reality authenticate the manuscript’s spiritual messageabout ministry, vision, asking, giving, and receiving.We believe and trust that the collective investment ofso many people in creating this booklet will be multiplied many times through its impact on the fund-raising vision and practice of countless individuals andorganizations.If you would like to receive a free copy of thisbooklet, follow the links at www.HenriNouwen.org.Also please become informed of the many ministries ofthe Henri Nouwen Society. With this project, we inviteyou to financially support us in our vision and, by sodoing, to share a new communion and fecundity withthe many friends of our Societies worldwide.Sue Mosteller, CSJHenri Nouwen Literary Trustv
AcknowledgmentsOn September 16, 1992, Henri Nouwen spoke to theMarguerite Bourgeoys Family Service Foundation aboutfund-raising. It was an informal address that came fromthe heart without need of a written manuscript. Happily,the talk was recorded on tape and the transcript lightlyedited. From time to time copies of the talk were given toindividuals or organizations involved in fund-raisingventures. The positive response to the fresh vision offund-raising that Henri was beginning to articulate ledSue Mosteller, Henri’s literary executrix, to considerways of distributing the piece more widely.The manuscript was given as a gift to the fledgling Henri Nouwen Society for its own work in financial development. In April 2003 I was contacted aboutthe possibility of preparing Henri’s text for publication. The call from the Nouwen Society was inspired bymy relationship with Henri. During my doctoral studiesat Yale University, I served for five years as Henri’steaching, research, and editorial assistant. He was mymentor and friend. Weavings, the journal I now edit,seeks to reflect in its own time and place the spiritualvision that Henri so faithfully embodied.I have exercised the liberty that Henri regularlygranted me to add material where his ideas invitedexpansion or his transitions needed elaboration.Labors of love attract community, and this project hasconfirmed that truth. Nathan Ball and Sue Mostellerhave been unfailingly supportive through all stages ofthe work. Despite a demanding travel schedule, Sueeven found time to write the Preface. Wendy Greer andRobert Durback generously offered suggestions for themargin excerpts from Henri’s other writings. NelsonKane created a design as contemporary and energeticas Henri’s life and faith. Pamela Hawkins reviewed thevi
manuscript with an editor’s careful eye. And RobinPippin guided the whole process with gentle skill.Finally, I would like to thank you, the reader, for takingup Henri’s vision of fund-raising as ministry and carrying it forward in ways he could hardly have imagined.John S. MogabgabUpper Room Ministriesvii
Make love your aim.(1 Corinthians 14:1)
fund-raising is a subject we seldom think aboutfrom a spiritual perspective. We may think of fund-raising as a necessary but unpleasant activity to supportspiritual things. Or we might believe that fund-raisingreflects a failure to plan well or to trust enough thatGod will provide for all our needs. Indeed, quite oftenfund-raising is a response to a crisis. Suddenly ourorganization or faith community does not have enoughmoney, so we begin to say: “How are we going to get themoney we need? We have to start asking for it.” Thenwe realize that we are not used to doing this. We mayfeel awkward and a little embarrassed about it.We begin to worry and wonder: “Who willgive us money? How will we ask them?”
Fund-RaisingAs Ministry2
Ministry is, first of all,receiving God’s blessing fromthose to whom we minister.What is this blessing? It is aglimpse of the face of God.H e r e a n d N owfrom the perspective of the gospel, fund-raisingis not a response to a crisis. Fund-raising is, first andforemost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcingour vision and inviting other people into our mission.Vision and mission are so central to the life of God’speople that without vision we perish and without mission we lose our way (Prov. 29:18; 2 Kings 21:1-9). Visionbrings together needs and resources to meet thoseneeds (Acts 9:1-19). Vision also shows us new directionsand opportunities for our mission (Acts 16:9-10). Visiongives us courage to speak when we might want toremain silent (Acts 18:9).Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believein such a way that we offer other people anopportunity to participate with us in ourvision and mission. Fund-raising is precisely the opposite of begging. When weseek to raise funds we are not saying,
“Please, could you help us out because lately it’s beenhard.” Rather, we are declaring, “We have a vision that isamazing and exciting. We are inviting you to investyourself through the resources that God has given you—your energy, your prayers, and your money—in this workto which God has called us.” Our invitation is clear andconfident because we trust that our vision and missionare like “trees planted by streams of water, which yieldtheir fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither”(Ps. 1:3).Fund-raising is also always a call to conversion.And this call comes to both those who seek funds andthose who have funds. Whether we are asking for moneyor giving money we are drawn together by God, who isabout to do a new thing through our collaboration (seeIsa. 43:19). To be converted means to experience a deepshift in how we see and think and act. To be converted isto be clothed in our right mind, to come to ourselves theway the younger son did when he was starving farfrom his true home (Luke 15:17-20). It is a shift ofattention in which we set our mind on divine thingsAs a(Matt. 16:23). “Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewing of yourform ofminds, so that you may discern what is theministry,will of God—what is good and acceptable andperfect” (Rom. 12:2). Fund-raising as minfund-raisingistry involves a real conversion.is as spiritualIn fund-raising, people who workin the marketplace are often wiseras giving athan people who work in the church.sermon, enteringThose who are involved in bigbusiness know that you nevera time of prayer,get much money if you begvisiting the sick, orfor it. I remember visiting a4feeding the hungry.
The convertedperson sees,hears, andunderstandswith a divinesuccessful fund-raiser in Texas whoseeye, a divineoffice was filled with beautiful things. I said,ear, a divine“How do you dare to ask for money in thisheart.office?” He replied, “My office is part of my way¡ G r a c i as !of approaching people. It is meant to communicatethat I know how to work with money, that I know howto make money grow. This inspires confidence in thepeople I meet that their investment will be well used.”This approach is not for everyone, and being surrounded by nice things is not the right motivation forfund-raising as ministry. Important here is that spiritually this man was saying, “I ask for money standingup, not bowing down, because I believe in what I amabout. I believe that I have something important tooffer.” Without apology he invites people to be a part ofhis vision.In fund-raising as ministry we are invitingpeople into a new way of relating to their resources. Bygiving people a spiritual vision, we want them to experience that they will in fact benefit by making theirresources available to us. We truly believe that if theirgift is good only for us who receive, it is not fund-raising in the spiritual sense. Fund-raising from the pointof view of the gospel says to people: “I will take yourmoney and invest it in this vision only if it is good foryour spiritual journey, only if it is good for your spiritual health.” In other words, we are calling them to anexperience of conversion: “You won’t become poorer,you will become richer by giving.” We can confidentlydeclare with the Apostle Paul: “You will be enriched inevery way for your great generosity ” (2 Cor. 9:11).If this confident approach and invitation a
The manuscript was given as a gift to the fledg-ling Henri Nouwen Society for its own work in finan-cial development. In April 2003 I was contacted about the possibility of preparing Henri’s text for publica-tion. The call from the Nouwen Society was inspired by my relationship with Henri. During my doctoral studies at Yale University, I served for five years as Henri’s teaching, research .
