Jennifer McCrea - The Generosity Network: New Transformational Tools for Successful Fund-Raising

Copyright 2013 by Jeffrey C. Walker and Jennifer McCrea

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Deepak Chopra Books, an imprint of the
Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC,
a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

Deepak Chopra Books and colophon are trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-7704-3780-0

Jacket design by Jess Morphew

Authors photograph: Mark Jason Photography

v3.1

This is a brave and an important book, a book that dares to turn fund-raising from us and them into us. I hope everyone who cares about a worthy cause will read these ideas and put them into action.

Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception

No one knows the art of fund-raising, from both sides of the table, like Jennifer McCrea and Jeff Walker. In a time that demands new thinking and innovative approaches to fund-raising, Im delighted theyve now made their unparalleled wisdom and call to action available in the form of this wonderful, invaluable book that promises to transform what it means to be a nonprofit leader and partner.

Teri Schwartz, dean of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

For everyone who seeks true partnership with others, The Generosity Network has lessons on the practice of relationship, dialogue, and the deep connections that energize people and communities to turn visions and passion into reality and results.

Scott Kriens, chairman of Juniper Networks and director of 1440 Foundation

For decades, Jennifer McCrea and Jeff Walker have been guiding and advising the leaders of many of todays most effective nonprofit organizations (including mine), in fields ranging from poverty relief and education reform to health care, the arts, and the environmentwith truly impressive results. What a blessing that theyre now making that same wealth of insight available to all of us through The Generosity Network.

Quincy Jones, musician, composer, producer, arranger, and conductor

Along with Sex and Religion, Money is one of the Great Unmentionables. It makes people nervous and brings up visions of power, property, and ownership, and all the crud around it makes raising money especially difficult. This book teaches us how to lighten up, to peel away all that scuzz from both ourselves and the job in hand. Connecting people for a higher goal turns a fund-raiser into a dating agency for world changers. Its wonderful to see, in a world full of horrors, that compassion and generosity have found such effective allies as Jennifer and Jeff!

Peter Gabriel, musician

So heartened to see these true fund-raising sages sharing their distinctive approaches with a wider audience. Three elements make The Generosity Network remarkable: the core partnership approach (weve all heard it, but they embody it); the importance of genuine self-reflection regarding your own attitudes about money, wealth, and giving before soliciting others (which nobody talks about and is such a fundamental and enlightened starting place); and the spiritual element to fund-raising (which is central to all real giving). Im not only a better fund-raiser, but a far better person from having learned from them.

Laurence Jahns, senior vice president of Advancement at Robin Hood Foundation

Jennifer McCrea and Jeff Walker have personally guided me through the process of building a nonprofit organization, and this book only adds to the wealth of knowledge they have shared with me over the years.

Barbara Bush, CEO of Global Health Corps

Jennifer McCrea and Jeff Walker have written a seminal new chapter in the history of the fund-raising profession. The Generosity Network exponentially broadens the dynamic range of the profession. It will make fund-raisers weep with ecstasy at being understood. It will transform the entire way those looking to hire them think about what they should be looking for. It elevates the profession from the province of begging to realms of joy and artistry. Why should tech entrepreneurs be the ones having all the fun? Is it possible that raising the funds to end malaria or cure breast cancer could be every bit as fulfilling as building the first electric car company? The possibility has never before been considered. It has now.

Dan Pallotta, author of Uncharitable

Jennifer and Jeff have captured the great joy of fund-raising. Their book will prove to be inspirational to many volunteers and staff.

Suzanne Helm, vice president of Development at the Council on Foreign Relations

To Jack Maley, whose creativity, vision, energy, encouragement, and wisdom helped to launch Exponential Fundraising. Also to my beautiful stepkids, Abby and Jake. And to my wonderful, supportive, and loving family: Mary, John, Robbie, Michael, Noreen, and Christopher McCrea; Judy, Steve, Andy, Ben, Emily, and Carolyn Dobies; and Janet, Tom, Katie, Tommy, and Alex Luketich.

Jennifer McCrea

To my beautiful and amazing wife, Sue, whose idea it was to write this book, and to my ever-energizing kids, Courtney, Ryan, Morgan, and Hunter, who I am so proud of. And gratitude to the Cahill family, with whom we share all the ups and downs of life we are blessed to call you our friends. I love all of you.

Jeffrey C. Walker

To my wife, Mary-Jo Weber, whose work and life have taught me the meaning of the word generosity.

Karl Weber

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD
LOVE IN ACTION

by Deepak Chopra

I first met Jennifer McCrea back in 2005 when she attended the Alliance for a New Humanity conference, which I was hosting in Puerto Rico. That conference addressed a long-standing passion of mine and a question of vital importance to the future of our planet: How can we get people from around the world and from disparate arenas, from politics and entrepreneurship to science and philanthropy, to forge alliances that can help humankind move in the direction of a more sustainable, just, peaceful, and healthy world?

This is a very big vision, and big visions require the combined efforts of many dynamic networks. So it was only natural that Jennifer would be drawn to our campaign, since Jennifer is one of the worlds most persistent and effective networkers for good. She attended the conference with the financier and philanthropist Ray Chambers, who is, like Jennifer herself, a great example of what I can only call love in action. And thats how I came to know Jennifer and her work.

It was the first of many meetings that Jennifer and I have since enjoyed. Whenever I check in with her, I find that she is working to raise money, awareness, energy, and resources on behalf of some vital project, whether its helping the poor in one of our planets most underdeveloped regions, reforming the American educational system, finding treatments and cures for epidemic illnesses, or helping to ensure that some of our vital cultural and artistic institutions continue to survive and thrive. Jennifers interests and energies know no boundaries. As long as its a worthy cause, she is ready to step up to the plate, and the world is a much richer place as a result of her efforts.