Generosity

Paul was a pharmaceutical salesman who called on a doctor’s office in his new territory only to learn that they had a rule. They only allowed the first three sales reps on any given morning to actually meet with a doctor. Paul was fourth! Then Dan stepped in. Dan, a sales rep for a competing company, approached the doctor’s assistant ...

Tim Weinhold of Eventide Funds, wrote a well-researched essay on the “Wisdom of Shared Rewards.” He contends that, biblically, workers deserve to share in the profits that come from their productivity. Until the mid-1970s, corporations existed to serve customers, employees, communities, and shareholders, and worker’s pay was closely tied with increased productivity. In the late 1970s the corporate philosophy changed. ...

When I was in banking one of my largest accounts was a construction-oriented business led by Sean. He squeezed his vendors for all he could get out of them, rarely providing anything in return. Sean’s business was profitable because he drove his people hard and squeezed his suppliers to manage the expense side of the ledger. But few people enjoyed ...

My son, Jeremy, loves animated movies so much that we’ve seen “Muppet’s Christmas Carol” countless times. As the movie develops you quickly realize that Scrooge has no interest in generosity or Christmas. When Kermit the Frog asks Scrooge about the staff having off Christmas Day, Scrooge is incredulous. He cannot believe that his business should stop for even one day! ...

A CEO with vision can accomplish far more than just sell products by “leveraging their influence.” An effort called “Giving Tuesday” is one such opportunity for businesses that truly care for their communities. Some simple ideas being used today include companies matching any donations their employees make on “Giving Tuesday.” Other businesses encourage customers to support a specific cause by ...

Christmas season is a time most retailers focus on increasing their share of the billions of dollars spent on Christmas. Their efforts have brought us “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” Now we have “Giving Tuesday!” Giving Tuesday began in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City. Instead of being focused on consumerism, “Giving Tuesday” ...

An entrepreneurial friend asked me, “Should I be giving from my “gross revenue” or my “net profit?” There are many businesses that have high sales volume, but very thin profit margins, sometimes 10% or lower. If these types of businesses tithed off their sales instead of profits they would quickly go bankrupt. God desires us to give from a generous ...

According to the CECP’s Giving in Numbers 2015 report, 29% of all giving from the major corporations goes to universities or K-12 education. Some of the largest gifts received by universities are tied to someone’s name going on a building. Although there is usually an element of true generosity attached, many times it’s about branding or ego for people to ...

Succession planning is important to many family businesses, but few consider the value of training the next generation on generosity. My friend, Bob, wanted to assure that his family learned and understood the importance of giving generously from the family business. Every month the family, including Bob’s children and grandchildren, come together to review grant requests and to learn about ...

CECP, a nonprofit that tracks corporate giving, revealed in their “2015 Giving in Numbers” survey that 85% of the companies they surveyed measure the outcomes of their charitable giving. Those who measured their results must have been pleased with what they found, because on average, these charitable companies increased their giving from 11% of revenue to 13% of revenue! Generosity ...