Earlier this month, our world lost the gifted musician and soulful vocalist, D’Angelo. He died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 51.
If you are not familiar with D’Angelo, he created some of the most soul-stirring, deeply-emotive, grown folks popular music of last 40 years. In 2000, he won a Grammy award for his song, “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and for the album the song came from, “Voodoo.” (A quick caution: if you stumble upon the song’s official video, it is NSFW).
While I am a D’Angelo fan and have listened to his music for years, I’m writing about him today because the title of his most recognized song is also a good reminder for us in advancement.
We tend to think of stewardship activities as tasks we do with and for our donors. We invite them to a special event. We give them a token of appreciation. We put their names on buildings or donor recognition pieces.
But what about simply asking them, “how does it feel?”
“How does it feel to make such an impact on our mission?”
“How does it feel to transform and change lives?”
“How does it feel to help others whom you may never meet?”
“How does it feel to be so generous?”
Some of the best stewardship work we can do involves inviting donors to remind themselves why they give and how it makes them feel.
Thank you, D’Angelo, for years of great music. And for asking us all, “how does it feel?”
