The Community Church of Pepperell in Pepperell, MA has a well-established pattern of fundraising events to support itself and its mission. Replicating the ubiquity of consumerism in American culture, buying and selling is the foundation of church activities, events, celebrations, and even worship itself. This project develops the concept of God’s Kingdom economy as it works to move this congregation, and perhaps others like it, from being controlled by the impulses of American consumerism. This transformation involves laying aside consumption for its own sake, rather using it to caring for our neighbors, serve, and share God’s love. Specialized worship services are created that incorporate the transformative power of testimonies and preaching as a way to reframe excessive church fundraising.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In current higher education fundraising models where alumni are aligned with their degree-granting unit, the academic library struggles to match the fundraising outcomes of its campus peers. A survey of seventy-nine fundraisers in academic libraries collected data on fundraising activity. It reveals common practices amongst fundraisers working in this environment and ongoing challenges to success. In a second study, a fundraising model based on social capital is proposed as an alternative to the traditional alumni model. The final study evaluates interviews with thirty-two individuals that further explores the challenges to fundraising success and the efficacy of social capital building as a method to overcome systemic challenges. Interviewees include academic library fundraisers, library deans/directors and university development leaders. Findings reveal a strong interest in a social capital-based approach to fundraising but reveal the necessity to pair the new model with revised fundraiser assessment models capable of measuring these soft skills.