I’m a dad now of two young ladies, ages 14 and 11 – Paige and Emma. I find myself asking more and more – are we teaching our children to be generous? Am I teaching my children to be generous?

Some days, I’m afraid the answer is an unconscious “no.”

Cumulatively, I’ve spent thousands of hours working on, studying, implementing, and speaking about recurring giving.

Today, let’s look at ten of the most common mistakes leaders make when building and growing their recurring giving programs.

In honor of this milestone, I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned on this journey so far. Some of these insights are also relevant to leadership and being a good friend or colleague.

Well, we did it – The Rise of Sustainable Giving is in the world, and the overwhelming reception has blown me away… So much so that the book hit #1 Best Seller in every category it was listed. 🤯🎉

This isn’t a prediction post. Each January, you can find plenty of predictions about the new year. Instead, I’m much more interested in what is happening now that leaders can put to good use.

So today I’m going to unpack eight trends I’ve been watching that I believe leaders like you can leverage in 2025. 

Some people have asked me why I call it "The Wave Report"? Are you a wannabe surfer or something? Well, actually, I am (aspiring, that is). But that's not why I called it The Wave Report. Let me tell you why...

I think we can learn several things from the world of surfing when it comes to innovation.

I don’t like change.

I’ve never liked change. In 5th grade, I wore the same pair of olive green pants every day to school. And I don’t just mean that figuratively, as in most days. No, it was every. Single. Day. And we lived in Desert Hot Springs, where temperatures could soar above 120 degrees. We played soccer outside nearly every day at recess. It didn’t matter to this 10-year-old goalie, diving into the dirt to block a ball, green pants proudly on display. 

We are in the final stretch of Season 5 of the Purpose & Profit Podcast, so I thought I’d take this Wave Report to share some of the highlights from the podcast this past year. 

If you are new to The Wave Report, you may not know that I co-founded and co-host the Purpose & Profit Podcast. The show explores the surprising ideas at the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands.

This day has been a long time coming, and I’m so glad it’s nearly here.

20 years of experience. 

36 months of research.

438 hours of outlining, interviewing, writing, editing.

Plus, hundreds more of dreams, plans, sweat, and work.

I’m pleased to announce that my new book, The Rise of Sustainable Giving will be releasing in just a few weeks. 

Happy New Year!

It’s common for authors to make predictions about the year to come at the beginning of each year. I’ve been known to take it a step further and write multiple articles on trends to pay attention to – waves to watch in the new year. (see what I did there? 👀🌊).

The word “Imago” comes from Latin. It’s a word that describes a future that will be but has not yet come to pass. It’s literally the image of a final form.

We love watching Christmas movies. Christmas is such a busy season that we don’t get to watch very many, so we take turns picking the movie. Often, the pick is a Christmas classic - Elf, Home Alone, The Grinch (no, not Die Hard or The Christmas Story!).

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.

This morning, I’ll sit down in one of my favorite coffee shops and reflect on the year as it comes to a close.

As I write this, I've just crossed my one-millionth mile flown. 😱✈️🌎

I’m on a flight back to Seattle from D.C. after spending a few days at the NonProfit POWER Summit in Baltimore, where I previewed my upcoming book about how nonprofit leaders can tap into the subscription economy to grow recurring giving. 

I believe that gratitude and generosity form a virtuous cycle. Each leads to the other, and they reinforce one another.

When I practice generosity, that leads to gratitude.

A record number of people plan to shop over the holiday stretch known as Cyber Five, from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year.

The National Retail Federation reports that a record 183.4 million people plan to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

Today, November 15, is National Philanthropy Day. 

Officially recognized as a national day by President Reagan in 1986, National Philanthropy Day is an annual day of celebration that recognizes the contributions of philanthropy to the world. 

Simply defined, philanthropy is the use of private resources for public purposes. The giving of resources like time, talent, and treasure has deep roots in human history.

While recurring giving has been a bright spot amidst the gloomy clouds of fundraising trends for years now, there are many charities that have not yet tapped into recurring giving in a meaningful way. 

Reliable, recurring revenue is a crucial resource many nonprofits aspire to achieve but often can’t fully realize. 

I might be describing your organization. You might sense there is much more potential to develop a strong, resilient, growing stream of recurring income. 

What do the Atlanta Braves, Chick-fil-A, and North Point Church have in common? 

They are all in Atlanta. 

But also Jeff Henderson.

Today, we’re going to look at four key lessons leaders can take from the phenomenon that is Halloween. But first, do you know the most popular Halloween costume for kids?