Good times today as the Transformational Giving seminar express rolled through Portland. (Still time to sign up for next week’s day-long whistle stops in Phoenix and Colorado Springs, as well as the dates in SFO and LAX the week following.)

In Portland today I was finally able to work in a clarification I’ve been wanting to make since we did the Major Donor workshops in March, namely:

The word ‘Champion’ does not only refer to Owners. It refers to anyone on the P/E/O grid, including Participants and Engaged folks as well.

‘Owner’, in other words, is not synonymous with ‘Champion’. ‘Champion’ is a much broader term that designates the nature , character, and intent of the relationship we have with an individual.

The term that contrasts with ‘Champion’…is ‘Donor’.

When we call someone a ‘Donor’, we are living in a transactional fundraising universe in which the donation transaction is the central focus and the defining characteristic of the individual in relation to the nonprofit.

When we call someone a ‘Champion’, we are maintaining fidelity to the scripture’s revelation of reality, wherein the central thing goin’ on around us is God’s work in actively shaping His people in the image of His Son.

Our role in that process?

Coaching the Champion in relation to the Kingdom cause for which God is holding us both accountable in our spheres of influence.

When we orient ourselves to God’s people and purpose in this way, we recognize three distinct levels of Champion maturity. In each case, the cause is being championed, but in a very different way:

• Participants are Champions who advance the cause through project-based involvement.
• Engaged people are Champions who advance the cause through  ongoing, covenantal lifestyle changes and commitments.
• Owners are champions who advance the cause by seeing it as their responsibility to spread the cause and equip new Champions within their sphere of influence.

In each level of maturity the Champion may be extremely committed and passionate. What varies from P to E to O is not the degree of commitment or passion but rather the kind of championing the individual is doing in relation to the cause.

We talk about this at much greater length in the Coach Your Champions book and in the seminar; however, the piece I’ve never  clarified well is that the term ‘Champion’ applies at all levels of the P/E/O process, not just when the dial says ‘O’.

Thanks, Portland, for bringing that out!