Ladies and Gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian Nightmare, Nikita Kolob. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolob, the Devil's Nightmare.
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Q&A with Kolob. Thank you. Thank you. Well, great to have you guys with me. I know we went, we met just a while ago. We were actually at a fundraiser for Randy Simpkins and raising money for End the Weight, which is going to be a movie coming out starring Dean Cain of Superman fame. And bringing awareness to the need for kidney donors.
And so a very unique project that's being worked on. And of course, we sat next to each other there at the table and just got into a conversation. And lo and behold, come to find out that you guys had written a book, The Art and Science of Donor Bliss, raise more money, make more friends and embrace the joy of giving. So Sandra, let me start with you and tell me, I know you've got a background as a certified coach and a change management consultant, but you've joined together, partnered with Eric, who has a 30-year career in fundraising to put this book together. Take a minute and just tell us what inspired you guys to write this book. Well, Eric and I have always been givers, even before we came together in our marriage. It was really important from the very beginning to make sure that we were tied into our church and that we always came together and what we were giving money to. We also have been exposed to a lot of books that kind of make the point of the book is here's why you should give, whether it's to your church and supporting your religious community or just giving in general. But it kind of always ended there. And so with Eric's background in fundraising, we felt that it was time to have a book that went a little bit more into.
So how do you do this and how do you do it with impact? Because we also were seeing people, especially a little bit older, who were always getting hit up for, you know, give here, give there, give to the next place. And so there's not that feeling of I'm really making a difference anywhere. And so that's what we wanted to do with our book is help people kind of funnel in a little bit to how am I going to experience the joy of giving through giving with impact and understanding things one can do to do that.
So, yeah, so help. So what my takeaway there is you want to help people understand the principle, the joy of giving, and then giving to make a difference is kind of what I take away from what you just said. And the book's going to help people do that. And certainly since you put it in my head, I've actually read it a couple of my last trips on the airplanes where I do a lot of my reading at the airport and on an airplane. And certainly was impacted, got some real insight, whether it's about giving or passion or partnering or participation or planning. A lot of great topics you cover in the book. And, Eric, I'll bounce over to you when it comes to giving.
Gee, that's, I don't know, I think a biblical principle there. So take a minute and tell us, right, you've spent lots of years in fundraising. What have you seen over the years?
And maybe give us one quick story that comes to mind on somebody that's experienced the joy of giving and the opportunity to make a difference. You know, Nikita, that's, again, about five questions. No, that was two.
That was two. Come on now. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, there's so much that floods into my mind. Okay. And I've already forgotten the first question.
All right. So give us a quick story on, because, you know, it's a biblical principle, right? Giving is a biblical principle. It's a biblical principle.
Yeah. So you're operating on a biblical principle, and so give us a story over all your years of consulting and fundraising, how you've helped, or a story on somebody that has learned that principle, the joy of giving, how it leads to make it a difference. I can tell a story. When I was working at Carnegie Mellon, someone told my boss, you should go see this young alum who runs a hedge fund. And so we went to see him. His name is David Tepper. And we thought we were going to go to lunch with David, but you're on a trading floor and there's lunch in the kitchen there if you want some, but we talked to him and we asked him for $10,000 to help with student case competition. And he was gracious. He gave it.
We celebrated success. That started his path of engagement with the college. And a few years later, the dean was asking David, he said, you know, we're forming a committee to talk about naming the School of Business.
And would you be on the committee because we're not certain how much to charge or who to talk to. And the upshot of that conversation was that David named the school for a very, very generous gift and continues to give to Carnegie Mellon is one of the major donors there. But I would say from that humble beginning through the process, Dave certainly has experienced the joy of giving and seeing the difference that his gift has made in the lives of hundreds and thousands of students there already.
And he's still a young guy. So he's making an impact on many people's lives. Shonda, is there an age limit or is there, you know, as far as like, you know, who you would look for or who should consider, you know, experiencing the joy of giving and making a difference? Is it limited by age or who could we reach out to? Well, even in our book, there are examples of children giving, and I think it's something that it doesn't hurt for all of us to learn at a young age.
And it doesn't have to be dollars. You know, it's looking for that need, looking for how can I make someone's life a little bit better? One of the things that I do actually that is completely ageless, but I try to be especially nice and smiling and just appreciative with every cashier I encounter. And today you kind of see that they perk up a little bit because they don't get treated nicely that way. So to me, that's even just a little gift that I can give to someone I don't know, but maybe brighten their day a little bit.
So I think it's completely ageless. You know, two things that come to mind as you mentioned that one, I love what you said about the cashier and, you know, just acknowledging that they're there. Let's just start with that.
But one of the things I'll just take it a step further. I call my name and most of them have a name tag. Right. And or if I'm in a restaurant and they don't have a name tag, I'm like, hey, tell me your name. Because I have found maybe you guys would agree that when you engage in a conversation, just give a little bit of your time and make that person feel important. That's that's that's wringing out your your groceries or serving you your food that you're right, Sandra. It does seem to perk them up or or or feel just slightly more important than than right than just a casual worker. Right.
Yes. So call them by name and then do your point of children. I want to just touch on that for a moment to your point of children. One of the things I did early on was in Christmas time was a great time to do this. But, you know, our church would adopt neighborhoods for Christmas gifts and we would we would target certain neighborhoods. And and I made a point of making sure that my children were with me on whatever day the church selected, you know, Saturday or whatever, that all of us were going to go out as a family and and experience and participate in giving these other children the opportunity to receive some Christmas gifts that they might not otherwise have received.
Right. And and so to your point, hopefully it was instilling in my children at a very early age the art of giving. I love the title of your book, The Art and Science of Donor Bliss. And by the way, for the audience out there, you know, the word bliss, if you're not familiar with that in the book, you'll find it's interchangeable between bliss and blessing because it really is a blessing to give.
So that's a great, great insight, Sandra. Eric, before we segue to questions you may have for me, last thoughts on the book and how can people get it and do you guys beyond being book authors, can people engage in other consultation with you guys? We'd be happy to hear from anyone on your podcast. The easiest way is through our Web site, which is donor bliss dot com. You can send email to me at Eric E.R.I.C. at donor bliss dot com. If you want to order copies of the book, you can get them through Amazon.
But if you want to order more than, say, two, you can also just email me and we will do a deal there. So that's amazing. So and I just want to encourage you, you know, again, I've read it. It's a great resource. If you're just wanting to know how to further engage in the art of giving, if that's not something you're currently doing or even how to develop a passion for giving or how to partner, looking for the right partners and who to partner with and participate with or planning, you know, maybe for yourself, right, like for Kolah for Christ Ministries. I have different ways that I approach others to, you know, become donors, to give them the opportunity to experience the joy of giving to Kolah for Christ Ministries and make a difference. A practical guide for altruistic people. This well-crafted book encourages you to change the world through the joy of giving.
You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. If you are a business owner and would like to advertise your company or product on The Man Up Show and or Q&A with Kolah, contact me directly. Nikita Kolah at kolah.net. The Man Up Show is honored to have Dr. Johnny Gaten is one of our longest running supportive sponsors. Dr. Gaten is regarded as one of the world's leading elite eye surgeons. He is motivated by his faith in doing all things heartily as unto the Lord. His desire to do his best has contributed to success in his eye care practice, performing over 70,000 eye surgeries. In addition, he's a world renowned speaker, writer and author.
Go to iAssociates.com for more information. Nikita Kolah here and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement? Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook.
Go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolah Fans, and like it and follow today. All right. So let's take a few minutes here. Sandra, I'm just going to come back to you. No pressure here, but I'll I'll let you throw out the first question. I have no idea what you might even ask, but let's go for it.
What do you got for me, Sandra? Well, I'm kind of wondering, since you mentioned that you read our book and it covers a lot of different topics. But was there a specific concept or even a story in it that that particularly, I don't know, touched you that you would want to talk a little bit more about it? Well, there's there's a lot of I mean, I have highlights. I'm a high like if I don't highlight like sometimes I'll just underline things or make notes in margins of books I read. And I'm just stumbling through it right now and looking at all the different all the different things that I highlighted.
And so I don't know if I can narrow something down, but I'm just looking at right now when it comes to partnerships. Right. 20 questions for clarity. As we grow and acquire life experiences, our interests change. And I, for one, have found that to be true. Like so for me personally, I'll just say for the record, you know, the 10 percent for me, the tithe for me goes into my home church.
That's just not even a question. That's just where it goes. And from there, I begin to pray and see where I should give beyond my tithe in terms of offering. And so I have a variety of different ministries and organizations that I give to.
And over the years that that has changed from from kind of year to year, from from season to season. And so these 20 questions in there for clarity, you know, in helping someone determine in this case who to partner with. You know, a partnership involves creating solutions together as equals with an institution's leadership, mission and vision. There's so much in here, Sandro, to narrow it down would would be difficult. But I'll just highlight just for the listener out there, you know, these 20 questions for clarity on who to partner with. And so just one thing to consider and one reason why you might want to go get a copy of this book. So great question.
I could do a whole entire show and just just answering that one question, Sandra. So I have another question for you that go for it. Well, one of the chapters in the book is about board service, and we included that because as we were writing the book, we kept coming across people who had expressed maybe frustrations about serving in the board, not knowing what to expect when serving on a board. And so that's why we included that chapter to get people kind of started and what questions to ask. And I'm kind of hoping that organizations that may read the book themselves go, oh, maybe we should do board service a little bit differently. So the question for you is, do you serve on boards or do you have board members for your organizations that did that kind of make any kind of impact for you?
I guess. Well, so the short answer, yes, I have been on the boards of other organizations. I am currently, I am not personally, only because of how time consuming KOLA for Christ Ministries is. And so to, you know, and some are more involved than others, right? I mean, and some, you know, whether they have monthly meetings or quarterly meetings or annual meetings or, you know, it just depends on how that organization is set up. So and again, very prayerfully, like with my giving, you know, I consider if someone says, would you consider being on our board?
I'm going to give a lot of prayer to that. And I will say for the record, anyone who's considering that, thinking about that, I'm glad you included that. It's a great resource for somebody in determining and or a board itself, you know, and how they approach it.
Yes, I have a board. I'm a 501c3, KOLA for Christ Ministries. So it's, you know, people can get tax deductible, you know, tax deductions if they want to contribute to KOLA for Christ Ministries. And I strategically prayerfully considered who should be a part of my board because I wanted people who were like minded.
I wanted people who could see my vision and understand my mission to be a part of it. And if not, then I didn't want them to be a part of it. So, yeah. So I think I hope that answers the question. Oh, yes, absolutely.
Good. All right, Eric, you got a couple of questions for Sonda. I had a couple of great questions.
You got any questions for me? Well, you're seeing why I think of her as the smart part of the team. You're the brawn and she's the brains. Is that what I'm hearing, Eric? She's also the beauty.
Beauty and the beast as well. OK, here we go. All right. I love it, Eric.
I love it. Don't be offended by that. I'm not at all.
You're just seeking the truth. I've met them folks. I could have some fun with them. Come on now. So, all right.
All right, go ahead, Eric. You know, you told a story about through your church they're giving toys and it was a good way to help teach and instill the idea of giving in your children. But do you have a favorite story of when you gave and perhaps experienced the joy of giving in a meaningful way? Oh, it's kind of like me asking you to narrow down your favorite fundraising in a sense.
Because right now, like I just said, I was just thinking about this the other day. And of course, your book kind of helped me reevaluate. And I do it on an annual basis normally, you know, at the end of each year, kind of review the year, look at what I accomplished and did and how many goals I achieved and reached and how many need to be rolled forward or how many just need to be taken off the list. And when it comes to giving and the joy of giving, you know, what ministries am I giving to? Lord, am I supposed to continue to give to those particular ministries? And if not, you know, if that season's up, where do I redirect those funds? And, you know, have increased my giving over the years as well.
So, you know, when it comes to ties and offerings. And, you know, I ultimately would love to have a goal kind of like some of those of the past who lived off 10 percent and gave 90 percent away. Now, I'm not there yet. That's a lofty goal.
But, man, if I could ultimately reach that, that would be the pinnacle for me personally. All that to say, right now, for example, I don't know that I can narrow it down, but I'm giving to some missionary friends in Asia, right? They are housed in the Philippines, but they work all of Asia. I'm giving to some missionaries actually from our home church in Bosnia who have a life pregnancy center that the wife runs there and are impacting. Out of the entire nation, there's less than 400 Christians in the entire nation.
The entire nation. Less than 400 Christians. And so sowing and investing in that. I have invested and sown one of my probably more favorite stories is into a man living in Jerusalem who mentors and disciples young Messianic Jews. And by that meaning, young Jewish men and women who have given their life to Jesus. And he mentors them. And so monthly into his ministry for these conferences and these camps that he does in raising them up as young evangelists to evangelize certainly Israel, but even nations beyond Israel. And I'm just reminded, guys, of the book of Revelation where it says 144,000 Jews will be raised up as evangelists in those end days. And I'm like, man, Akiva is kind of ahead of the curve, man.
He's already doing that, you know, and setting the tone for that. And so the last one that brings me great joy is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Justin Reader was the visionary behind it. It's called Love Life. And Love Life is all about life. Life in the womb and the greatest tragedy to, you know, destroying life in the womb and setting up what they call houses of refuge across America.
And now my friends in Bosnia are setting up the first European house of refuge. And what that simply means is churches that are willing to embrace these ladies who get pregnant, whether out of wedlock or whatever else the case and opt to have the baby and to embrace them, come alongside them, support them, and meet whatever need they have, whether it's, you know, eventually needing diapers or baby strollers or once it gets to that process or even during the whole pregnancy itself. And so those are just some of the joys of my giving, Eric. That's wonderful. So, I mean, that's why I love your book, The Joy of Giving.
The Lord has had to work with me over the years in understanding what it means to be a generous giver and really firsthand experiencing the joy of giving. So, yep. So we've got time for one more, Eric.
I don't know if you want to take it or if Sandra wants to take it. We have time for one last question, if you have one. I'm not certain how to formulate it, but it's back to The Joy of Giving, how God has been changing your heart as you have become, you know, a giver and a generous giver.
And can you just maybe sum up what that change looks like? Yeah. So I'm going to sum it up this way. It starts with a personal relationship with Jesus. So let's just start with that. That if you're listening out there and you've never given your heart and your life to Christ, I mean, you know, there's certainly giving outside of having a relationship with Jesus. That's called philanthropy. You even write about it in your book. But to really, I believe anyway, this is just me.
This is my own thoughts here. That to really experience the joy of giving starts with a relationship with Jesus. And then embracing and understanding the principles of the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew chapter six, there's three main things he talked about in there. When you fast, when you pray, and when you give. Three main components to Matthew chapter six. When you fast, when you pray, when you give.
And it wasn't if you fast or if you pray or if you give. It's almost like he expects if you're going to be a follower of Jesus. These are the basic tenets, the basic things you're going to do. You're going to have a prayer life. You're going to have a life of fasting, whatever, however he leads you to do that. And you're going to become a joyful giver.
You're going to become a joyful giver and learn to be generous on every occasion. And so what's gripped my heart over the years, guys, is just me embracing the intimacy of a relationship with Jesus. And continuing day to day to pursue that intimate relationship with him. And as I've done that, my heart is just continually been changed over the years. And become more and more and more soft, you know, just softer. And filled with more compassion.
And filled with more unconditional love towards others. And then seeing, I'll say this to kind of conclude with this. Seeing the joy on the face of others, literally, when I've given. I've been to 36 different countries. I've gone on missionary trips where I thought, ah, I'm going to go and just, you know, help to impact this nation through a number of different ways. And in exchange, what comes to mind immediately right now is when I went to Africa and handed a little child a lollipop.
And you would have think they had won the lottery. And the joy on their face, the smile and the joy was priceless for me. And so that, I'm going to conclude that way, Eric, and just kind of summarize that way, so.
That's a great way to conclude. But it doesn't take a lot. It's the act of giving. Yeah, it's the willingness to want to give. And again, I just, I'm going to emphasize what these guys have already said. You know, it's not just money. I know a lot of people think, oh, everybody's just got their hand out looking for money. And some do. And that's true. But there's lots of ways you can give.
Time, talent, treasure. The art and science of donor bliss. You want to live the blessed life? Then learn, go pick up a copy of Eric and Sandra Billman's book. Go to their website. Go to DonorBliss.com and reach out to these guys. Email Eric if you'd like more insight into all of this. And if you've yet to become a generous giver or experience the joy of giving, this book's a good way to start that experience.
And God will just transform your life day in and day out as you embrace that. Thank you guys for being on the show today. Oh, thank you. Thank you for having us. It's great to get to know you a little bit better. Well, likewise. Well, I look forward to when our paths will cross again sometime.
I feel confident that it will at some point here in the future. And you just have a wonderful day. And for all you out there in listening land, we just thank you week in and week out how faithful you are to listen to Q&A with Koloff, The Man Up Show, Truth Radio. Download that Truth Radio app if you have yet to do that.
And you get access to a dozen different podcasts and live radio 24 hours a day. So be sure and go and do that. And I challenge you to go out today and just live a God-filled and have a God-blessed day.
Until next time. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to koloff.net and donate today. Hi, Nikita Koloff. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show now available on television, broadcast and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network, check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today. If you are enjoying Q&A with Koloff, would you help us spread the word? Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe and leave a comment. Nikita Koloff here.
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