The $1,000 Phone Call That Rewired How I Think About Money

I got the call on my landline (cell phones weren’t available yet). It was a fundraising call from the University of Miami, my alma mater.

I was about to sit down to dinner with Kathy and the kids. It was hectic and crazy. But despite this family chaos, I was in a really good mood. It was a good day at work, and I was making good money. It would be fair to say that on that night, I was feeling rich.

The student on the other end of the line was asking for a donation to the annual fund. I was ten years out of college and had never given a dime to the U.

The student chatted me up. I was enjoying our time together. He was a junior doing this fundraising gig to help pay his tuition and earn a little spending money. He asked for $1,000.

I was flabbergasted.

“A thousand bucks is a lot of money,” I told him.

But to his credit, he didn’t back off. He learned in our conversation that I was an entrepreneur who sold his company. Now I was running a software company for the new owner. He stood his ground knowing I could afford $1,000.

So I started to negotiate.

“I’ll give you the $1,000 if you send me a U of M hat, t-shirt, and jacket.”

He said, “I’ll do the hat and T-shirt but not the jacket.”

Deal.

I sent him the donation, and he sent me the hat and T-shirt.

I tell you this story because this was the first time I gave more than $50 to anybody.

What I didn’t know was that it was the beginning of my life-long giving. I slowly opened up to the idea of giving. Very slowly.

Eight years after this call, I began a new journey, following Jesus Christ. This got me into the Bible in a big way. It also opened up a whole new community to me. Christians. These business people showed me what it meant to be a good steward of my money. How to manage money God’s way.

This meant balanced spending, sound investments, saving, tithing to the church, and giving to support my community. These people did not hold on to their money white-knuckled. They were generous. And despite their generosity, they were doing really well financially.

It was during that time that I came to realize a truth. I had never met a person who gave so much money; he went broke. But I met many a person who had millions and tried to hold on to it and make even more, only to go broke.

I wonder who that student was who got me started with giving?

He changed my life for the better.