JOG Host Resources

Scheduling your JOG

Select a Date

• Allow six to eight weeks to plan your JOG.
• Start by identifying a few individuals or couples from your list who you think would be most excited to experience a JOG. Talk with those key people first and gain their buy-in. Once they are committed, it is easier to build the rest of the group.
• You can host an overnight JOG, a one-day event, or an online gathering! Our team has provided these recommendations to choose the JOG format that’s right for your group.

Pick a Venue

• You can host a JOG in a home, vacation home, board room, or over a Zoom call!
• If you are gathering in person, consider your group size when picking a venue. We have found that about 8-16 people is an ideal group size.
• A JOG host is responsible for providing food and beverages, so an ideal venue has a separate space for the group to eat.
• The best venue is one that allows guests to engage in meaningful discussion without distractions.

Submit the JOG Registration Form

• Once you have chosen a date and venue, please fill out the appropriate form using the buttons below. Then our JOG Concierge will send you a material order form and work with you as you plan your event.
• When registering your JOG, you will need to choose an agenda format. Review our two-day agenda and one-day agenda.
• If you need Generous Giving to provide a volunteer to facilitate your JOG, let us know by marking that on the form.

Invite Your Guests

Create Your Custom Email Invitation

• Upon registering your JOG, you will be invited to use our invitation portal, Greenvelope, to create a custom invitation and manage your RSVPs. You can watch a Greenvelope tutorial here.

Make Your Guest List

• Prayerfully consider who to invite. Think through your different spheres of influence: small group, board members, family, friends, neighbors, church, employees, co-workers, clients, etc.
• Write down a list of names, knowing that you’ll likely need to extend double the number of invitations to fill your JOG. We recommend inviting more people than the ideal group size of 12-16. It is a fair assumption that a few people will cancel before the event, so do not be afraid to over-invite.

Invitation Language

After two decades of inviting people to generosity events, we have developed language that can help you explain this unique experience. Below are a few suggested lines to use when inviting friends and colleagues to a Journey of Generosity. However, there is no better language than your own heartfelt words. If you were impacted by a JOG, then we suggest that you share your own personal “WHY” as you invite people in your life.

This opening line assures guests that this invitation does not imply that they are not generous. Instead, the opposite is true.

Other Resources for Inviting

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Planning your JOG

Upon registering to attend the JOG from your Greenvelope invite, attendees will begin receiving automated emails from Generous Giving to help them prepare for the experience. For an overview of the email sequence your attendees will receive leading up to the JOG, select your JOG type below.

• Keep your guests informed if there are additional details you would like to communicate to your guests that are unique to your event. (i.e. parking instructions, gathering food preferences, etc.) You can also include this information in your Greenvelope invite under event details.

Coordinating Meals

• About 2-4 weeks before the date of the JOG, we recommend you begin planning the food and beverages you will provide your guests. This depends on the JOG agenda and start time you have chosen. You can view JOG agenda options here.
  • If you are hosting a Two-Day JOG, you would provide refreshments in the afternoon, dinner in the evening, and breakfast the next morning.
  • If you are hosting a One-Day JOG, you would provide refreshments and at least one meal, depending on your start time.

Food and Beverage Tips

• Snacks: Plan on offering some salty and sweet options.
• Drinks: Provide your guests with plenty of water. It’s always a good idea to have some caffeinated options throughout the JOG as well!
• Lunch and Dinner: These meals should enhance the experience but are not meant to be the focus. Most hosts find it helpful to order catering or prepare food in advance, especially if they are attending the JOG themselves!
• Breakfast: We have found that light, grab-and-go breakfast options work well for JOGs. Some hosts choose to cater or buy trays of fruit, pastries, coffee, and juice.
• Hotel/other venues: Make sure you discuss food and beverage details with your venue in advance.
• Personalize it: Do you have a local bakery or coffee shop that you love? Surprise and delight your guests with something special!

Request Your JOG Materials

Generous Giving will send you a box with your JOG booklets, Facilitator booklet(s), pens, and nametags the week of your JOG.

• Three weeks before your JOG date, you will be emailed this JOG Materials Form. Please fill this out as soon as possible to ensure a timely arrival of your JOG box!

Finalize Your Technology Plan

• Two weeks before your JOG, we suggest that you coordinate with your facilitator to make a solid technology plan!
• During the JOG, the facilitator and/or host will be using their phone, tablet, or laptop to connect or stream videos from a TV. We recommend downloading JOG videos to the device and having an HDMI cord and the appropriate adapter handy.
• You can read more detailed instructions on how to access the JOG video playlist, download, and stream JOG videos here.

Other Hosting Tips

“To me, hospitality is like saying, ‘I thought of you before you got here.'”

– ASHELY MARSH, Generous Giving Champion

We would like to share a few unique ideas we have collected from fellow JOG hosts over the years. These are by no means required, but are meant to inspire you as you dream of ways to reflect hospitality and generosity to your guests.

• Before your event, spend time in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit what videos would speak most effectively to your guests. Read these summaries and discussion questions for each video and coordinate with your facilitator to determine which videos are best for your group.
• Offer childcare for guests, especially in the case where that may be a barrier for them to attend the JOG.
• Print out “Welcome” yard signs to direct guests to the venue.
• Provide thoughtful welcome gifts for your guests upon arrival.
• Organize a local restaurant to cater the experience, or hire a private chef to make the meal a fun experience.

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After your JOG

JOG Host Survey

After the JOG, you will have the opportunity to reflect on the experience and provide feedback to the Generous Giving team by completing this JOG host survey.

Gift for Attendees

We love surprising and delighting your guests with one of our favorite books, The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. For every first-time JOG attendee, we send a copy of the book using the address they provide in the participant survey.

Charitable Contributions Form

When you are asked to help further the message and mission of Generous Giving, the expenses that you incur in doing so may be considered a ‘Charitable Donation.’ See more instructions and our Charitable Contributions Form here.

How to Keep the Conversation Going

As you rest and reflect on the ways the Spirit is moving in your heart and in the hearts of those who attended the JOG, you may ask, “Now what? How can I keep this conversation going?”

• Share our Next Steps After Attending a Generous Giving Experience.
• Share another story with your group via text or e-mail. You can view our video library here.
• Make plans to gather again as a group to discuss what God has been doing since your JOG, or read a book on the topic of generosity together.
• Pray for God to continue to draw the attendees closer to Him.
• Call attendees individually to discuss what they learned.

After experiencing a Journey of Generosity together, your group will now have a special bond. We pray that the conversations organically continue throughout the life of your friendship as you seek to grow together!

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