The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards


Book Description

Jerold Panas explores the 25 fundraising habits that distinguish successful nonprofit boards of directors.




Asking


Book Description

It ranks right up there with public speaking. Nearly all of us fear it. And yet it's critical to our success. Asking for money. It makes even the stout-hearted quiver. But now comes a book, Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Staff and Volunteers Must Know to Secure the Gift. And short of a medical elixir, it's the next best thing for emboldening you, your board members and volunteers to ask with skill, finesse -- and powerful results. Jerold Panas, who as a staff person, board member and volunteer has secured gifts ranging from $50 to $50 million, understands the art of asking perhaps better than anyone in America. He has harnessed all of his knowledge and experience and produced what many are already calling a landmark book. What Asking convincingly shows -- and one reason staff will applaud the book and board members will devour it -- is that it doesn't take stellar communication skills to be an effective asker. Nearly everyone, regardless of their persuasive ability, can become an effective fundraiser if they follow Jerold Panas' step-by-step guidelines.




Fired-Up Fundraising


Book Description

Praise for Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action "Fired-Up Fundraising is honest, realistic, practical, and inspiring. It transforms the whole concept of fundraising from obligation and drudgery into passion and fun. Every CEO, development director, development consultant, and board chair needs to have and use this book." —Charles F. (Chic) Dambach President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding Former Senior Consultant, BoardSource "A breakthrough! Fired-Up Fundraising takes the mystery out of engaging your board in the ongoing work of fundraising. In this well-organized little book, Gail Perry lays out a commonsense, four-step process that will fire up your board and help you meet your fundraising goals, year after year." —Mal Warwick author of How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters "Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action is by far the best book I have ever read on how to involve board members in the entire process of fundraising, from identifying prospects, cultivating them, and finally making 'the ask.' Just as important, it is an invaluable guide on how to select, enlist, train and especially inspire board members so they take ownership of their institutions. Every nonprofit CEO and development officer should read this book." —Robert L. Gale President Emeritus, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and founder of BoardSource (formerly known as the National Center for Nonprofit Boards) "This is the book for which EVERY nonprofit chief executive has been yearning since time immemorial. Every nonprofit needs money to survive and thrive, and every nonprofit has a board of trustees to help raise it, but few nonprofits come anywhere near using their boards to maximum benefit. Fired-Up Fundraising, a reader-friendly, realistic, and practical playbook written by a richly experienced, highly literate fundraiser turned consultant, takes readers by the hand and leads them step-by-step through eminently doable ways of inspiring the greatest possible engagement of-and return from-their trustees. It will instantly become the gold-standard guide for building successful boards." —Joel Fleishman Professor of Law and Public Policy and Director, The Foundation Research Program, Duke University




Born to Raise


Book Description

Interviews with 50 great fundraisers, along with a comprehensive survey of over 3,000 fund raisers, inform you about which qualities in fund raising are innate, which can be learned, and how to use this information right away. A self-appraisal helps you determine your fund-raising strengths and weaknesses.




Internet Searches for Vetting, Investigations, and Open-Source Intelligence


Book Description

In the information age, it is critical that we understand the implications and exposure of the activities and data documented on the Internet. Improved efficiencies and the added capabilities of instant communication, high-speed connectivity to browsers, search engines, websites, databases, indexing, searching and analytical applications have made




How to Raise Planned Gifts by Mail


Book Description




Outperformers


Book Description

Tells how to identify and reward key employees, and offers advice on new opportunities, growth planning, repositioning, and marketing strategies




Over Goal!


Book Description




Big Gifts for Small Groups


Book Description

If yours is among the tens of thousands of organizations for whom six- and seven-figure gifts are unattainable, then Andy Robinson's' new book, Big Gifts for Small Groups, is just the ticket for you and your board.The subtitle, A Board Member's 1-Hour Guide to Securing Gifts of $500 to $5,000 says it all. Robinson is the straightest of shooters ? a sort of John McCain of fundraising. There literally isn't one piece of advice in this book that's glib or inauthentic. It has all been earned. But, then again, what would you expect from a fellow who first won his stripes as door to door canvasser, making 10,000 pitches on 10,000 doorsteps.As a result of Robinson's 'no bull' style, board members will take immediately to Big Gifts for Small Groups, confident the author isn't slinging unrealistic bromides.They'll learn everything they need to know from this one-hour read: how to get ready for the campaign, who to approach, where to find them; where to conduct the meeting, what to bring with you, how to ask, how to make it easy for the donor to give, what to do once you have the commitment ? even how to convey your thanks in a memorable way.Believing that other books already focus on higher sum gifts, the author smartly targets a range that has been neglected: $500 to $5,000. Why? Here's what Robinson says:o They're large enough to justify the time it takes to develop a prospect list, prepare a letter, follow up with a phone call and visit the prospective donor.o They're small enough to include a wide range of prospects. o They're both modest enough to seem feasible to the novice, but also ambitious enough to make it worth their while.o Taken in the context of a major gifts campaign, with a team of solicitors working together, gifts of $500 to $5,000 can add up to a lot of money.Robinson has a penchant for good writing and for using exactly the right example or anecdote to illustrate his point. But more importantly he lets his no-nonsense personality shine through. The result being that by the end of the book, your board members just may turn to one another and say, "Hey, we can do this" ? and mean it.




Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards (and Staff Too)


Book Description

Fundraising mistakes are a thing of the past.Or, rather, there's no excuse now for making any serious mistake.And that goes for board members, staff, novice, or veteran.If you blunder from this day forward, it's simply evidence you haven't read Kay Sprinkel Grace's new book, Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards, in which she exposes all of the errors. Well, not every conceivable one, but at least the top ones that thwart us time and again.This is an ingenious book, and it's a wonder it wasn't written years ago.Sure, if you've attended a fundraising seminar, or read a Jerry Panas book, or perused one of the field's journals, you're familiar with a dozen or so mistakes to avoid. But the appeal of this book ? and it will become a classic ? is that in one place it gathers and discusses ALL of the biggest errors.Some, like the following, will be second nature if you've been in the field for long:o "Tax deductibility is a powerful incentive." It isn't, as you know.o "People will give just because yours is a good cause." They won't.o "Wealth is mostly what determines a person's willingness to give." Not so. Other factors are equally important.Other mistakes aren't as apparent. For example: "You need a powerful board to have a successful campaign." Truth be told, many are convinced that without a powerful board they can't succeed. Grace shows otherwise.Then, too, there are more nuanced mistakes:o "We can't raise big money - we don't know any rich people." Don't believe it. You can raise substantial dollars.o "Most people don't like to give." To the contrary, many find joy in it.o "Without a track record in annual giving, you can't have a successful capital campaign." In fact you can, but your tactics will be different.And that touches on only seven of the 40 mistakes Grace explores (and explodes).Just as anyone involved in journalism should own a copy of Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style, anyone involved in fundraising ? board member, staff, volunteer ? should have Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards by their side.When Grace makes it so easy to avoid costly errors, it is imprudent to risk repeating them.