The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook: Getting the Money You Need from Government Agencies, Businesses, Foundations, and Individuals

by Michael A. Sand, Linda Lysakowski

Are you a staff member, a board member or a volunteer of a faith-based, human service, arts, or other nonprofit organization that needs additional funds to accomplish its mission? Are there not enough hours in the day to raise the money your agency needs? Do your colleagues not have the expertise or interest to generate the needed dollars? Do you need a quick source of practical information about ways to raise funds? Then you need The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook . This book is for individuals who are dedicated to helping their communities but who need useful recommendations on how to raise money. Written by two of America's foremost fundraising experts, you will learn how How many times has a well-meaning board member suggested that you do a golf tournament (gala dinner dance, art auction, walkathon) because the Girl Scouts (local hospital, Rotarians, PBA) scored big with theirs--only no one has any experience with such an event? With The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook , you'll learn exactly what to do, step by step, to pull off a successful event of any kind or size, or to raise badly needed funds in a wide variety of other ways.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, quick, useful read, especially for someone learning the basics of fundraising.

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick read, useful information, well laid out. Will be a good reference book

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonprofit organizations need funding from a variety of sources in order to flourish and accomplish their goals. This volume tries to lay out what can be done to develop a fundraising plan that will support the work of nonprofit organizations. Why worry about financial support for nonprofits? The book notes (Page 9): ". . .virtually every American is affected by decisions made and services provided by nonprofit agencies. Individuals attend religious services, enjoy artistic performances, study in private schools, belong to civic groups, engage in recreational activities, get treated in nonprofit hospitals, and volunteer for numerous nonprofit organizations."

The book begins by speaking of the importance of planning. Just as strategic planning is important for organizations, so, too, is development planning. The volume speaks to this. Next, key actors in fundraising are discussed--from the board to staff to volunteers. But where are the funding sources? How does one have a chance to succeed in acquiring funding? The bulk of this volume addresses such issues. One needs to do a scan to get a sense of potential funding sources; next, develop proposals to reach out to potential funders.

Overall, this is a useful volume for those who seek ideas as to how to develop successful fundraising campaigns.

[Christa Cordova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written and thorough overview of the nonprofit fundraising process. It clearly outlines all formats of fundraising and I highly recommend it to any new nonprofit director, or development manager, who needs an introduction (or refresher course) on the best ways to implement/improve fundraising plans.