101:
• Introduction: Each entry starts with a short overview of why a busy nonprofit leader like you should take 20 to 30 minutes out of his or her schedule to learn more about this topic. Which kinds of nonprofits can benefit from this strategy, and what does this approach have to offer your cause?
• Critical Skills and Competencies: This portion typically contains 70 to 80 percent of the content for each chapter, and is where you’ll find the step-by-step framework for success in each respective arena. We’ve done our best to distill each interviewee’s comments and insights into a how-to formula for success, presented in a logical progression with several main headlines, each of which is followed by a few paragraphs to fill in the specifics.
• Conclusion: A paragraph at the end of each chapter helps to underscore key points and takeaways, reminding you of some of the highlights and crucial components of the formula for success.
• Do’s and Don’ts: These are bullet point lists of concrete, actionable tips from within the chapter and beyond, each of which is distilled down to a sentence or two to make it as easy as possible to digest.
• About the Experts: Brief bios for each chapter’s interviewees are included at the end of their respective chapters.
• Resource Review: The final component of each chapter is where you’ll find additional resources to learn more about that particular discipline. Many of these also offer helpful templates, resources, and reports to keep you updated as trends and technologies evolve. These resources are a treasure trove, so be sure to subscribe to the newsletters and blogs, read the annual reports and books, and rely on the links outlined here to keep abreast of industry trends and developments.
• Case Studies and Insets: Sprinkled throughout the chapters are a variety of case studies that showcase specific nonprofits’ experiences, with a focus on best practices and pitfalls to avoid. In addition, you’ll also find a range of insets that dive a bit deeper into a specific component mentioned in the chapter, or that provide templates, checklists, and more.
All the chapters are short and incredibly practical, and our goal with this book is not simply to leave you inspired, but inspired to action. Short and to the point, we share concrete, real-world insights, tips, and tools from globally recognized experts, and leave you with clear takeaways that you can put to work immediately, making you both more effective and efficient at serving your cause. As recovering executive directors and current fundraisers, we know you’re busy, and the last thing you need are pie-in-the-sky ideas and concepts that may make you think, but that fail to immediately help, and even transform, the way you go about your everyday work.
From a style standpoint, we strived to make the book easy to read and digest. Paragraphs are kept short to facilitate ideas sinking in, and we’ve used a conversational tone, since ultimately, we are talking directly to you. We’ve also formatted things in a way that aims to help you retain the most important ideas without you feeling like you have to bend every other page or break out that old, faded highlighter. To this end, important points and comments are italicized, while concrete takeaways and best practices are bolded and italicized throughout the book. You’ll see a wealth of the latter in each and every chapter, because for us, that’s what this publication is all about.
Admittedly, many of the interviewees and statistics are from the United States, but this book is intended for a global audience of experienced practitioners and emerging leaders, including university students and volunteers. To this end, we’ve done our best to ensure Nonprofit Fundraising 101 speaks to nonprofits, charities, and causes all around the world. So don’t worry if you’re just getting started, or if you’ve been in the sector for a decade. Similarly, there’s great content in here for organizations of all sizes. The tips and tools shared herein are relevant to organizations ranging from small, grassroots efforts with no paid staff, to well-established nonprofits with big budgets and a large team of paid professionals.
This book covers a wide range of fundraising topics; in fact, our goal was to address a truly comprehensive range of disciplines, offering readers one single book that provides at least a basic sense of everything you need to know. As such, there are a huge diversity of perspectives and topics represented in these pages, but three important common themes and ideas appear throughout:
Plan for Success: Many of the frameworks and formulas for success shared in the chapters start with – or even revolve entirely around – creating a solid plan. Planning is the lynchpin of any nonprofit’s success, and in fact you’ll often hear us share one of the questions we find most helpful when driving this process, “What does success look like?” Ask this question at every meeting, every strategy session, and reverse engineer how to achieve your ideal outcome. Take a moment to step back and envision your path before you dive into any activity or project to ensure you’re as impactful as possible. As Peter Drucker once noted: “Efficiency is about doing things right; effectiveness is about doing the right things.” Good planning helps you be both efficient, and effective.
Meet People Where They’re at: Several chapters speak to the notion that you cannot expect donors to come to you; you need to court and steward them where – and how – they’re most comfortable. Whether we’re talking about the importance of ensuring your website is mobile-compatible, talking about Facebook and Twitter, or underscoring the huge, continued role of more proven approaches like direct mail, the point is that, to be successful, you must take a dispassionate look at which channels and media are most appropriate for achieving your goals. Along those lines, this book contains some surprises. For example, did you know that 2013 was the first year in U.S. history that Baby Boomers were just as likely to give online versus by direct mail? Or did you realize that odds are, at least 40 percent of your nonprofit’s website traffic today comes from people on mobile devices? Keep an open mind and be willing to experiment with some of the ideas and tactics shared in this book, always with an eye toward the old mantra, “fail fast, fail forward.”
It’s Not About You: As we shared in the story at the beginning of this section, nonprofits are a channel, a conduit, between donors and impact. The most successful nonprofits and fundraisers communicate not about their work, needs, or impact, but rather about the impact the donor or prospect makes possible. Talk with people about what drives them to act and contribute – about what their past support has enabled or their future contribution will make possible – and revenue will follow. Several chapters build on this idea by speaking to the power of peer testimonials and creating a movement instead of a campaign. And remember, people want to be part of a winning team, so framing your work as powerfully as possible is critical. Always the inspiring and inspired communicator, Kay Sprinkel Grace shares two great sound bites that bring both of these key points home in Chapter 9 when talking about major donors:
“People don’t give to you; they give through you.”
and
“People don’t give to you because you have needs. They give to you because you meet needs.”
Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is broken into seven parts. After a Foreword from fundraising guru Lynne Twist, we kick things off with Part 1, where you’ll learn about a few crucial aspects of planning and maximizing human resources. How can you create a killer fundraising plan without killing yourself? How can you hire and train fundraising personnel and engage your board and key volunteers in fund development?
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