If you’re a small nonprofit, here’s your how-to guide for fundraising.
A few months ago, my co-authors and I sat down to think about what type of book would be most useful to the market. It didn’t take us long to realize that there was a lack of material comprehensively dealing with the specific challenges of running a nonprofit on a small budget.
Many books target leaders of nonprofits with larger budgets. Yet we recognized that smaller nonprofits need to be scrappy. You can’t do everything, so you need to know what to do first and how to do it right the first time.
Voila! Let me introduce The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits.
In this jam-packed little gem, you’ll find eight experts (myself and seven of my savvy peers) lending their expertise. In each chapter, you learn from an expert teaching you …
- how to make juicy direct asks
- how to work with your Board
- how to nail grant writing
- how to engage donors
- how to run your silent auction right (that’s my chapter!)
- and so forth
Each chapter solves another problem that has left you puzzled. You’ll learn through case studies, worksheets, and examples.
When I read what my colleagues had written, I was pretty darn impressed. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how this project would turn out. Though I believed in the expertise of all my co-authors, not everyone is able to articulate their knowledge into print.
I shouldn’t have been concerned! I’m proud of the finished product and know you’ll love it, too.
When we launched the book, some of us co-authors participated in a fun virtual roundtable hosted by Margaret Battistelli Gardner, Editor-in-Chief Fundraising Success Magazine. I thought you’d enjoy hearing the questions and answers from that session, so I posted the discussion here:
Here are some of the reviews:
I am a consultant working with small nonprofits (typically with 4 – 10 employees). I have held many different roles including CEO of a nonprofit health organization and development director for small museums. The authors give specific, relevant examples, and they walk you through each process. Even if you know a topic well, the text is a helpful review with new ideas.
In a small nonprofit where you are wearing many development hats, the book is really useful for the topic that you haven’t worked on in a while, so you feel you need a refresher before you jump into a new development project. It will be helpful to both the CEO as well as development staff members.
The authors never lose sight of the fact that you are working with a small team. You will find each chapter full of great additional resources that you and your staff can use and that you can use to help educate your board members. You will appreciate this book the first time you read it, and I think you will turn to it again and again.
Penelope C. Fletcher
There’s a lot to love about this handbook for any small nonprofit. We are an auxiliary of a children’s hospital, and I went through this book with a highlighter, marking all the ways we could improve our annual gala fundraiser!
Valerie Taylor
What do you get when eight big deal specialists set out to produce a standard reference especially for small nonprofits? This wonderful, urgently needed book. It’s a step-by-step manual of everything small shops really need to make fundraising work for them, flush with checklists, guidelines, and fill in the blank forms! Consider it a cure for false steps.
Tom Ahern | Ahern Donor Communications
I suspect the actual life of any small charity is very far from the din of advice fundraisers read online or hear at conferences. The Essential Fundraising Handbook leaves all that noise behind and just attends to the basics.
These experts draw from their experiences in nonprofits similar to yours. They’ve been there, they know what it takes to make the wheels go around year after year for successful, small nonprofits. If you are a fundraiser in a small charity, I suggest you ignore the noise and go back to the basics. Start with this book.
Joanne Fritz, Ph.D. | Guide to Nonprofits, www.nonprofit.about.com
The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits is packed with practical, tried-and-true ideas. It feels as if you’re part of a friendly chat that’s guiding you on what to do and where you can best spend your time. The book will spark your enthusiasm for fundraising, and is useful to both staff and volunteers running small organizations. Enjoy and share it!
Renee McGivern | Host, Nonprofit Spark Radio Show
As someone who primarily works with small shops, I can tell you that this is a wonderful primer on many key aspects of fund development. You don’t need to look much further than the list of contributing authors to know this is worth a read!
Tina Cincotti | Owner, www.FundingChangeConsulting.com
You’ll want this for your personal library.
Especially when working in a small nonprofit, setting priorities to maximize resources and personal effort is extremely important. As hard as it is to be an expert in numerous areas, setting the right priorities can be a tricky endeavor. This book will help you focus your efforts on the activities that will benefit your fundraising most. The worksheets, formulas and additional resources will help you put each of the authors’ best practices to use.
As a board member of a small nonprofit that supports nonprofits with resources and educational programs, I’ll be suggesting that this book be added to our library and list recommended resources.
Dee Robinson
A Fundraising Guide I wish I had 20+ years ago when I started working in Non Profit organizations
As the Manager of Special Events and Annual Giving at a hospice and as the only fundraiser for the organization, it was a privilege to review this handbook dedicated specifically to small nonprofits.
I have worked in a number of grassroots nonprofits throughout my 20+ career in fundraising and I learned my skills from experiential learning and training provided by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. I wish I had The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits when I started out in my career.
It is full of a myriad of ideas and suggestions to make a nonprofit fundraiser as effective as they can be for the organizations they serve. From having a clear and compelling vision, to creating a stellar silent auction, to special events, to sharing stories, to working with Boards, to stewardship (I sent out Valentines to appreciate our donors this year thanks to suggestions in the book), to creating awareness, to foundation grants, to major gifts fundraising – this book has it all.
I follow some of the authors through social media and their e-newsletters. They know their stuff. I recommend this book as providing effective tools for fundraisers. Happy reading!
Lisa Hoekstra
As a Director of Events/Development, working for a small nonprofit health organization, this book spoke to me. From developing your organization’s strategy, to managing a board, to raising awareness and funds, while engaging current donors and prospective ones, this book maps out a plan to set you apart in the competitive world of small nonprofits.
Each author brings their own distinctive background and experience, sharing their personal stories and strategies that someone in my role faces each and every day. From the challenges of securing new sponsors and donors, while showing appreciation to your current supporters, this book provides strategies and a guide for the challenges leaders in the nonprofit arena face.
Let this book be that road map for directing you, as a nonprofit professional, through the challenges and pitfalls you must face daily. A MUST have and MUST read!!!
Brian Wachtel