Fundraising When Money Is Tight: A Strategic and Practical Guide to Surviving Tough Times and Thriving in the Future (The Mal Warwick Fundraising Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Relevant" and "timely" fall short as terms to describe Mal Warwick's latest book. After going through a brief analysis of what history has taught us in terms of philanthropy in times of crisis and putting forward three scenarios for economic recovery, Mr. Warwick presents three possible fundraising strategies to take us through the period of economic recovery.
He then embarks on a detailed nine-step approach to what he calls "peace of mind":
* Step 1: Reassess the Whole Ball of Wax - to make sure your organization is around long enough to make a lasting impact, he proposes efficient management practices, something that is good even in times of abundance.
* Step 2: Strengthen your Case for Giving - donors don't care about you as much as they care about the issues you work on. Focus on those.
* Step 3: Be Content with One in the Hand -Forget the Two That May Be in the Bush - he questions the importance of creativity in tough times.
* Step 4: Cut Costs with a Scalpel, Not an Ax - he shares sixteen cost-cutting recommendations that impact the whole organization and fourteen more focused on cutting costs in print production. Here, I found his invitation to draw the line between major and small donors @ $1,000 very interesting.
* Step 5: Fish Where the Big Fish Are - this chapter deals with donor segmentation in as much detail as you need to "get" the idea and why it's important for you to do.
* Step 6: Stay Close to Your Donors - say thanks! And then, say thanks again!
* Step 7: Get Personal With Your Donors - collect and use data about your donors as a means to appeal directly to their cherised values and beliefs.
* Step 8: Step Up Your Efforts Online - lots of things you need to do to maximize your fundraising efforts by developing a comprehensive online strategy.
* Step 9: Break Down the Silos - a phenomenon that not only affects nonprofits but can hurt them badly, silos are discussed in this chapter.
In short, this book packs SO MUCH in so little space that, if you haven't taken pages of notes or if you have marked less than 10 pages to revisit again, I can guarantee you missed on lots of things: go back and read it cover to cover. You will thank me for it!

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A Nonprofit Survival Kit for Hard Times
"This is a must-read for all of us in fundraising. Mal Warwick includes practical approaches for difficult economic times, from zero-based thinking about our programs to strategies for relating to our donors and making certain our fundraising programs are prepared to succeed not only now but when the economy recovers."—Eugene R. Tempel, president, Indiana University Foundation
"Brilliant! No nonprofit organization can afford to ignore the insightful advice Mal Warwick offers in this concise and eminently readable book. It's practical, down-to-earth, and addresses the complex, real-world challenges of raising money in tough times."—Ben Jealous, president, NAACP
"Fundraising When Money Is Tight is an important book in a difficult time for all. This is the right book for anyone who is committed to advancing the public good."—Jane Wales, founder, Global Philanthropy Forum, and vice president, Aspen Institute
"This is a must-read book by any fundraising manager. It's timely, it's a good read, and the moment I put it down I made sure my managers got focused, got real, and got with the project today."—Mark Astarita, director of fundraising, British Red Cross
"Mal Warwick will leave you with a focusing framework and dozens of practical, immediately actionable how-tos. It is hard to imagine anyone in the citizen sector who will not breathe easier after reading this book."—Bill Drayton, CEO, Ashoka, and chair, Youth Venture

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How to Write Knockout Proposals: What You Must Know (And Say) to Win Funding Every Time Review

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(More customer reviews)Joseph Barbato has written a very useful and easy-to-read book on how to write foundation grant applications.
Rather than focusing on the nuts and bolts of proposals, he focuses on the essential lessons a good grant application writer must know or learn to be successful. Using the advice in this book will help the reader think and act like an experienced proposal writer.
The chapters are short, concise, and well-written -- a good mantra for crafting successful foundation proposals. Chapter titles include "Maps Help," "Needing Money Isn't Enough," and "Getting Unstuck." If you've written a lot of proposals and helped a lot of clients, you'll find yourself saying "Yes, people need to know that!" as you read the book.
I recommend the book highly. I wish that the author had addressed Federal and other governmental proposal writing as well, for two main reasons. First, while it's a great idea to solicit advice and counsel from a foundation's staff, it's between difficult and impossible to work with a government program officer while drafting a proposal. Working without this counsel requires the proposal writer to hone all the more closely to the written application guidelines -- a point not made as directly in the book as it might have been.
Second, the very brevity and conciseness valued by foundation program officers may actually work against a Federal or other governmental proposal being funded. The written guidance often mandates a certain amount of repetition between proposal sections, both in material to be covered and, occasionally, in the structure of the proposal itself.
These two small issues aside, I really like this book. One particularly effective use of it would be as a supplemental text when delivering grantsmanship training. The book includes much of the good advice a trainer would give orally while handing out written materials on the minutiae of the grant application. Reading "Knockout Proposals" is like having a grantsmanship coach at your side during the writing process.


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The (Help) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management Review

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(More customer reviews)Most people who work with volunteers have no training in doing so (they've never taken a workshop or class on volunteer management), and recruiting and supporting volunteers is rarely their only responsibility (they may also be marketing managers, program directors, or even the President of the organization). The (Help!) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management gets these folks up to speed *immediately* on what needs to be in place to successfully involve and support volunteers. It was written long before the Internet became the essential tool that it is now, and even so, everything it talks about is instantly adaptable to online environments. This is the first book I recommend to anyone who is setting up a volunteer program, or wants to get a floundering program back on track.

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Presents strategies for any successful and organized volunteer manager, but especially ifyou lead volunteers as an "add on" to other duties.Learn to clarify expectations, find administrative volunteers and put them to work in vital ways, and share ownership of the volunteer program.Includes a detailed "Volunteer Management Task Analysis,"forms and procedures to simplify the workday, and an essential appendix of volunteerism resources.

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Reliable Fundraising in Unreliable Times: What Good Causes Need to Know to Survive and Thrive (Kim Klein's Fundraising Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book, amazingly enough, bridges what fundraiser newcomers need to learn and what veterans need not to forget. No mean trick!
Kim Klein brings a clarity - and a calm voice in tough times - to creating a solid fundraising program to sustain an organization over the long haul. The book works for those facing an immediate crisis (with particular insights on managing that) and for those who want to get sharper as they look to equally or more challenging times ahead. Klein has been in the trenches, and it shows with solid frameworks and examples of how planning, implementing, and evaluating your fundraising from donors really works. I was re-inspired and reminded of the key factors in building a great donor program. And I was so glad that she included advice on how we can get past our own barriers to asking for money.
Different than "how to" fundraising manuals, Klein brings some unique gifts in this book, from her social justice framework and analysis of the economy to her practices of respect for and communication with donors. Her insights about improving boards, working with volunteers, and managing and learning through generational change are on point. Importantly, she urges us to respect our work as fundraisers and be mindful of our own sustainability, a factor in building a fundraising program that too often gets dropped.
I anticipate continuing to use this book as a key reference tool and one I can recommend to others with varying fundraising backgrounds. Anyone trying to build and organization can learn, and most importantly, implement from this book.

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Praise for Reliable Fundraising in Unreliable Times
"Kim Klein has been a guru to social justice fundraisers for many years. She shows us by her efforts, and not just by her words, that it is possible to raise the money you need, no matter how marginal you feel or are considered in the larger society."—Rinku Sen, executive director, Applied Research Center, New York, New York; author, Stir It Up and The Accidental American
"With wisdom gleaned from over 30 years of experience, Kim Klein delivers her can-do message with wit, grace, and unabashed optimism—even in times like these. She taught us at JVP that there is still plenty of money out there; it's just unevenly distributed. Her consistent message: people give because we ask. Poking fun at money taboos, assuring us that fundraising is not that hard, Kim reminds us that the system is held in place by money: if we don't learn about it, we can't change it!"—Penny Rosenwasser, National Board, Jewish Voice for Peace, Oakland, California
"This book is an extraordinary combination of philosophy and how to, all aimed at helping nonprofits build a movement for social justice. Kim distills three decades of fundraising and organizing experience into a book that will be helpful for novice and veteran alike."—Lance Evoy, director, Institute for Community Development, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec

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