"Supported by dozens of studies over twenty years involving tens of thousands of donors, 'Donor-Centered Fundraising' paints a candid picture of why donors stop giving, and what it will take to preserve their ongoing loyalty in the future. In clear language and backed by statistical evidence, the book explores the pitfalls of the fundraising industry's traditional approaches to donor communication and recognition and clarifies what donors want but seldom get from the charities they support."--Publisher description.
Higher ed fundraising can't keep doubling down on ineffective practices. We can't keep hoping donors give. Instead, we need to give donors hope. We need to adapt to new philanthropic realities in higher education, both to avoid wasteful, depletive fundraising and to optimize our institutions ability to produce more significant, sustainable fundraising results. This will require rethinking how we organize ourselves at every level, including the board, executive team, and advancement operation. In the largest sense, what we must be most attentive to going forward is what we've been inattentive to in the past: the growing gap between what institutions wanted and hoped for from their donors and what donors wanted and hoped for from schools, colleges and universities. In The Future of Fundraising, James M. Langley describes the changing philanthropic behaviors and expectations of our donors, then details the strategies and tactics that will allow fundraising operations and institutions to detect and catch the prevailing winds in their sails and thereby expedite the advancement of their missions and sustain donor trust. Langley contrasts old, increasingly ineffective approaches with current and emerging best practice, unpacking in practical detail how we must organize ourselves and how we must create new models of collaboration to establish a more adaptive craft. From the author of Fundraising for Presidents and Fundraising for Deans, this new book that will challenge, inspire, and empower you to create the conditions at your college or university for more sustainable philanthropic growth.
Why does it cost nonprofits on average $20 to raise $100, while it costs companies only $4? Simply put: Nonprofits have no leverage. No one has to make a donation. And since most donors have no direct stake in the organizations they support, they make donations out of the goodness of their hearts. If donors feel like writing a check, they will. If they don't, they won't. The End of Fundraising turns fundraising on its head, teaching nonprofits how to stop begging for charity and start selling impact. For the first time, nonprofits have economic power. We live in a new era where consumers, businesses, investors, employees, and service providers attach real economic value to social outcomes. An era where yesterday's "feel good" issues—education, the environment, health care, the arts, and animal rights—now have direct economic consequences and opportunities. Nonprofits now have leverage. To use this leverage, nonprofits must learn how to "sell" their impact to a new set of stakeholders. Using his fifteen years of experience advising the world's leading nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, Jason Saul reveals the formula for how nonprofits transcend the paradigm of charitable fundraising and reach true financial sustainability. Specifically, this groundbreaking book offers nonprofit professionals a guide to Understand the role of social change in our economy Capture and communicate impact in simple, compelling terms Identify the new market stakeholders that value nonprofit outcomes Create powerful value propositions to increase leverage Improve the success of a nonprofit's pitches to funders The End of Fundraising includes the tools needed to effectively frame, market, and sell a nonprofit organization's impact, and contains step-by-step guidance for creating dynamic new opportunities with a variety of funders.
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
A startup executive and investor draws on expertise developed at the premier venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and as an executive at Uber to address how tech’s most successful products have solved the dreaded "cold start problem”—by leveraging network effects to launch and scale toward billions of users. Although software has become easier to build, launching and scaling new products and services remains difficult. Startups face daunting challenges entering the technology ecosystem, including stiff competition, copycats, and ineffective marketing channels. Teams launching new products must consider the advantages of “the network effect,” where a product or service’s value increases as more users engage with it. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other tech giants utilize network effects, and most tech products incorporate them, whether they’re messaging apps, workplace collaboration tools, or marketplaces. Network effects provide a path for fledgling products to break through, attracting new users through viral growth and word of mouth. Yet most entrepreneurs lack the vocabulary and context to describe them—much less understand the fundamental principles that drive the effect. What exactly are network effects? How do teams create and build them into their products? How do products compete in a market where every player has them? Andrew Chen draws on his experience and on interviews with the CEOs and founding teams of LinkedIn, Twitch, Zoom, Dropbox, Tinder, Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest to offer unique insights in answering these questions. Chen also provides practical frameworks and principles that can be applied across products and industries. The Cold Start Problem reveals what makes winning networks thrive, why some startups fail to successfully scale, and, most crucially, why products that create and compete using the network effect are vitally important today.
Matt Mochary coaches the CEOs of many of the fastest-scaling technology companies in Silicon Valley. With The Great CEO Within, he shares his highly effective leadership and business-operating tools with any CEO or manager in the world. Learn how to efficiently scale your business from startup to corporation by implementing a system of accountability, effective problem-solving, and transparent feedback. Becoming a great CEO requires training. For a founding CEO, there is precious little time to complete that training, especially at the helm of a rapidly growing company. Now you have the guidance you need in one book.
Writing to raise money takes more than a few choice words. Highly profitable communications use a wide array of "trade secrets" to boost response. Things like emotional triggers, a working knowledge of reader psychology, the discovery of eye motion studies, and donor research ? all help writing pros reap big rewards from their appeal letters, newsletters, websites, case statements, and more.Now these trade secrets are yours, collected in one easy-to-understand volume: How to Write Fundraising Materials that Raise More Money ? The Art, the Science, the Secrets. Author Tom Ahern is recognized as one of North America's leading experts on effective communications. His workshops are in hot demand. Last year he released a first-of-its-kind book on moneymaking donor newsletters.Now, in his new book, Ahern reveals all: how top fundraising writers inspire their prospects to make that first gift ? and how they keep existing donors loyal and generous.Raising more money through words, via the printed page or online, is no accident. But anyone can do it well: you don?t need special writing talent. All you need is this essential guide to best practices in the fundraising industry.
Fundraising: Principles and Practice provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to fundraising. Taking a balanced perspective, bestselling author Michael J. Worth offers insights on the practical application of relevant theory. The text is designed to engage readers in thinking critically about issues in fundraising and philanthropy to prepare them for careers in the nonprofit sector. Worth explores donor motivations and fundraising techniques for annual giving programs, major gift programs, planned giving, and corporate and foundation giving and campaigns. Traditional methods, including direct mail and personal solicitations, are discussed as well as new tools and practices, including online fundraising, crowd-funding and social networks, analytics, and predictive modeling. Written specifically for nonprofit career-oriented individuals, this book helps readers become successful fundraisers.