Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work by Ilona Bray
Nonprofit organizations depend on fundraising to exist. The success or failure of many nonprofit organizations depends on their ability to raise funds, because with the money to operate, the charitable mission and tax exemption won’t mean much. An organization may have the best of intentions, but without capital, and that means money, the success of the organization will be little to none. That’s where a book like “Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work” by Ilona Bray, JD comes in. It is an extremely informative book, written in plain language, featuring tips and stories from over fifty experienced fundraisers, foundation staff, journalists, and more on everything you need to know to raise funds for your organization.
This book is truly your fundraising companion, and from the very beginning it lays out what the book will be able to do for you. It then delves into very informative chapters. The first focuses on fundraising tools, people, skills, equipment and technology. From there, Chapter Two helps you develop a fundraising plan. I think this is such an important step that it is often neglected.
From there, chapter three looks at how you can attract individual supporters, and then in the next chapter there are strategies to keep donors giving. Chapter six looks at major and mid-tier donors, while chapter seven focuses on afterlife funds, legacies, and legacy gifts. The following chapters cover special events and how they can help you successfully raise money for your organization.
Chapter nine discusses raising money through business or sales activities, while chapter ten provides information on seeking grants from foundations, corporations, and the government.
The next two chapters look at things that I didn’t really think about when I first got the book, but we find that they are very important pieces of the puzzle and the plan. Chapter eleven deals with the creation of printed communication materials, such as brochures, newsletters, and annual reports. The next chapter is about designing your website to attract donors. The final chapter, thirteen, covers some outreach strategies in both traditional and social media.
Like most Nolo books, there is an Appendix that contains several worksheets (10 total) to help you with your fundraising, including: Fundraising Strategy Chart, Grant Priorities Summary Chart and a worksheet to check the fundraising effectiveness of your website, among others.
I wanted this book because I’m involved with a non-profit organization and I may have a much bigger role in fundraising next year. This is just the book that will help me create a fundraising plan and take the organization to the next level. There are really many good strategies provided. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs to increase their nonprofit’s revenue to successfully fund their nonprofit’s mission.