Books like Great Fundraising Organizations — picked by fans

In this book, George Smith explores, defines, and illustrates the crucial role of creativity in communicating with charity supporters. I loved this book because it changed the rules for an entire trade and is still seen as the best book ever on creativity for good causes.

It challenges established thinking yet is packed full of ideas and solutions. From decades of running a successful advertising agency, the author honestly describes and analyses hundreds of effective and less-than-effective fundraising campaigns in a perceptive, often delightfully funny way.

It’s brilliantly written, quirky and provocative, plus packed with practical benefits for any professional communicator. This book should be on every world-changer’s bookshelf.

Thanking donors is one of the most important parts about fundraising—and the one that nonprofits epicly fail at.

Lisa Sargent is a masterful donor stewardship expert who leads readers into the joys of expressing gratitude. Despite what you may think, Thankology will actually help you and your donors enjoy your relationship. And a nice side effect is you will find yourself raising more money too.

If you value startling insights designed to raise or save £millions backed by a straight-talking, no-nonsense approach rooted in more than 50 years in his craft, this book is for you. Roger Craver is The Agitator, founder and writer-in-chief for one of America’s most respected and influential websites in the field of not-for-profit fundraising.

In this book, Roger tears open the facade of successful fundraising today to expose the flaws that are limiting fundraisers’ ability to raise more, thus condemning organisations to massive underachievement. I loved the fact that, on top of the author’s unrivalled expertise and insights, this book’s core concerns and conclusions are based on a three-year study of donor retention and commitment among 250-plus nonprofits in the US and the UK.

Lots of inspirational, great things have been said over the ages by all sorts of people about the unique and essential process of giving to help others in need, an unquenchable, often undervalued quality of the human condition. Harvey McKinnon has researched in multiple unlikely places to unearth profound sayings and sound advice designed to spur the listener on to support a great cause or to lead others to support similar good works.

I loved the way, in his inimitable quirky style, Harvey delivers surprising yet helpful insights in an easily digestible format, with an inspirational, witty insight on every page. Among its many delightful surprises, Dolly Parton has more quotes included than Aristotle, Gandhi, and the Buddha combined.

I refer to it frequently just for a wise thought, a different take, a revelation, a chuckle, or a valuable insight. I’m never disappointed. You’ll want to keep this book close… show more.

While governance is a key aspect of any board member's responsibilities, often nonprofit board members are surprised or even disheartened by the requirement to fundraise on behalf of the organization. Some people are afraid that they can’t ask for money or are uncomfortable asking certain people and decide they don’t want to serve on the board. While there are a lot of books on fundraising, Asking Styles helps board members identify their asking style and what would be the most effective fundraising methods for them. It also helps understand how others feel about fundraising and how to work as a team to bring the most success to the organization. The book is a short read but full of great examples and practical guidance. 

I think most fundraisers have one big fear--that your prospective donor might say “no!” Kent Stroman’s book can show you how to master the art of conversational fundraising. I love this book because it gives you the tools you need to have meaningful, productive, enjoyable conversations with both current donors and potential funders. This book gives you the benefit of learning from the input of hundreds of nonprofit leaders who identified their greatest obstacles to asking for major gifts.

Kent will equip you to seek and find larger donations and gain confidence as a fundraising staff member or volunteer. His 10-Step Staircase will help you become more comfortable, confident, and effective when asking and help donors truly enjoy the gift-making process. This book should be considered required reading for anyone involved with serious fundraising.

The authors of this book, Jimmy LaRose and Joanne Oppelt, know what they are talking about because they have both led numerous organizations through this process. I have been consulting for more than thirty-five years, and I can assure you the principles outlined in this book work. I think you will agree that all nonprofits want to be successful in their fundraising in order to transform their communities.

The outstanding feature of this book is that it lists exactly what to do at each step of the way—creating your case, building your advancement calendar, running your non-ask event, running the ask-event, cultivating donors, building your campaign cabinet, and more. If you think you can’t possibly raise these big gifts. Trust me, you can. 

I have read this book more than six times, and it is one of the few pieces of fundraising literature I keep coming back to.

Managing major gift fundraisers is messy, but this book offers an amazingly clear, practical framework that actually works. It moves past the generic advice and focuses entirely on the structure you need to build real, lasting donor relationships.

I loved this book because Steven breaks down the barrier between major gift officers and planned-giving officers. I have found that nonprofits isolate their development offices and have development officers doing annual fund work, where they talk to donors about making a small, first-time gift without determining the donor's real capability and interests.

Then, maybe this donor gets passed along to a major gift officer who gets them to increase giving, but without thought of the ultimate gift. Finally, some of these donors get passed onto a planned giving office if they are determined to have the interest and capability to make that ultimate gift. Steven’s book proposes a method for every donor to have a personalized relationship with the nonprofit that will result in an ultimate gift.

In Changing the World, Alex tells his own story, and it’s a compelling one, chocked full of useful lessons for anyone hoping to find a way to make a difference and take on any of the world’s seemingly intractable problems. It’s all here, from how to break in, to recognizing an opportunity when it presents itself and knowing how to take full advantage of it, to building an organization and populating it with the right people, and how to raise the dough to finance your dream. As to how to break-in, while he doesn’t say as much, I know Alex shares my view that the fastest and best way to break into international development work is to go and live where the problems of poverty live – which in Alex’s case was Bangladesh. There he apprenticed himself to a 100-karat visionary, authentic social entrepreneur, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.… show more.