Books like Retention Fundraising — 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.

In this book basic politeness, previously viewed as an expensive, time-consuming administrative chore, author Lisa shows conclusively to be perhaps the single best fundraising opportunity of them all, particularly in securing a donor’s all-important second gift.

An ‘ology’ is a really big thing. With an ology, you’re a scientist. In Thank-ology the author elevates an attitude of gratitude to a richly creative and productive art backed by a precise understanding that produces results with certainty. I value it particularly because it’s packed with copyable examples and easy-to-follow guidance, all in an accessible style that reassures readers that here is friendly guidance through the intricacies of using thanking seriously, safely, and sincerely to warm the hearts of those who’ve just done something wonderful. The checklists, visuals, and open sharing of ideas really appealed to me, making this a book to treasure.

Great service organisations depend on great fundraising, but so often the understanding of what’s really required to consistently deliver great fundraising performance somehow eludes many of the best causes. In defining what it takes to dependably deliver truly spectacular and sustainable levels of voluntary income, this book walks the talk, detailing case studies of persistent achievement that truly deserve the descriptor ‘great’.

In describing what great fundraising means in detail, Alan Clayton exposes organisational foibles and shortcomings that can all be overcome, and so points out practical ways towards increased income for any organisation, plus how to be a happier, enriched workplace too. 

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.

This book will make you laugh for all ages readers. This funny school fund-raising managed by Ms. Sue has no other intention than entertaining. However, for me, it is a great value.

Funny and easy-to-read books help children build confidence as readers. If children read and laugh, they may ask to read another one. Fortunately, this book is part of the 12-chapter book series My Weirder School.

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.

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.

Although the main character in this warm and funny book is a boy, I include it in my list of favorite books about girls who love sports because the best athlete in this story of a middle-school cross country team is a girl. She’s the team member all the other kids depend on. The team member who pushes Joseph Friedman – a boy with attention challenges, innumerable phobias, and no athletic “gifts” – to keep trying. She just won’t let Joseph give up. I love the relationships between the teammates in this book. And I love the way Asher shows that in running – as in life – winning doesn’t always mean coming in first. It means trying to do just a little bit better each time you step onto the track.

Based in Bradford, in the north of England, Liz’s fiction is gritty and really conveys the realities of this multi-racial, post-industrial city (I grew up a few miles away).

I’m listing Last Request because it was the first book by Liz that I read. But apart from the 6 books in the DS Nikita Parakh series, she’s also written eight novels (so far!) in the DI Gus McGuire series. There’s lots of inner-city grime in the writing, but also issues such as racial tension and mental health.

More importantly, I think, is that the writing has a compelling kind of humanity, with vulnerable, imperfect characters put into impossible situations. She’s just a natural storyteller.

Like Colville, Nicolson is not very important in himself (a backbench MP for most of the time) but one who matters because he knows so many greater figures and because he writes with such honesty – particularly interesting when his predictions turn out to be wrong. If you get hooked, you can read the earlier edition, which is in three volumes.