Fundraising For Dummies, 4th Edition

Fundraising For Dummies, 4th Edition

by Beverly A. Browning
Released December 2022
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119912750

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Book description

Follow the mission and the money, even when it takes you online

Fundraising For Dummies is your guiding light and saving grace as you prepare and implement a fundraising plan. This updated edition will help you succeed at fundraising in the age of social media saturation. You’ll discover how to post, what to include, and where to interact to get the biggest return on your investment of time. And, as always, this trusted resource covers all the basics of being a fundraiser, soliciting the money an organization needs, and pitching the case statement for your organization. Use real-life examples to take your own fundraising skills to the next level and follow step-by-step processes for success in online fundraising.

  • Learn what’s involved in the role of a nonprofit fundraiser
  • Discover sources of funding for your organization—and learn how to secure that funding
  • Use the latest online fundraising tools and social media techniques to reach out to audiences
  • Make fundraising easy with examples and templates for donor letters and beyond

Fundraisers (including board members, volunteers, and staff members) in any nonprofit organization will love this easy-to-follow advice on getting creative about donations.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Part 1: Getting Started with Fundraising
    1. Chapter 1: Fundraising Continuously During Economic Fluctuations
      1. Looking Ahead and Planning for Revenue Ups and Downs
      2. Making Revenue-Producing Changes
      3. Touting Your Successes and Building Supportive Relationships
      4. Doing Your Best to Bring In the Dollars
      5. Preparing Now for When Things Start Looking Up
    2. Chapter 2: Embracing Fundraising with a Passion
      1. Sparking Fundraising Action
      2. Building on Passion in the Nonprofit World
      3. Maximizing Social Media Visibility
    3. Chapter 3: All About Attitude: Fundraising Issues and Ethics
      1. Inspiring or Selling: The Fundraising Debate Continues
      2. Adhering to the Ethics of Fundraising
      3. Breaking Down Fundraising Myths
    4. Chapter 4: Winning with Words: Your Case Statement
      1. Stating Your Case
      2. Making the Case Compelling
      3. Developing a Case Statement: A Step-by-Step Guide
      4. Giving Life to an Outdated Case Statement
      5. Sharing Your Case Statement
    5. Chapter 5: Organizing Your Cheerleaders: Board Members and Volunteers
      1. Seeing the Big Picture: How Boards and Fundraising Fit Together
      2. Teaming with the Board to Advance Your Cause
      3. Guiding Your Board through Tough Decisions
      4. Recognizing the True Value of Volunteers
    6. Chapter 6: Creating a Fundraising Plan
      1. Drafting the Perfect Fundraising Plan
      2. Avoiding Plan Busters Like the Plague
      3. Budgeting Your Fundraising Efforts
      4. Turning Elsewhere for Assistance
  6. Part 2: Identifying Potential Donors and Rallying for Their Support
    1. Chapter 7: Mining for Donors
      1. Finding Your Stakeholders
      2. Recognizing Your Bread and Butter: Individual Donors
      3. Doing Business with Corporate Donors
      4. Finding Foundations That Care
      5. Asking Your Board All the Right Questions
      6. Checking Out Potential Donors
      7. Researching the Internet Way
      8. Keeping Track of Your Organization’s Donors and Their Contributions
      9. Maintaining Confidence: The Issues and Ethics of Handling Personal Data
    2. Chapter 8: Meeting Your Donor with Grace and Grit
      1. Evaluating the Importance of a Visit
      2. Preparing to Meet Potential Donors
      3. Examining the Giving Relationship between the Donor and the Organization
      4. Considering Your Donor’s Context
      5. Cultivating the Initial Donor-Organization Relationship
    3. Chapter 9: Cultivating Major Givers
      1. Seeking a Major Gift Today for Tomorrow
      2. Finding the Holy Grail of Fundraising: The Major Gift
      3. Recognizing Major Donors for Their Contributions
    4. Chapter 10: Making the Major Gift Ask
      1. Pushing through the Fear by Focusing on the Greater Goal
      2. Checking Out Your Attitudes about Money
      3. Choosing the Right People to Make the Ask
      4. Developing the Mechanics of Asking
      5. Moving Beyond No
      6. Rating Your Yes-Ability
      7. Following Up after “the Ask”
    5. Chapter 11: Writing Winning Grant Proposals to Reach Your Fundraising Goal
      1. Getting a Grip on Grants
      2. Identifying Different Grant Givers
      3. Choosing the Right Project to Be Funded
      4. Laying the Groundwork for Grant Seeking
      5. Finding the Right Funder
      6. Inquiring about Letters of Inquiry and Grant Guidelines
      7. Getting Down to Business: Writing the Proposal
      8. Following Up on Your Proposal
      9. Putting a Positive Spin on No
      10. Seeing Your Grant as a Relationship
  7. Part 3: Sharing the Organization’s Story and Building Its Brand
    1. Chapter 12: Connecting for Potential Donor Awareness: Sharing Your Story
      1. Thinking through Your Communications Strategy
      2. Printing Only What You Need
      3. Taking the Direct (Mail) Approach
      4. To Call or Not to Call
    2. Chapter 13: Projecting Your Organization’s Image in the Media
      1. Getting Positive Media Exposure for Your Organization
      2. Working in Sound Bites: PSAs
      3. Looking Good on Television
      4. Taking Advantage of Print Opportunities
      5. Leveraging Online Coverage
      6. Crisis Control: When Media Attention Is Unwanted
    3. Chapter 14: Social Media Networking to Build Potential Donor Awareness
      1. Getting Started with Social Media
      2. Building a Community of Stakeholders Who Care
      3. Understanding What Your Social Media Users Want
      4. Taking the Plunge into Social Media
      5. The Big Dilemma: To Ask or Not to Ask?
    4. Chapter 15: Perfecting Electronic Communications
      1. Making the Case for Email
      2. Being Smart about Email Campaigns
      3. Avoiding Email Mistakes
      4. Understanding the Power of E-Newsletters
    5. Chapter 16: Ramping Up Your Website
      1. Seeing How a Website Helps with Fundraising
      2. Putting Your Website to Work for Your Organization
      3. Adding Content and Keeping It Fresh
      4. Attracting Visitors to Your Site
      5. Collecting Donations Online
    6. Chapter 17: Spotlighting Your Brand Online
      1. Knowing Your Branding Basics
      2. Assessing Your Brand
      3. Blogging Your Way to Funds
      4. Publishing Online to Boost Your Branding and Credibility
      5. Joining Online Communities: Discussion Groups
      6. Partnering Online through Affinity Programs
      7. Connecting with People through Association and Special-Interest Sites
  8. Part 4: Engaging Donors with the Right Campaigns
    1. Chapter 18: Organizing, Implementing, and Celebrating Your Annual Fund
      1. Understanding the Basics of Annual Funds
      2. Designing Your Annual Campaign
      3. Putting the Plan in Place
      4. Evaluating (And Celebrating) Your Annual Fund Drive
      5. Planning for the Next Annual Campaign
    2. Chapter 19: Planning a Successful Special Event
      1. Seeing How a Special Event Benefits Your Organization
      2. Planning, Planning, Planning!
      3. Organizing an Online Event
      4. Following Up after the Big Event
    3. Chapter 20: Asking for the Big Bucks: The Capital Campaign
      1. Gearing Up for the Big Campaign
      2. Exploring Capital Campaign Types
      3. Selecting a Champion
      4. Staging the Campaign
    4. Chapter 21: Securing the Big Three: Major Gifts, Planned Gifts, and Challenge Grants
      1. Making a Perfect Match
      2. Preparing for Planned Gifts
      3. Making Money Go the Extra Mile: Challenge Grants
    5. Chapter 22: Tapping into Corporate Givers
      1. Understanding the Attitudes behind Corporate Giving
      2. Finding the Right Corporations for Your Organization
      3. Approaching a Corporate Donor
    6. Chapter 23: Building and Growing an Endowment
      1. Endowing the Future
      2. Building an Endowment
      3. Managing an Endowment
  9. Part 5: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 24: Ten Fundraising Resources for New Nonprofit Organizations
      1. Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
      2. BoardSource
      3. Donorbox
      4. Qgiv
      5. Springly
      6. DonorPerfect
      7. Bloomerang
      8. Personify WildApricot
      9. Double the Donation
      10. Grant Writing For Dummies
    2. Chapter 25: Ten Snippets of Powerful Fundraising Communications
      1. “How about a little good news?”
      2. “Would you like to watch the birth of a baby panda?”
      3. “Hi, Ms. Scott. I just left a meeting where we were discussing …”
      4. “I recently visited the program you sponsored. Very inspiring! Can I show it to you when you’re available?”
      5. “Now, how can I help you?”
      6. “Research shows that giving is good for your longevity.”
      7. “You have no idea how much impact your last gift made for our organization and the clients we serve!”
      8. “More people go to zoos today than go to all sports activities combined.”
      9. “Seven out of ten of our city’s families use our organization’s services in their lifetime.”
      10. “Hey, I just received this great sculpture! The new wing of the Eric Moss Historical Museum is finished!”
      11. “Cute cat!”
  10. Index
  11. About the Author
  12. Connect with Dummies
  13. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Fundraising For Dummies, 4th Edition
  • Author(s): Beverly A. Browning
  • Release date: December 2022
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119912750