Fundraising the SMART Way: Predictable, Consistent Income Growth for Your Charity, + Website

Preface

In this book, I propose that we revisit the way fundraising is managed, not the way fundraising is done. There's a big difference. The way fundraising, or any other business function, is managed is what leads to high levels of productivity and sustainability. Managing a business function, including fundraising, means identifying the results desired from the fundraising effort, establishing performance targets and indicators, developing methods of doing it that are effective and in keeping with the organization's corporate values, and holding the “do-ers” accountable.

The way fundraising is done, on the other hand, describes the tactical activities of the fundraising staff, be they employees, contractors, or volunteers. Many fine fundraising professionals have raised their tactical skills to the level of art. We all know outstanding practitioners who specialize in grant-seeking, major gift work, capital campaigns, corporate relations, special events, and the list goes on. If there are, in fact, so many high performers out there in the fundraising discipline, how come fundraising remains the problem child of the nonprofit sector?

I contend that the nonprofit sector as a whole would enjoy more sustainable levels of income if the management of all that talent and art were to become more sophisticated, adopting some of the practices that support performance excellence in the for-profit sector. In fact, many nonprofit organizations, such as those in the fields of healthcare ...