Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits - 8th Edition by Ilona Bray (Paperback)

About the Book

"The success of a nonprofit depends on its ability to raise donations from individuals, companies, and institutions. This book includes advice and stories from more than 50 experienced fundraisers, foundation staffers, journalists, and more. It explains how to make a fundraising plan, work with individual donors, plan special events, use traditional and social media to engage supporters, and much more. This book also provides creative grassroots strategies and dozens of real-life success stories, and cuts out the jargon and "consultant speak" that's all too common in books about fundraising for nonprofits"--

Book Synopsis

Jumpstart your fundraising efforts!

Whether your nonprofit has just gotten tax-exempt status or has been operating for years, the question you're facing is, "How do we make our voices heard and bring in the needed support?"

Here, you'll find plain-English answers. Featuring advice and stories from over 50 experienced fundraisers, foundation staffers, journalists and more, this book explains how to:

• make a fundraising plan


• work with individual donors


• keep givers giving


• plan special events


• solicit grants from foundations and corporations


• use traditional and social media to engage supporters


• start a side business to raise funds


• and much more.

Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits also provides creative grassroots strategies and dozens of real-life success stories. Best of all, it cuts out the jargon and "consultant speak" that's all too common in nonprofit books.

The 8th edition is completely updated to reflect recent fundraising trends, such as a rise in the proportion of gifts coming from wealthy donors owing to tax changes. It also suggests ways to shift from a desperation mindset to one of tapping into abundance.

Review Quotes

"2019 Foreword INDIES Book Finalist." FOREWORD REVIEWS

"Now in an updated edition that covers the latest legal and tax restrictions in the United States, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work is an accessible, plain-terms guide compiled from the experience of over 50 fundraisers, foundation staffers, journalists, and other professionals. Chapters address how to appropriately thank donors (and help them satisfy the IRS), how to attract legacy or inheritance gifts, tax rules for business activities designed to raise funds, research grant prospects, designing a website to draw in donors, outreach via both traditional and social media, and much more. "Test your nonprofit's donor-response experience. It's hard to know, from where you sit, what it's actually like to make an online donation to your organization. You might ask a friend or relative to do so (a few bucks is enough), then to tell you (honestly) how well your organization followed up. Did the 'thank-yous' come as promptly as expected?" An index and a wealth of sample documents and worksheets round out this "must-have" for every American nonprofit organization. It should be noted that no book, including Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits, can substitute for the counsel of a trained attorney. However, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits can help the reader identify problematic situations where the hiring services of a trained attorney is a wise idea! Highly recommended." Money/Finance Shelf, Midwest Book Review

"If you have room for only one book on your fundraising shelf, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits should be that book." Advancing Philanthropy, published by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

"Provides everything one needs to know, from strategy development to practical tips. This is the inside scoop..." Bruce Sievers, Ph.D. & Senior Fellow, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

"Provides clear answers for nonprofits, with advice from fundraisers, foundation staffers and journalists." San Diego Union-Tribune

" Gets into the best ways to keep the money flowing in, including using the Web...." Accounting Today

From the Author:

To do fundraising right primarily requires common sense, an interest in people, and a desire to tell the world about the work of your organization. Like many who've done development at a professional level, my first experiences were simply helping out within an organization for whom I worked in a different capacity. I didn't do too badly--but I could have done so much better if I'd known what experienced fundraisers know.
There is a method and science to fundraising, and learning more can save an organization many false steps and wasted hours. Not to mention that nonprofits must operate within certain legal parameters, and certain mistakes by the development department could actually put the organization's tax-exempt status at risk.