Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising
593926
A Review of
Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising, second edition
By
Alan L. Wendroff
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 2003
ISBN 0-471-46235-7
Review written by Terence Ahab
It's been said that the reason so many new restaurants fail is that everybody who can boil water thinks he or she can be a successful restaurateur.  A similar rule might apply to special event fund-raising - if you can pull off a successful dinner party, then maybe you figure you can plan a successful fundraising banquet.  But as Alan Wendroff makes abundantly clear in the recently-released second edition of his book "Special Events:  Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising," special event fundraising, to be truly successful, requires detailed planning along multiple fronts.
The centerpiece of Wendroff's hands-on approach to the topic is his Master Event Timetable, essentially a detailed 26-week task list that covers all the bases.  Throughout the book, he stresses that financial success is only one of many goals to be achieved with special events, something that's easy to forget in the heat of battle.  Most significantly, special events provide a convenient and comfortable opportunity to establish personal contact with current and potential stakeholders.  And this book offers a host of ideas on how to capitalize on this unique opportunity to present your organization's mission and programs to a happily captive audience.
Chock full of charts, check lists and real-world examples of a variety of successful special event ideas, readers are taken from the initial step (should your group even put on a special event?) to the post-event wrap-up and evaluation.  I found the chapters dealing with the recruitment and function of event chairs and community-wide event committee particularly valuable, but there is also an excellent chapter on the intricacies of budgeting for special events.  But even an expert like Wendroff knows his limitations as he explains that the most detailed event budget is only an "educated guess."
The portion of the book dealing with using the Internet and e-mail in connection with special events offered less than I expected, but this area is evolving so rapidly that we might be better off just keeping tabs on the Howard Dean campaign's "meet up" concept to get some cutting edge ideas.  One of the best features is the book's real "soup to nuts" coverage, from major topics like identifying high profile event chairs to some incredibly practical tips (i.e., provide award presenters with a printed copy of the text of the award engraving because it can often be difficult to read the engraving from the award itself).
My guess is that the novice special event organizer will want to keep this book close at hand while more experienced planners run across some fine points or suggestions that will help them improve their chances for success.  The book includes a CD-ROM containing a number of useful documents including the Master Event Timetable, all of the book's author-created exhibits and samples of a press release and mission statement.  With this book under his belt, Wendroff can now turn to a how-to book on opening a successful new restaurant.
523588
This book on fundraising gives you a good overview on setting up a fundraiser, especially if you've never done one before. You have to dissect the reasons why you want to do the fundraiser in the first place and then communicate those reasons to others. Being well-organized and having a creative approach are possibly the two most important factors when embarking on a fundraising campaign. I liked how the book had you think about the different expenses you might incur before you even begin or ask for startup capital, depending on the scope of the event.
3482343
Fantastic perspective, ideas, tips, for all fundraisers and support raisers. Highly recommended for someone seeking biblical perspective on effective fundraising.
350710
As someone who's been working in nonprofit fundraising for more than 20 years, I'm all for giving worthy organizations as many resources as possible to help them raise the money they need to do good work. This guide is a a great tool to have handy, useful both for heads of large national charities and small or start-up community groups. While not without some flaws, "Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits" makes the fundamental point that essential "real-world strategy that works" is involving the donor in the life and work of your organization -- seeing her not as an ATM, but as a true partner: they also serve who "only" write checks.

My particular area of expertise is direct marketing, primarily direct mail, fundraising, and so I was dismayed to see author Ilona Bray take the somewhat disparaging tone toward DM that people in more "sophisticated" areas of the development field often do -- as when she, for example, contrasts fundraising mail with "other more substantive" ways of communicating with donors (p. 148). Bray repeats many of the urban legends of direct mail, like "nobody reads long letters," and is so concerned with "wearing out your supporters' goodwill" (p. 149) that she encourages organizations not to mail their donors more than three or four times a year (not counting, of course, the more substantive communications that downplay asking for help). It's hard to see how some of the organizations I've worked with that mail their supporters 12, 18, or even 24 times a year have managed to stay in business at all if donors are really that easily put off. Here, much of the author's information is interpretive or anecdotal. For instance, she tells a story about a "peeved donor" who quit giving because she was getting so much mail from a given organization, without inquiring into whether the organization was mailing so often because that had in fact proven to be the most efficient and effective fundraising plan. Every fundraising professional has stories about clients who react more strongly to one or two phone calls complaining about an appeal than they do to hundreds or thousands of supporters who not only did not complain, but sent in checks in response to that appeal. It's disconcerting to see that kind of reaction essentially endorsed in this guide.

(Also, I have to say that some of the sample fundraising letters reprinted here are not really that great, and one in particular, were I the relevant creative director, I'd have sent back to the writer with "Try again" written across the top.)

Bray's analysis of who gives and why was not bad, except she was strangely silent on the question of donors' religious motivations. Even if yours is a non-religious charity, chances are the bulk of your donors are religious themselves. I encourage interested parties to read&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Who-Really-Cares/dp/0465008232/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Who Really Cares</a>&nbsp;by Arthur C. Brooks for more about this important insight.

The above gaps and weaknesses aside, this guide is, as I say, a useful tool, particularly on the mechanics of planning fundraising campaigns, involving volunteers and staff, recognizing potential legal and tax hurdles, and communicating your message across a variety of media. Putting the donor front-and-center in your organization -- giving her a figurative or even literal seat on your board of directors -- is the essential element of success. The world needs more effective, donor-powered charities, and this guide can help make that come to pass.
1452905
Allison's book is a fantastic follow-up to The Networked Nonprofit, which she co-wrote with Beth Kanter in 2010. Both are wake-up calls to nonprofits and other institutions, providing encouragement and practical advice on authentic interaction with the public. Matterness dives into: how "zero-sum" mentalities damage organizational culture and customer/consumer relations, how people are creatively mixing online and in-person communities to create "big small towns," and flipping from an inside-out to an outside-in approach to leadership and strategy. It also provides sound advice for effectively engaging the crowd and facilitating action by that crowd. I'd encourage nonprofits, businesses, and other institutions to read this before starting their next strategic or communications plans.
3653385
This omnibus of fundraising knowledge literally eaves no stone unturned. After reading it, my impression was wondering why anyone would willingly volunteer for all the work this book describes. But that is actually the point: fundraising is a big job that requires many skills and, typically and depending on the size of the organization, many people.

 Author Ilona Bray does an excellent job describing the entire scope of possible fundraising activities. The reality is that smaller organizations simply won't have the people available or the necessary skills to do everything described in this book. Her approach is down-to-earth (perhaps too much so) using examples of successful techniques, not so-successful techniques and lots of instructions like "Remind the supporter that you're there to talk about a specific need or a new program your organization is embarking on, the critical importance of financial support, and how long you expect to spend in this meeting. Work in a little fun small talk, with the idea of engaging the supporter." I think that kind of super-detailed advice is a bit excessive.

This has the appearance of a "handholding" book that someone can turn to for general  insight into any aspect of fundraising. In that role, it serves well. But for more detailed information on, let's say using online venues for fundraising or mass direct mail, you'll have to go elsewhere, the detail just isn't here. There are some forms included and some online resources, but nothing that amounts too much.

 Overall, this is an excellent basic introduction to the overall process of fundraising for nonprofits. If you need more intensive training, you will have to go elsewhere.

Jerry
1571006
Our family celebrates the holidays by donating to favorite causes, but I've always wondered whether my dollars were being used appropriately.  Many of us take part in the United Way, whose catalog shows each charity's administrative costs, an indicator of how much of our gift actually goes to those in need.  However, MacAskill's book goes far beyond a simple percentage to provide us a method for evaluating charitable foundations' effectiveness, identify those focused on the most serious needs and whose interventions are uniquely powerful and unduplicated by other groups.  In a world where we are bombarded by many "worthy causes" seeking our support, we owe it to ourselves to contribute our resources where they will do the most good - to groups who are saving the most lives and meeting unmet needs by helping people develop themselves and their communities.  You'll probably be disappointed to find that your cherished causes don't appear in the short list (mine didn't), but consider the methodology, and you'll develop a stronger understanding of how to maximize the impact of your giving.
1257515
I have reviewed most of the strategic planning books for nonprofit organizations, and this is the best I have seen--no contest. It avoids the simplistic "easy as pie" approach of other planning books, but is nonetheless clear, logical and easy to follow. It recommends methodologies for protracted planning processes and much more modest efforts. The worksheets are terrific and it's great having them on disk for easy duplication.
4416152
Best advice regarding approach to fund raising for non profits.  A must read if you raise money for a non profit.
3898922
I read this and thought it was so awesome, I'm having the rest of my non-profit's board read it. What makes it awesome is that it's thin on theory and heavy on specific methods and details. The author gives links to tools he's developed -- nothing too technical, just spreadsheets and stuff -- and his advice is both well-written and makes sense. I feel like reading this has saved me time in not pursuing stuff you think of as non-profit money making (like most fundraisers), ways to go about asking people for money including really simple formulas for how to arrive at the best number, how to ask people for big donations, when to have networking events, who your best bets are (not who you think!), and what role the board in an organization should play.

The author has very good real world experience, and the information feels genuine and trustworthy. The book is short and concise and worth the read.
1256729
Well written, easy to read and flows well from chapter to chapter. Starts out with getting ones finances in order to start philanthropy locally, nationally and globally with a bottoms up approach It covers various areas of giving based on ones skill, desire, passion and the needs of the ones helped. It covers major organizations involved in giving and provides guidelines how to select and differentiate. It covers major areas such as water, environment,healthcare, hunger, poverty,education, refugees, women and children issues from the village level, town, district  city, state and nation.
It covers different types of non profit organizations from small mom and pop, to medium and large such as Rotary, Lions, AmeriCorps. Several graphs and pictures add substance along with several individual and group efforts and initiatives. Ends with an actin plan and an excellent bibliography.
1014715
MacLaughlin knows how to tell stories and weave in factual data that keeps your interest throughout the book. As non profit professionals, we so often focus on the human element to fundraising but not the data behind how we got to where we are. I loved learning about the historical perspective of how data has been used up until this point and how we can use data moving forward for fundraising. This is especially timely when you think of technological advances we're experiencing & how those advances only give us more access & insight to our data.  I'll be suggesting and gifting this book to my fellow non profit professionals.
3849759
A valuable protocol guide for recording meetings involving not for profit groups. Modeled after the rules of standard meeting minutes recording, this book is fine tuned to the needs of non profit organizations. It is a must have guide for any officer of a not for profit institution.
1605532
If you're stuck at a plateau and haven't been able to budge from there, then Laurence Pagnoni suggests that it is. Finetuning nonprofits is what he does. Hes got a proven track record. Now hes offering readers the basics of how he does it. From fairly obvious ideas like recruiting fundraising specialists for the Board of Directors (easier said than done) to more complex strategies like diversifying within a single fundraising strategy rather than expanding the number of different fundraising strategies used, every idea he puts forth is discussed clearly and with plenty of backup information.

There are lots of web resources included, and strategies are spelled out with complete, step-by-step instructions. Each chapter has a really short summary at the end. (I read the summaries first, then read the chapter.)

Pagnoni tells readers in the Introduction that the book covers Contributed Income only. (Fees-for-Service Income is not his area of expertise.) Just as well. The 224 pages in the book are chocked full of plenty of information on the topic of fundraising. Most readers, unless they're already experts in the field themselves, will find this to be a terrific resource and more than enough information to process and put into practice.

(InannaWorks.com received a free copy of this book.)
89341
Giving is easy to read, and its formatted so that you don't have read each chapter in its given numerical order, you can skip around and still feel the message. This book breaks down philanthropy into six different categories; giving time, giving things, giving skills, gift of reconciliation and new beginnings, gifts that keep giving, and giving good ideas.

Clinton provides inspirational stories of incredible people and information regarding how they have made an impact on the lives of others. However, every chapter covers too much names that are soon to be forgotten by the time you enter the next chapter. No matter how inspiring these people are, you cannot ask the average reader to remember all the information he provided.  So this book can be used as a good reference if you like to get involve with non-profit organization.
4562323
As an Executive Director of a mid-size non profit organization,the importance of not only attracting donors but keeping them cannot be stressed enough.  I have had the privilege of working with Tom and Simone on several projects in our organization.  They are amazing people! This book is testament to their many years of experience and wealth of knowledge in working with non profits.  This book does not belong on your shelf -it belongs on your desk for easy reference.  Thank you Tom and Simone!
Margaret A. Hann, Executive Director, The Bridge Family Center
4323825
Don't panic. Calmly, capably (as only a totally immersed 30 year veteran and thought-leader can be), Mal Warwick examines the downturn and its impact on charitable giving in the past (the single best analysis I've encountered), then explains what reasonable and determined nonprofits can do to counter the ill effects.

Mal explains what to do, why to do it, when to do it, and how. With the agility of a gymnast, he moves the reader through the inner workings of the Boston Matrix (which helps you decide which fundraising activities to cut and which to save) ... to a fine, fast discussion of direct mail "creativity" and its down side ... to segmentation ... to stepping up your efforts online. I'd call this a back to basics book, but I think that's misleading. I think this is more a "back to the basics you might have been doing all along but probably weren't, with a ton of new research and insights added." Empowering. Entertaining. Reassuring. Serious (i.e., not for the weak). It joins a line of essential books by Mal Warwick that have enlightened (and, now maybe, helped save) countless nonprofits.