By Alison Law, Marketing and Sales Manager, For Momentum
As For Momentum’s resident book nerd, I’m pleased to bring you the first in what I hope will be a series of blog posts about business books we’re reading. First up is a brand new book entitled Nonprofit Fundraising 101: A Practical Guide with Easy to Implement Ideas & Tips from Industry Experts. The book’s editor, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, is a savvy fundraiser and entrepreneur. Among Heyman’s many accomplishments, he previously served as executive director of the Craigslist Foundation, co-founded the Social Media for Nonprofits conference series and edited another book, Nonprofit Management 101.
A Nonprofit Fundraising “Yellow Pages”
In the book’s introduction, Heyman notes that Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is meant to serve as a comprehensive resource—more reference manual or “yellow pages for social change” than a book that nonprofit fundraisers should read cover to cover. Each chapter details a different aspect of nonprofit fundraising, from planning and hiring development staff to researching donors and communicating with various audiences via direct mail, email and social media.
The last section of the book deals with corporate support. That’s where our colleagues David Hessekiel of Cause Marketing Forum and Joe Waters of Selfish Giving contributed six steps and tips to help nonprofits develop cause marketing partnerships. This chapter provides a good introduction to cause marketing.
“Good stuff! A great, incredibly helpful tool for any cause looking to raise money, online or off.” — Steve Wozniak, co-founder, Apple
As the book’s title implies, much of the information found in Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is introductory in nature and only scratches the surface of a wide range of topics. However, even seasoned nonprofit staff members will find relevant advice, how-tos and fresh ideas within the pages. For Momentum is proud to be among the book’s 77 partners, a veritable “Who’s Who” list of companies and organizations in the cause industry, which is printed at the end of the book.
Thanks to Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Wiley, the publisher of Nonprofit Fundraising 101, for providing us with a complimentary copy of the book for this review. You can purchase a copy of Nonprofit 101 at Amazon, where the book is currently ranked #1 on the site’s bestseller list for “Nonprofit Organizations & Charities.”
