Nonprofit Literature Blog

Nonprofits and Entrepreneurs: Bridging the Gap and Promoting Philanthropy

Entrepreneurs can incorporate their passion and energy from their business endeavors into their work with nonprofits. Before building relationships with entrepreneurs, try to gain a better understanding of how they think and what their expectations may be. Lisa M. Dietlin has just written a book Transformational Philanthropy that explains how to successfully engage entrepreneurs and cultivate them effectively. Chapters explore the qualities of entrepreneurs, frustrations and misconceptions, celebrity philanthropy, and other topics.

If you are an entrepreneur, Dietlin has included tips in the book to help you make better philanthropic decisions. The book also contains 21 stories based on interviews with entrepreneurs.

A limited preview of Transformation Philanthropy: Entrepreneurs and Nonprofits (Jones and Barlett Publishers, 2009) is available at Google Books.

New Fundraising Book Discusses Scenario Planning and Strategies

What is the outlook for our economy? Will the graph of recovery indicators look like the letter V, U, or L? Nonprofits may use scenario planning to help decide on an appropriate strategy for the future. In his new book, Fundraising When Money is Tight, Mal Warwick explains the disadvantages of aggressive or defensive strategies, and explains why he favors a more selective approach that is suitable for any scenario.

Warwick also nine specific steps nonprofits can take to help them survive for the short and long term. Chapters from the book cover a number of topics, including: resource allocation, cost reductions, direct mail, donor segmentation, donor relations, questionnaires, online fundraising, and other areas.

Find out more:

-Look for the book at our library/learning centers: Fundraising When Money is Tight: A Strategic Guide to Surviving the Tough Times and Thriving in the Future.  A limited preview is also available at Google Book Search.

-Listen to the podcast with Mal Warwick, where he explains how to plan for leaner times, avoid common mistakes, strengthen your case for giving, and step up your efforts

-Or join us for the webinar with Warwick on Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

A Look at Fundraising Strategies and Funding Models

If you are interested in the funding approaches used by the nation’s largest nonprofits, take a look at the article “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models” in the Spring issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review. William Landes Foster, Peter Kim, and Barbara Christiansen of the Bridgespan Group have developed a classification of the funding strategies by analyzing organizations in the NonProfit Times “Top 100” list of organizations and Bridgespan’s list of 144 large organizations that were established after 1970.

Can you think of examples of major organizations that utilize these models?

Individuals are the major source of support:
Beneficiary Builder
Heartfelt Connector
Member Motivator

Individuals or foundations are a major source of support:
Big Bettor

Government is the major source of support:
Policy Innovator
Public Provider
Beneficiary Broker

Corporations are main supporters:
Resource Recycler

Mixed Models:
Market Maker
Local Nationalizer

Look for a chart in the article that compares each model’s characteristics, examples, tools, and funding motivation.

The Spring issue also features the articles “Offsetting Green Guilt” by Matthew J. Kotchen and “Creating Social Value” by Philip Auerswald.

Donor Relations

Your nonprofit seems to have trouble retaining its donors. What can be the problem?  Janet L. Hedrick’s new book, Effective Donor Relations, might be able to provide some answers. Perhaps your nonprofit needs to think more carefully about acknowledging gifts, recognizing donors, and improving stewardship practices:

-How long does it take for your nonprofit to mail a written acknowledgement? Two weeks? Hedrick suggests that your “thank you” should be sent within 48 business hours.

-How do you recognize your donors? There are many different options, including newsletters, annual reports, donor walls, gift clubs, naming opportunities, and recognition events.

-Be sure to tell your donors how the funds have been used and report the results of your organization’s work.

Look for numerous tips and examples in Effective Donor Relations, a volume in the AFP Fund Development Series (John Wiley, 2008).

Click here to search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature for other books and articles on donor relations.

Case Studies in Annual Giving

You can read about key principles that may improve your organization's fundraising efforts, but it is much easier to apply what you have learned by examining some real-world examples. Robert A. Burdenski’s book Innovations in Annual Giving includes case studies of programs at leading universities to help development directors with developing a stronger giving culture and to craft better appeals.

Readers who found the examples from Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and other universities may be pleased to hear that Berdenski has released a new book with ten more case studies. This time, the book has a wider scope with ten examples from around the world, including chapters that look at:

-National University of Singapore’s first-ever campaign

-French business school INSEAD’s new reunion giving program

-London School of Economics and Political Science’s appeal to parents of alumni

More Innovations in Annual Giving: Ten Global Departures That Worked (2009) is published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Remember: You can search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature for case studies in a number of other topics.

The Nonprofit Paradigm Shift: Are You Ready to Think Differently?

During a meeting, a consultant tells you he can help plan a fundraising event that will triple the amount of net revenue that you have typically generated in the past. Here’s the catch: The fundraising costs may reach 50% of total revenues, a percentage that you think is too high.

On the one hand, the additional funds would help you scale your operations and have a greater impact. You donors, however, may be more concerned about the costs for the event than the increase in net revenue.

Dan Pallotta’s examines this dilemma in his new book, Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential. He argues that the nonprofit mindset can sometimes be counterproductive, discouraging organizations from taking advantage of tools of capitalism. While spending more funds to advertise, hire the best staff, or building capacity will increase overhead costs, Pallota maintains that organizations will benefit in the long run.

To help readers understand the need for a paradigm shift in the sector, Pallotta traces the origins of society’s nonprofit ethic, explains some of the challenges that result from it, and discusses the limits of common nonprofit efficiency measures. He includes a case study of his company to illustrate his key points.

Uncharitable is published by Tufts University Press, 2008.

A preview is available on Google Books

Psychology and Fundraising

Asking individuals for donations may be one of the more difficult parts of your job. You need to develop the interpersonal communication skills to effectively convey your organization's needs, and convince the potential donor it is a worthwhile cause to support. According to consultants Bernard Ross and Clare Segal, understanding the donor relationship at the psychological level may one of the keys to success.

In their new book, The Influential Fundraiser, Ross and Segal address a number of questions:

-What motivates donors? What factors may cause them to loose interest?
-How do you develop the confidence and positive state of mind that will assure donors?
-How can you use your body language to build rapport?
-How can we determine quickly whether your donor is a visual or auditory person?

In addition, Ross and Segal explain how fundraisers can deal with rejections, emphasizing that timing is important when assessing donors’ decision-making strategies.

Find out more in The Influential Fundraiser: Using the Psychology of Persuasion to Achieve Outstanding Results, published by Jossey Bass.

Named Gifts

The new book, Naming Rights: Legacy Gifts & Corporate Money provides guidance to help nonprofits understand naming opportunities for schools, museums, and other organizations. The volume covers a number of topics related to naming rights, including the effect of the Internet, strategies for endowment gifts, and corporate sponsorships.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, the book includes a chapter to help organizations develop policies, create an inventory of naming opportunities, and choose a pricing strategy. Author Terry Burton has included a number of gift examples to help you determine the value of naming opportunities. You will also find sample policy statements from the University of Pittsburgh, University of Washington, and Campaign University of Washington.

A Periodical for Healthcare Organizations

If you are trying to identify trends in philanthropy for healthcare organizations, you can start off with the AHP Journal, published by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. The international membership organization supports more than 4,600 development executives at hospitals and health care groups.

The Fall 2008 issue of the AHP Journal contains an article that explains how the Virginia Mason Foundation launched a $100 million campaign for the Virginia Mason Medical Center. The campaign focused on transforming health care by offering better quality care while reducing costs.

The issue also examines women's philanthropy, noting the differences among Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Generation X.  

For more information about healthcare philanthropy, explore our topical resource list.

Successful Grant Proposals

The next time you visit our library/learning centers, be sure to ask to see the new Foundation Center publication, The Grantseeker’s Guide to Winning Proposals. Those of you who are familiar with our popular Guide to Winning Proposal series will find 35 new sample proposals that have approved by foundations. Each proposal is accompanied by a critique from the decision-maker who awarded the grant.

The Guide provides several access points to help you can target the type of proposal you need:

-Browse the table of contents to find examples for single or multiyear special projects, general operating support, staffing/salaries, start-up funds, and more.

-Note the special chapters on the letter proposal, letter of inquiry, cover letter, and budget.

-Don’t forget to check the index to help you explore proposals on a number of subjects, such as advocacy, community development, education, health, and social justice. In addition, the proposals are indexed by population groups served, and by special features as well (such as timelines and evaluation plans).

Need more help on proposal writing? Visit the Get Started area of our web site to learn about our training, audiobook, and other guides.