"Off the Shelf" Book Reviews

Philanthropy News Digest (PND), a daily news service of the Foundation Center, is a compendium, in digest form, of philanthropy-related articles and features culled from print and electronic media outlets nationwide. In PND's Off the Shelf feature, you'll find reviews of books on a variety of topics ranging from international philanthropy to nonprofit management. Here are excerpts from five reviews published in the first half of 2013.

The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster
Jonathan M. Katz (New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013)

"if we really want to help developing countries like Haiti after a disaster, Katz writes, more money has to flow to local governments and businesses. "[E]fforts to give aid directly to local governments, and the goal of building local institutions that operate independently of foreign control, will go exponentially further than cargo planes of tarps and bottled water." Read more...

Why Philanthropy Matters: How the Wealthy Give, and What It Means for our Economic Well-Being
Zoltan J. Acs (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013)

"Acs acknowledges that while the creatively destructive nature of American-style capitalism has served to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among Americans, it has also enabled a significant concentration of wealth in the hands of a relative few. And it is only 'through philanthropic investments — in particular through the organized, large-scale networks of what I call philanthropic entrepreneurialism — [that] the imbalance inherent in capitalist growth [can] be corrected to create a self-sustaining process in which wealth creation is supported alongside social innovation and opportunity.'" Read more...

The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications: Real-World, Field-Tested Strategies for Raising More Money
Jeff Brooks (Medfield, MA: Emerson & Church, 2012)

"[Brooks] also shines when he discusses the psychological reasons behind some of the 'low-tech, high-touch' techniques, such as always using a 'P.S.' in letters. He delves into why seemingly blunt techniques such as underlining, highlighting, suggesting specific dollar amounts, and repeating 'the Ask' several times in a letter are often more effective than more nuanced approaches." Read more...

The Art of Doing Good: Where Passion Meets Action
John Sedgwick, Jeffrey Solomon, Charles Bronfman (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012)

"In short, the Art of Doing Good is a great resource for social entrepreneurs just getting started, nonprofit leaders interested in sharpening their management skills, and anyone with a passion to the change the world who is looking for a little inspiration and some very practical advice." Read more...  

Twenty Ways to Make a Difference: Stories from Small Foundations
Andy Carroll (Washington, DC: Association of Small Foundations, 2012)

"The book sets forth twenty strategies, ranging from the very general ('Think big') to the financially sophisticated ('Make loans and other program related investments') to the almost-trivial ('Provide meeting and event space to grantees and local nonprofits'). It's a motley list, and standing alone, it may not seem enough to inspire small foundations. But each strategy is illustrated with examples, and this is where Twenty Ways shines." Read more...

--Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
Foundation Center
New York, NY