Asking: A 59-minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift: Jerold Panas, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
“ASKING is full of gems. No better blueprint for those of us embarking on the adventure of asking.” — Jerold Katz, Headmaster, The Park School

“Jerry Panas writing on asking is like Michael Jordan writing on shot-making or Warren Buffet on investing.” — Kenneth Gladish, National Executive Director, YMCA of the USA

“May become the Bible of fundraising. Another masterpiece by the master of modern philanthropy.” — George Miller, President and CEO, United Methodist Higher Education Foundation
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

It ranks right up there with public speaking. Nearly all of us fear it. And yet it’s critical to our success. Asking for money. It makes even the stout-hearted quiver.

But now comes a book, Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Staff and Volunteers Must Know to Secure the Gift. And short of a medical elixir, it’s the next best thing for emboldening you, your board members and volunteers to ask with skill, finesse … and powerful results.

Jerold Panas, who as a staff person, board member and volunteer has secured gifts ranging from $50 to $50 million, understands the art of asking perhaps better than anyone in America.

He has harnessed all of his knowledge and experience and produced what many are already calling a landmark book.

What Asking convincingly shows — and one reason staff will applaud the book and board members will devour it — is that it doesn’t take stellar communication skills to be an effective asker. Nearly everyone, regardless of their persuasive ability, can become an effective fundraiser if they follow Jerold Panas’ step-by-step guidelines.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order Asking: A 59-minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift: Jerold Panas, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter form Amazon.

Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide: Peri Pakroo

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Offers practical advice to allow nonprofits to set up their operations so that they run smoothly and efficiently…” (Deborah Brody Hamilton, Director, Member Services, Association of Small Foundations )

“Offers tons of practical advice and step-by-step instructions…” (Accounting Today )

“Takes readers through the nuts and bolts, from deciding on a name to bookkeeping.” (Library Journal 20080202)

If you’re ready to save the world, here’s the book you need.

Rescue a school library. Preserve an endangered species. Support the arts. Whatever it is you want to do to give back to your community, Starting & Building a Nonprofitprovides the kick start you need.

Filled with user-friendly information, practical advice and step-by-step instructions, this book is your guide through the process of getting your nonprofit up and running. It explains how to:

Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management: Reynold Levy

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Most fundraisers are uncomfortable asking for money, despite the fact that they are soliciting funds for worthy causes. However, author Reynold Levy makes the case that not only do individuals, corporations and foundations give money to organizations and causes they care about, they do so because they are asked. In addition, despite the current economic crisis, Americans continue to enjoy staggering wealth, and the wealthy can comfortably increase the amount they now give to charity without depriving themselves. All it takes is a disciplined and creative approach to soliciting those funds. This book shows you how.” (CausePlanet.org; 11/08)

“Reynold Levy, could not have predicted the economic climate into which his new book would land. But “Yours for the Asking” now seems eerily prescient - particularly which chapters like “Fund-Raising in Stormy Weather” and “Overcoming Economic Bad News and Psychological Resistance”. Regarding tough times, Mr. Levy asserts in the book that affluent people donate more from their assets than their income, leaving their contributions less vulnerable to a downturn.” Moreover, worthy causes remain worthy, Mr. Levy said in an interview, no matter what the current state of world.” (The New York Times; 11/11/08)

“Reynold Levy, a veteran fund raiser and former grant maker whose new book is called Yours for the Asking, argues that even in a troubled economy, a lot of people still have the resources to give generously…. His new guide seeks to reverse their discomfort and create an army of solicitors with the gumption to go after the stockpiles of money that Mr. Levy says are readily available.” (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 27, 2008)

“Reynold Levy offers a straightforward, on-target approach to virtually every fundraising concern, including those experienced in tough economic times.” (Arts Management, Jan-Feb 2009)

“Most fundraisers are uncomfortable asking for money, despite the fact that they are soliciting funds for worthy causes. However, author Reynold Levy makes the case that not only do individuals, corporations and foundations give money to organizations and causes they care about, they do so because they are asked. In addition, despite the current economic crisis, Americans continue to enjoy staggering wealth, and the wealthy can comfortably increase the amount they now give to charity without depriving themselves. All it takes is a disciplined and creative approach to soliciting those funds. This book shows you how.” (CausePlanet.org; 11/08)

“Reynold Levy, could not have predicted the economic climate into which his new book would land. But “Yours for the Asking” now seems eerily prescient - particularly which chapters like “Fund-Raising in Stormy Weather” and “Overcoming Economic Bad News and Psychological Resistance”. Regarding tough times, Mr. Levy asserts in the book that affluent people donate more from their assets than their income, leaving their contributions less vulnerable to a downturn.” Moreover, worthy causes remain worthy, Mr. Levy said in an interview, no matter what the current state of world.” (The New York Times; 11/11/08)

“Reynold Levy, a veteran fund raiser and former grant maker whose new book is called Yours for the Asking, argues that even in a troubled economy, a lot of people still have the resources to give generously…. His new guide seeks to reverse their discomfort and create an army of solicitors with the gumption to go after the stockpiles of money that Mr. Levy says are readily available.” (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 27, 2008)

Review
“Reynold Levy is a master at persuading people to give money – lots of money – to worthy causes. Now he shares his wisdom with us all – and at a bargain price!”
—Tom Brokaw

“Ren Levy has written the definitive handbook on fundraising. It should be required reading for boards of directors and senior staff of non profit organizations. The lessons learned from Ren’s broad experience are equally relevant to corporate executives as they endeavor to establish and strengthen customer relationships.”
—Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO PepsiCo

“Ren Levy is the master of his trade. He can squeeze big dollars out of a stone and he tells here just how to do it. Anyone raising money for a good cause must read this book!”
—John C. Whitehead, Former Co-Chairman of Goldman Sachs and former Deputy Secretary of State

“I have raised money for a living for several decades. But I could not articulate better than Reynold Levy has done in Yours for the Asking the many secrets to successfully acquiring investors. If you wish to learn how to politely and effectively ask for contributions to a favorite organization or cause, you really need to purchase this highly readable, enjoyable and useful book.”
—David Rubenstein, Co-founder and Managing Director, The Carlyle Group

Order Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management: Reynold Levy form Amazon.

How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters (w/CD) (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series): Mal Warwick

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
According to this practical handbook, a “fundraising letter is like a personal visit.” Writing from extensive experience in guiding companies and organizations through fund-raising efforts, Warwick offers detailed advice and analysis along with copious examples and instructive case studies. Warwick, who is both personal and hard-hitting, suggesting a cross between a preacher and a salesman, views fund-raising by mail as a three-stage process. “First, donors are acquired….Then, they are converted into repeat donors…finally donors may be upgraded into higher levels of generosity and commitment.” The well-organized instructions include the planning of whole campaigns, the phrasing of appeals, composition and punctuation, information packets, and follow-up. In a time when fund-raising is perquisite to nearly all professions and organizations, library managers of all types as well as library users should find this both fascinating and worthwhile.
Margaret Bush, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Warwick sets the tone for this book, which may prove as valuable for library administrators as for patrons, with the advice contained in the first chapter’s title: “You’re Writing for Results–Not a Pulitzer Prize.” How to get results is the theme here, and the advice offered ranges from the broad (”How a fundraising letter is like a personal visit”) to the specific (”What to put on the outer envelope”; the injunction “Use `I’ and `you’”). Warwick also examines focus groups’ responses to a fund-raising letter and, step-by-step, a successful fund-raising appeal. Attention to detail (e.g., in a whole chapter on laying the groundwork before composing a fund-raising letter and another on thank-yous to donors) distinguishes the book, especially for nonprofessional fund-raisers. An excellent tool for an endeavor in which many people become involved only occasionally, good enough to consult in itself or to use as a guide in hiring a professional. Mike Tribby
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters (w/CD) (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series): Mal Warwick form Amazon.

Public Personnel Administration: Problems and Prospects (4th Edition): Steven W. Hays, Richard C. Kearney

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

This collection of original manuscripts—representing a cross-section of the timeliest scholarship in public personnel administration—explores the theme of “problems and prospects” in public personnel administration. The contributions are organized into four broad sections: The Setting, The Techniques, The Issues, and Reform and the Future. Section One focuses primarily on the social, political, economic, and legal trends that have served as catalysts in the transformation of public personnel administration. Section Two is composed of selections that summarize developments in the practice of HRM, with special emphasis on emerging personnel techniques and the ways that traditional approaches to the staffing function are being revised. Section Three discusses and suggests responses to some of the most troublesome or pervasive issues in modern personnel management. The final section assesses the probable trends in the field’s future, and analyzes the efficacy of recent reform efforts. For human resource personnel looking to broaden their perspective in the field.

From the Publisher
This collection of original manuscripts — representing a cross-section of the timeliest scholarship in public personnel administration — explores the theme of “problems and prospects” in public personnel administration.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order Public Personnel Administration: Problems and Prospects (4th Edition): Steven W. Hays, Richard C. Kearney form Amazon.

How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation in California: Anthony Mancuso

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
A useful resource to help you get underway. — Entrepreneur magazine

If you’re thinking of forming a nonprofit corporation in California, you’ll find this handbook invaluable. — MacUser

Most organizations trying to gain legal nonprofit status don’t have the money to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars for help. Fortunately, they don’t have to.

How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation in California includes complete instructions for obtaining federal 501(c)(3) tax-exemption and for qualifying for public charity status with the IRS. It also provides:

*line-by-line instructions for completing your application
*instructions and completed sample clauses for preparing articles of incorporation
*ready-to-use bylaws for membership and non-membership nonprofits
*ready-to-use minutes for the organizational meeting
*sheets with California’s specific legal and tax requirements

The 10th edition provides several new and revised forms as tear-outs and on CD-ROM, and is completely updated to provide the latest rules and regulations. It also shows you how to register your nonprofit for only $30.

This book is also available as a corporate records binder. Look up The California Nonprofit Corporation Kit for more details.

Order How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation in California: Anthony Mancuso form Amazon.

The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Management (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management): Bucklin & Associates Smith, Robert H. Wilbur, Susan Kudla Finn, Carolyn Freeland

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

As nonprofit organizations face tough times, efficient and effective business management is essential for their survival. This practical how-to book addresses such vital issues as the importance of mission statements, the boards of directors’ role in daily operations, planning a publicity campaign, coordinating special conventions, basic office management and information services and much more. Contains plenty of hands-on advice and authentic examples.

From the Inside Flap
As nonprofit organizations face tough times, efficient and effective business management is essential for their survival. Now in a significantly revised and expanded Second Edition, this popular how-to book identifies and addresses the key areas of business for nonprofit organizations, from public relations and strategic planning to office management and the effective use of information technology.

In addition to practical, step-by-step guidance on such integral issues as board/staff relations, strategic communications, financial controls, and the all-important use of the Internet in communications and marketing, this updated edition features a refocused strategic planning chapter that presents an ongoing, organic form of planning and critical topics such as:

• Strategic planning retreats
• The board of directors’ role in daily operations
• Developing new sources of revenue
• Planning a publicity campaign and coordinating special conventions
• Basic office management and information services
• International marketing and membership promotion

Written by a team of experts from a management and consulting firm that uniquely focuses on nonprofit organizations, this invaluable book contains a wealth of hands-on advice and real-world examples that executives and managers of nonprofit organizations, volunteers, consultants, fund-raising professionals, boards of directors, and trustees can apply directly and immediately to their own organizations.
–This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

Order The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Management (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management): Bucklin & Associates Smith, Robert H. Wilbur, Susan Kudla Finn, Carolyn Freeland form Amazon.

Fund-Raising Fundamentals: A Guide to Annual Giving for Professionals and Volunteers (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management): James M. Greenfield

• Filed under: Business

Fund-Raising Fundamentals: A Guide to Annual Giving for Professionals and Volunteers (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management): James M. Greenfield

Editorial Reviews

This practical guide has been developed to cover all aspects of fund-raising, from direct mail solicitation to volunteer activities. It uses checklists, charts and sample letters to illustrate key points, allowing even the most experienced fund-raisers to improve their results.

From the Inside Flap
FundRaising Fundamentals
Second Edition

For many nonprofits, annual giving is the fuel source that will fund their programs and services throughout the year. A successful campaign requires constant creativity, enthusiasm, energy, and immediate results, which makes it a most challenging endeavor.

Fundraising Fundamentals presents step-by-step guidelines for carrying out all aspects of an annual giving campaign that begins with direct mail solicitation and expands using membership organizations, donor clubs, special and benefit events, and volunteer solicitation to illustrate how to develop a total annual giving program using these reliable methods and techniques. Supported by a generous supplement of authentic case studies and examples, this updated Second Edition covers the latest strategies for telephone, telemarketing, and Internet solicitation, as well as approaches to soliciting from corporations and foundations.

Nine principal methods of annual giving are detailed here along with expert advice on managing each of these multiple fundraising methods as a comprehensive program. Whether you are a professional or volunteer, learning how to orchestrate these nine principal methods to build on one another will help you raise more money and establish lasting relationships with donors. Other means of fundraising are addressed to supplement the principal nine, such as advertisements and coupons, door-to-door solicitation, federated campaigns, gambling and games of chance, and cause-related marketing. A comprehensive section on managing the annual giving program provides invaluable information on performance measurement, budget preparation and management, cost-benefit standards and guidelines, financial accounting, gift reporting, and much more.

With sample forms and letters, checklists, and charts, Fundraising Fundamentals contains everything you need to manage and carry out a comprehensive annual giving program with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
–This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

Order Fund-Raising Fundamentals: A Guide to Annual Giving for Professionals and Volunteers (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management): James M. Greenfield form Amazon.

The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards: A 59-minute Guide to Ensuring Your Organization’s Future: Jerold Panas

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Help your board develop habits that will lead to superb results in fundraising. Read this book.” — Dr. Thomas Dillon, President, Thomas Aquinas College

“No-nonsense information that trustees need to know and act on if they want impact are of the highest caliber.” — Kolia O’Connor, Head of School, Sewickley Academy

In an artful, compelling, and inspiring manner, Panas provides the essence of what we need for board and staff development.” — Bob Ecklund, President & CEO, YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County

“A large part of virtue consists in good habits,” said William Paley.

In his new book, The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, Jerold Panas would rephrase that a tad: A large part of an organization’s success depends on its board’s willingness to cultivate certain behaviors.

Over the course of a storied career, Panas has worked with literally thousands of boards, from those governing the toniest of prep schools to those spearheading the local Y. He has counseled floundering groups; he has been the wind beneath the wings of boards whose organizations have soared.

In fact, it’s a safe bet that Panas has observed more boards at work than perhaps anyone in America, all the while helping them to surpass their campaign goals of $100,000 to $100 million.

Funnel every ounce of that experience and wisdom into a single book and what you have is The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, the brilliant culmination of what Panas has learned firsthand about boards who excel at the task of resource development.

Anyone who has read Asking or any of Panas’ other books knows his style – a breezy and irresistible mix of storytelling, exhortation, and inspiration.

Habits follows the same engaging mold, offering a panoply of habits any board would be wise to cultivate. Some are specific, with measurable outcomes. Others are more intangible, with Panas seeking to impart an attitude of success.

Here’s just a sampling:

• You don’t allow a mission deficit. • You never lose sight that your organization is in the business of changing lives or saving lives. • You’re willing to leave the comfort zone. • You understand that not all gifts are worth accepting.

In all, there are 25 habits and each is explored in two- and three-page chapters … and all of them animated by real-life stories only this grandmaster of philanthropy can tell.

In a mere 117 pages, about an hour’s read, Jerold Panas has accomplished two feats. He has produced a book that boards will find simultaneously ennobling and instructive. And he has relegated to the recycling bin dozens upon dozens of ponderous and inauthentic treatises on the subject of nonprofit boards and fundraising.

Order The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards: A 59-minute Guide to Ensuring Your Organization’s Future: Jerold Panas form Amazon.

How to Write a Grant Proposal (Wiley Nonprofit Law, Finance and Management Series): Cheryl Carter New, James Aaron Quick

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Effective grant proposals are not so much written as they are extensively researched, developed, and positioned. The actual writing, obviously an essential component, is nevertheless only the tip of the iceberg. Grant seekers must possess the necessary skills to correctly identify potential funders, craft a proposal that meets a specific funder’s needs, and follow that funder’s directions to the letter. Cheryl New and James Quick take grant seekers step-by-step through the entire development and drafting process in How to Write a Grant Proposal.

The authors concentrate on all the behind-the-scenes, pre-writing work that makes the difference between successful grant proposals and those that potential funders discard as "nonresponsive." New and Quick concentrate on crafting specific proposals that prove a perfect match between a funder and a solicitor’s needs. Funders and the nonprofit organizations they support are both in the business of solving problems; the key is creating a project that addresses a problem that both parties are interested in solving. How to Write a Grant Proposal provides targeted guidance for a variety of kinds of organizations, including:

K—12 private and public educational organizations

Government agencies

For-profit businesses

Health care organizations

Traditional nonprofits

Higher education universities and centers

A companion CD-ROM contains guidesheets and templates that can be easily downloaded, customized, and printed. The authors provide examples of completed proposals and numerous case studies to demonstrate how the grant-seeking process typically works.

How to Write a Grant Proposal proves a one-stop resource on how to interpret a funder’s guidelines to create a successful grant proposal.

From the Back Cover
Effective grant proposals are not so much written as they are extensively researched, developed, and positioned. The actual writing, obviously an essential component, is nevertheless only the tip of the iceberg. Grant seekers must possess the necessary skills to correctly identify potential funders, craft a proposal that meets a specific funder’s needs, and follow that funder’s directions to the letter. Cheryl New and James Quick take grant seekers step-by-step through the entire development and drafting process in How to Write a Grant Proposal.

The authors concentrate on all the behind-the-scenes, pre-writing work that makes the difference between successful grant proposals and those that potential funders discard as "nonresponsive." New and Quick concentrate on crafting specific proposals that prove a perfect match between a funder and a solicitor’s needs. Funders and the nonprofit organizations they support are both in the business of solving problems; the key is creating a project that addresses a problem that both parties are interested in solving. How to Write a Grant Proposal provides targeted guidance for a variety of kinds of organizations, including:

K—12 private and public educational organizations

Government agencies

For-profit businesses

Health care organizations

Traditional nonprofits

Higher education universities and centers

A companion CD-ROM contains guidesheets and templates that can be easily downloaded, customized, and printed. The authors provide examples of completed proposals and numerous case studies to demonstrate how the grant-seeking process typically works.

How to Write a Grant Proposal proves a one-stop resource on how to interpret a funder’s guidelines to create a successful grant proposal.

Order How to Write a Grant Proposal (Wiley Nonprofit Law, Finance and Management Series): Cheryl Carter New, James Aaron Quick form Amazon.