Achieving Excellence in Fundraising. Группа авторов
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and of the book's expansion from handbook to teaching tool for students of fundraising, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector. It also continues to serve as a guide for board members, nonprofit professionals, volunteer fundraisers, those who want to “spread their wings” to other fundraising domains, and those who wish to hone their craft by applying research to their work.
Like the field itself, the editions of this book evolve as fundraising practice changes and adapts – while retaining the original purpose of achieving excellence. The gingko leaves on this cover were chosen to symbolize the book's longevity and the collective wisdom it contains. Gingko trees are among the oldest plant species on earth, displaying incredible resiliency, with many trees living for centuries. Gingkoes persist, even in the face of great adversity, including several that survived the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Every autumn, a group of volunteers collects the fallen seeds of these special trees. Under the banner of the Green Legacy Hiroshima Project, seeds are then sent around the world to promote peace and understanding. Recently, a sapling from one of these seeds was planted on the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus, adding additional meaning for the editorial team.
Like the gingko tree, fundraisers are resilient professionals; we hope this volume plants many seeds of knowledge for new and experienced fundraisers alike.
The New Edition
In our quest to make a new edition for a new era, we strengthened the text for academic and professional education, and for more informal use. A set of learning objectives guides each chapter, articulating reading goals and creating the organizational structure. Chapters are uniform in length and format. All chapters received repeated, rigorous content reviews by multiple editors. Each chapter was carefully read for clarity in language, recognizing that many readers are experiencing fundraising terminology for the first time and that academic approaches to presenting research are not always reader friendly. Along these lines, we asked academic faculty who wrote chapters to make sure to translate the research into practical, actionable terms for use. Likewise, we asked practitioners to draw on research, when available and applicable, to enhance their chapters. Discussion questions invite readers to review each chapter's research and best practices. For the first time, the volume includes application exercises to provide hands‐on activities for readers to try out their learnings.
The book sections and their contents have been reorganized and reconceptualized. The book is organized chronologically, laying the ethical, legal, theoretical, and philosophical groundwork in the first section; next moving through contextual, organizational, and logistical considerations; and then into the landscape of fundraising programs, donor populations, and strategies. However, there is no one “right” way to navigate through the book. The 39 chapters are organized into seven sections, each of which might be the starting or focal point, depending on the reader's intended purposes.
Part One provides timeless knowledge for all fundraisers. “Developing a Personal Philosophy of Fundraising” sets the book's tone with the core values that underlie fundraising as the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving (Rosso 1991), with an added approach of empowering fundraisers to develop and acknowledge their own philosophies based on values, beliefs, and lived experience. A chapter on the joy of giving returns in this volume, bringing new research that proves Rosso's maxim. This section also includes consideration of ethical and legal implications for fundraising as well as a new chapter connecting practice to interdisciplinary theory.
The next part, “Contemporary Dynamics of Fundraising,” examines the ever‐changing external landscape for this work. Two of the chapters return from previous editions with significant revision (Chapters 6 and 9). Chapters 7, 8, and 10 are new to Achieving Excellence and contribute insights into the nuances of fundraising in challenging times and the various subsectors, and with a lens of equity and justice.
Part Three presents organizational fundamentals for executing a comprehensive fundraising program. The seven chapters in this section illuminate steps in the fundraising cycle, from examining the case for support to donor identification through donor relations and stewardship. This section also looks at how fundraising programs intersect and collaborate with marketing efforts as well as how to budget for fundraising.
The next part addresses the various roles, responsibilities, and functions of the fundraising team, broadly defined. This volume's editors lean into their research strengths, presenting data‐driven understandings of the fundraising profession generally and leadership for fundraising specifically. Also in this section are newly updated chapters on engaging board members and volunteers in this work, which is especially important in smaller organizations where fundraisers wear many hats.
Part Five focuses on building and growing the base of supporters. Inviting an organization's broadest constituency to become first‐time and then repeat donors is the basis of a healthy annual giving program, from which all other fundraising flows. The section presents annual fund planning tools as well as strategies meant to welcome gifts of all sizes. The chapters examine tactical aspects of inviting and retaining donors: crafting effective appeals, integrating digital strategies, and holding events with purpose.
Research – much of it completed by the Lilly Family School team – is at the core of Part Six, which examines individual donors and their many complexities. The chapters present insights into donors' motivations and behaviors, and recommendations for applying the information to practice. The section is grounded with a new chapter on donor motivation research. Chapters focus on giving by women, within communities of color, among LGBTQ households and high net worth people, as associated with faith traditions, and in reference to generational differences, collectively exploring multiple dimensions of how individuals make giving decisions and express their values through philanthropy.
Similar to Parts Three and Five, the book's seventh and concluding part provides tactical analysis of fundraising, in this case through the lens of raising funds from major donors, donor‐advised funds, grantmaking foundations, and corporations. From co‐creating major gifts and gift planning to organizing fundraising campaigns and understanding corporate and foundation philanthropy, the seven chapters prepare fundraisers to confidently ask for transformative gifts.
A Contribution to Philanthropy
Many of Hank Rosso's (1991) ideas continue to be foundational to how we think about fundraising, even as the field changes and develops in the United States and beyond. These include taking pride in our work and remembering that fundraising's purpose is to facilitate philanthropy. Philanthropy, in turn, is in service to the greater good and needs and interests beyond one's own. All fundraising rests on the case for support, driven by the mission, and rooted in community needs. All fundraising must be built on a foundation of respect: respect for beneficiaries, organizations, communities, fundraisers, and donors. Respect is conveyed through inclusive practices, including listening and learning; speaking in ways that uplift and do not demean beneficiaries, donors, or fundraisers; and upholding ethical standards and moral values.
Fundraising is a noble career that is meaningful, creative, and fulfilling. It is not easy work; it includes a great range of tasks and activities, and there is opportunity for many to excel and contribute. It is also a black box about which most people, at best, understand little, and at worst, misunderstand much. This book is meant to demystify fundraising by providing information and research on ethics and theory;