Building a Strong Foundation, 2nd Edition

Building a Strong Foundation, 2nd Edition

Page Count: 224
ISBN:
Published: 2020

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Contemporary nonprofit organizations operate in a climate of financial insecurity. Cutbacks in government funding, with concomitant reductions in spending levels for many areas in which nonprofits are involved, such as the arts, education, environment, health, and human services, have created a more competitive environment for philanthropic dollars. Establishing a successful fundraising program ensures that your organization will not only survive, but also thrive in the years ahead.

Already serving a variety of roles within their organizations, executive directors, board members, and nonprofit managers are often charged with raising money. But where can they turn to for help?

The second edition of Building a Strong Foundation: Fundraising for Nonprofits is a concise, readable, and relevant guide for anyone seeking guidance on fundraising, from board members and nonprofit managers tasked with raising money to students who aspire to nonprofit development and leadership positions. This popular text provides a comprehensive overview of nonprofit fundraising, including a discussion of the current climate and patterns of giving; key elements in the process of fundraising, including prelaunch strategies, setting goals, and developing a gift pyramid; having confidence when soliciting legacy giving, mortality-based gift intentions, and complex gifts; effective prospect tracking, management, and communications that build long-term relationships; and the mutual benefits of cause-related marketing. This edition provides a modern approach to modern challenges, including social media risks and opportunities, e-mail solicitations, and the changing demographic of donors.

Ideally, fundraising is the process that builds a strong financial foundation for your nonprofit. Fundraising is an investment in your organization’s future that will result in a greater degree of permanence, stability, and competitive edge. As a profession, fundraising is a fast-growing field. Those who can demonstrate success in fundraising will find themselves highly marketable and reap the rewards both personally and professionally.

Preface
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: The Context of Fundraising

Chapter 2: The Process of Fundraising

Chapter 3: Legacy Giving: Mortality-Based Gift Intentions and Complex Gifts

Chapter 4: Basics of Prospect Research: Identifying, Tracking, and Managing Your Prospects

Chapter 5: Special Events

Chapter 6: Cause-Related Marketing

Chapter 7: Putting It All Together: An Overview and Case Studies

Appendix: Resources for Nonprofit Fundraisers
References
Index
About the Author
Index

Richard L. Edwards, PhD, is a well-known scholar, educator, and higher education administrator. Currently, Edwards is chancellor emeritus and a distinguished university professor at Rutgers University—New Brunswick, where he previously served as executive vice president for academic affairs and as dean of the School of Social Work. Previously, he served as interim provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also served as dean of the School of Social Work. Prior to that, he was dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and acting dean and associate dean of the School of Social Welfare at the State University of New York at Albany. In each of these positions, he had significant fundraising responsibilities. In a career spanning 50 years, Edwards has served as a consultant to and board member for numerous nonprofit organizations. He is a past president of the National Association of Social Workers.

As a scholar, Edwards has studied the management and effectiveness of nonprofit and public-sector organizations. The author and editor of numerous books and professional journal articles and book chapters, Edwards was editor-in-chief of the 19th edition of the Encyclopedia of Social Work. He also has served on the editorial boards of several professional journals and for five years was editor-in-chief for the journal Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance.

Edwards has had a great deal of success as a fundraiser, having been involved in generating many tens of millions of dollars in gifts to the educational and nonprofit organizations in which he has been involved, including annual gifts, major gifts, gifts to various capital campaigns, and planned or legacy gifts. The largest for which he was the lead fundraiser was a $37 million gift composed of $27 million worth of artwork and $10 million cash for an endowment for the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University—New Brunswick.

Edwards was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, where he received his master’s degree, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany, where he received his PhD. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Augustana College in Illinois.

Chapter 1 (pdf)