An excellent introduction to non-profit work. I received this just as I began my first position and it helped so much with tips and techniques for effective fundraising. ( )

Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits thoroughly and systematically covers its topic. I’m a neophyte—other than being on the receiving end of nonprofit solicitations—and I readily understood the material presented. This book is primarily aimed at people new to the topic, but I think it has breath and adequate depth to offer something valuable to people with some experience in the field.

Bray lays out the steps for small nonprofits to undertake necessary fundraising activities from planning a fundraising program through donor retention, and covers grant seeking, face-to-face donor interaction, and online routes to reach potential donors among other ways for nonprofits to generate funding. Sample worksheets are included to help implement the book’s advice. Also valuable, Bray tells readers when they will need more specific legal resources before undertaking some fundraising activities.

What I found must enlightening: Bray explains the appropriate roles of major players in raising funds for nonprofits (hint: it’s a team game, not an individual sport). This book would be valuable for people accepting responsibility for raising funds to support their small nonprofit. It would be equally, or likely even more valuable for the executive directors and other senior staff as well as members of the boards of directors of those nonprofits. ( )

I love the NOLO series. Clear and easy to read. I've been in fundraising for 20+ years and find that we often fall into our silos of specialty. This is an excellent overview of the many areas that create an effective fundraising effort. A great refresher for those of us who have been doing it for awhile and a solid orientation to those who are new to the profession. It would also be a great "fundraising 101" for nonprofit board members. Although it's taken me awhile to read and review this, I would love to set up a reading group within my organization so that we could learn more about what we all do and use the text as a launching point to further discuss how we do or don't apply it in our own shop. The resources mentioned in the book are adequate, but would be helpful to have a list of professional organizations and discussion lists as well as URL to some of the great websites that are available. ( )

I work with a software company that provides online marketing and CRM software for nonprofits, so deal with hundreds of people working to raise funds for their organizations. So often, people are looking for magical software solutions to basic fundraising strategy problems; problems that organizations absolutely should sort out prior to importing those problems into their new software! If I could, I would make sure every one of our clients had a copy of this book. The concepts here are foundational and extremely helpful. Once an organized, smart strategy is in place, every fundraising effort or new technology is made exponentially more powerful.

Part of my basis for evaluating this book is my work with my current client base, but I also have 10 years of experience as a fundraiser. I've also completed the keystone course from Indiana University on fundraising. This book does not go into the depth of that coursework, but gives thorough support on the basics. ( )

My start towards global domination started with my local PTO. After getting myself “elected” co-president, I was disappointed to find out that a big chunk of the job is fundraising (and not unfettered power). When NOLO press offered me a copy of Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits for review, I grabbed a copy to help me figure out what to do.

Ilona Bray diligently takes you through the fundamentals of establishing a fundraising program, how to attract donations and how to keep donors giving. There is some great practical advice from dozens of non-profit professionals included in Bray’s discussion.

This book is worthy additional to anyone involved in fundraising for non-profits. ( )