Author
David Lansdowne

ISBN
9781889102320

Cost $24.95 + shipping

Click here for quantity discounts

Table of Contents

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Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face:
A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations
NEW REVISED EDITION
by David Lansdowne, 110 pp. $24.95 (Click here for quantity discount information)

If every board member of every nonprofit organization across America read this book, it’s no exaggeration to say that millions upon millions of additional dollars would be raised.

How could it be otherwise when, after spending just one hour with this gem, board members everywhere would understand virtually everything they need to know about raising major gifts. Not more, not less. Just exactly what they need to do to be successful.

In his bestselling book, Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations, David Lansdowne has distilled the essence of major gifts fundraising, put it in the context of 47 “realities,” and delivered it in unfailingly clear prose.

OF RELATED INTEREST: In Asking, Jerold Panas convincingly shows that it doesn’t take stellar sales skills to be an effective fundraiser. Nearly everyone can secure sizable gifts if they follow a few step-by-step guidelines.

Nothing about this book will intimidate board members. It is brief, concise, easy to read, and free of all jargon. Further, it’s a work that motivates, showing as it does just how doable raising big money is.
The appeal of Fund Raising Realities is that Lansdowne addresses every important principle and technique of fund raising, and explains them in a succinct way board members will grasp immediately.

In other words, Fund Raising Realities puts everyone on a level playing field - board member with board member, and board member with staff.

Put this book in your board’s hands, put it in your board orientation packet, put it anywhere you need the successful practice of fundraising masterfully illuminated.

About the Author

David Lansdowne is author of Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face, one of the bestselling titles in fundraising history. His other book, The Relentlessly Practical Guide to Raising Serious Money, was chosen by AmeriCorps Vista as the premier work on the subject. David has spent much of his professional life in the nonprofit sector, serving in development and administrative positions for educational, cultural, and health organizations throughout America.

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Table of Contents

Foreword by Jerold Panas

1. Mission Defined
2. The Buck Stops Here
3. Everyone Dislikes Asking
4. Be Ready or Regroup
5. Money Costs Money
6. The Rationale Must Be Sound
7. Individuals are the Target
8. The Buck Starts Here
9. A Few Contribute the Most
10. Gifts Need Plotting
11. Think in Thirds
12. Interviews are Revealing
13. Consultants Will and Won't
14. No Goal, No Objective
15. Lighten the Load
16. Those Who Set the Goal
17. Publicity is No Substitute
18. Special Events are Double-Edged
19. Forego the Fancy
20. Wealth Alone Doesn't Determine
21. That You Need, Won't Inspire
22. Strangers Seldom Give
23. What You Don't Know
24. Who Leads Influences Who Gives
25. Time Commands
26. Stay on Top or Go Under
27. Training Begets Bigger Gifts
28. The Secret Lies in Asking
29. Those Who Ask Must Give First
30. Not All Donors are Equal
31. Each According to His Means
32. Big Before Little
33. Teams Work
34. Overloaded Solicitors
35. A Match Must be Made
36. Being There is Key
37. More Alike than Not
38. No Apology Needed
39. Mission, Above All
40. Get Personal
41. Go Figure
42. Ask or All is Lost
43. Return Visits Required
44. Gratitude to One and All
45. The Final Step is the Asking
46. Simplicity Prevails
47. Evaluations Enlighten

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Excerpt This article is excerpted from David Lansdowne's book, Fund Raising Realities
Every Board Member Must Face, ©Emerson & Church, Publishers. To obtain reprint permission,
please call 508-359-0019.

The Buck Stops Here

If there is a first principle in fund raising, it is this: the board of directors has the responsibility for ensuring that the organization’s mission is carried out, and of necessity this means finding the resources to do so.

The logic is irrefutable: board members own the organization and are its stewards. If they, who purportedly are the strongest advocates, won’t take a lead role in raising money, why should anyone else?

To demonstrate their commitment, board members must first make a generous gift proportionate to their means, and second, agree to devote adequate time and energy to assure success.

This kind of support sends an unmistakable message to prospective donors, namely, that the organization means business.

If members of the board are reluctant to take responsibility, it is probably because 1) they don’t understand the importance of assuming the helm in fund raising, and 2) they’re afraid they will be required to ask others for money.

In truth, board members will often be required to ask, but in a well-run fund raising program they can participate in other ways too. Some can solicit, others can plan special events, still others can help with researching prospects, or making introductions for others.

Almost always, organizations that raise substantial money have knowledgeable and active trustees. By the same token, causes which scrape by usually have indifferent board members who are unwilling to accept their role.

Lacking a fully-committed board, it will not be difficult to involve others, it will be practically impossible.

Everyone Dislikes Asking

Rare is the trustee who enjoys fund raising.

If you think it’s significantly easier for others to ask for money, you are mistaken. Everyone has the same doubts, fears, and anxieties as you. If it appears easier for others, it is probably because they’ve faced up to the fact that fund raising is essential to the survival of the organization.

Undoubtedly, you’ll recognize some of the excuses below:

• I give my time, that’s enough.
• I don’t know the right people.
• Fund raising is belittling.
• Raising money is the role of the development staff.
• My work on the board has to do with policy.

Strive to put these and all other excuses aside. Recognize that board members have two basic responsibilities: one is to set policy, the other is to ensure resources. Both are critical, and neither can be skirted.

If the job of raising money is to get done, each trustee must get on with the assignment, and overcome the natural tendency to procrastinate.

A campaign with firm deadlines, tight schedules, reporting sessions, and follow-up phone calls will help, as will workshops, half-day briefings, and accompanying an experienced solicitor on a call.

Perhaps the best salve for anxiety, however, is to keep in mind that you aren’t asking for yourself, nor do you have anything to gain financially, nor are you seeking something from others which you yourself have not given.

Your position is unassailable: you are a volunteer working on behalf of a cause that’s in the public interest and serves the general good.

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