Fundraising Basics: A Complete Guide

I liked this book a lot. It's a big book with 8.5xll inch pages with the small text formatted into two columns per page. It covers a broad spectrum of fundraising for nonprofit topics: annual giving programs, board development, sponsorships, special events, major gift solicitation, planned giving, and capital campaigns. I suspect this book will be of tremendous help to anyone trying to develop a successful fundraising program for their nonprofit. Also, the reader is informed that it has been used as a textbook in various classes on fundraising. My favorite chapters were (1) philanthropy, (2) roles of players, (3) the development office, (8) prospect research, (14) capital campaigns, (15) planned giving, (17) fundraising consultants, and (18) career options. The chapters are purposefully short, but they provide wonderful introductory material on their topics. Bibliographic material is provided so the reader can easily locate material that covers these topics in more depth. I thought Chapter 4 (technology) was weak. I got the impression from reading it that I was reading a term paper from a high school student. I didn't feel as thought the authors were writing from firsthand experiences. Why were calculators and adding machines added to the list? Anybody who uses MS Office or similar program would know to use a spreadsheet program to do what a calculator or adding machine would do. Bottom line: this chapter could have been greatly improved so a nonprofit can save major bucks. Also, workers today are expected to know how to use a PC and the software that runs on it. If they can't, then don't hire them. NEVER consider paying someone to train them how to use a PC! I had problems with chapters 5, 6 and 7. I thought Chapter 5 should have been much more detailed as to what a fundraising plan includes and how to design one. This was not done. And I thought Chapter 5 also should have covered direct mail, telemarketing, and the importance of building relationships as elements of a good fundraising plan. Then chapters 6 and 7 could have picked up where Chapter 5 left off. As these chapters are currently written, there really is no connection between the three - and in my humble opinion I think there should be. I would reorder chapters 8 and 9 so the material on prospect research is covered after the reader is introduced to major gift fundraising. It just seems more logical to me to do it that way. Chapter 13 could be improved a bit. Nonprofits waste a considerable amount of money on having fancy brochures created. And the authors seem to condone this. Today so much money and volunteer time can be saved by posting online in the form of Web pages what used to be printed. In the old days for-profits used to create fancy brochures. Now they give the prospect a business card with a Web site address on it. The prospect goes online to examine the relevant Web pages. Nonprofits can do the same thing. Why weren't Web sites covered in Chapter 13 (publications)? Y

I also use this book as a textbook in a fundraising class and the students consistently rank this as a great learning tool and resource that they will use in their careers. Excellent real-life examples and practical knowledge on every aspect of non-profit fund development.

Ciconte's book is insightful and thorough. This new edition is especially helpful, especially for the purposes of this reviewer, when it comes to Internet applications and computer programs. A well-written and fairly current fundraising resource guide.

Having read and used fund raising books and materials for over twenty (20) years, I am very impressed with this book. It is excellent, very thorough, and covers all major areas for an organization's fund raising program. I highly recommend that every non profit organization own a copy and use as a reference guide on a regular basis. Its truly solid and complete.

The following describes the Second Edition of Fundraising Basics: A Complete Guide published in April 2001 by Aspen Publishers, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD "The second edition of this best-selling book provides new and updated information that every beginning fund raiser or board member needs. Case studies and real-life examples provide practical guidance and an overview of the field while giving board members and development staff, managers, and directors a platform from which to operate their fund raising programs. This primer remains a "must-have" for anyone entering the fund raising arena or studying for the CFRE exam.The new edition updates and strenghens: 1) Giving trends; 2) Computer hardware and software available in the fund raising field; 3) Cost estimates and workflow timetables; 4) Use of the Internet in fund raising; 5) Relationships between associations and their foundations regarding fund raising; and 6) New and successful case studies that relate fund raising theory to practice.Practical advice and valuable insights from two savvy pros with more than 45 years of combined fund-raising experience."