SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING: A Handbook of Proven Strategies

Useful pointers for institutional fund-raisers, in academe especially--but a poor second to the Ardmans' engaging Woman's Day Book of Fund Raising (1980) for enthusiastic amateurs allied with community causes. Grasty and Sheinkopf, both ex-development officers at Central Florida University, do know the philanthropy trade. With lots of practical detail, they review the recruitment and training of volunteers, as well as solicitation tactics (for a goal-meeting canvass, enlist one volunteer for every five prospective donors). Personal contact is the most-favored approach, but step-by-step instruction is also provided for mail and telephone appeals. The stress, we're advised, should be on the value of the organization's programs, not its money woes; and though $200 is the practical over-the-phone limit, an efficient phone caller can ring 100 numbers and talk with 40 people in 2(apple) hours. Examined in turn are alternative fund-raising techniques: thematic dinner dances, art exhibits, craft fairs, auctions--plus receptions in museums and other unconventional facilities. Reflecting the distinction drawn throughout between annual and other giving, nearly a third of the text is devoted to special situations: deferred bequests, foundation grants, one-shot requests for capital programs, and so on. Virtually all the case studies, moreover, pertain to prep schools or colleges. Little is said, meanwhile, of the larger fund-raising scene--the disappearance of volunteers, the growing competition of public-interest groups, the shrinking federal budget. No mention is made, either, of the recent doubling of the deductible corporate contribution. In sum: everyday expertise for working pros--without the Ardmans' perspectives and grassroots savvy, or the benefit of an up-to-date context.