Full Table of Contents with Chapter Descriptions

INTRODUCTION: WHY THIS BOOK IS LITTLE

Three reasons this book is intentionally brief: (1) It’s written specifically for small and very small nonprofits with limited time and resources, (2) You need a practical roadmap, not an encyclopedia, and (3) It’s designed to be a reference you keep with you and return to repeatedly.

Chapter 1: Planning Ahead

Fundraising isn’t scary—it’s just foreign to most people who enter nonprofit work. This chapter covers the foundation: creating an annual development plan, setting realistic goals, understanding the fundraising cycle, and avoiding the trap of hiring someone before you’re ready. Learn why working from “the inside out” (starting with those closest to you) is the key principle of effective fundraising.

Chapter 2: Board Giving: Your First $1,000

Why 100% board giving matters more than the amount raised. Follow Linda, Executive Director of the Smallville Historical Society, as she transforms her “working board” into a giving board through a systematic process: presenting fundraising data, securing board chair support, making personal asks over coffee, and celebrating success. Includes specific scripts for asking board members to give and handling resistance.

Chapter 3: The Annual Appeal

Your most important fundraising tool. Learn how to create a donor database (even if you’re starting from scratch), segment your donor list, write compelling solicitation letters, send effective email appeals, and plan your calendar for maximum impact. Covers the complete process from collecting addresses to sending thank-you calls after gifts arrive.

Chapter 4: Events Will Kill You

The uncomfortable truth about fundraising events: they consume enormous time and resources for relatively low returns. Learn how to calculate the TRUE cost of events (including staff time), when events make sense versus when they don’t, and how to protect your organization from theft. Then discover the ONE event worth doing: the breakfast fundraiser. Complete step-by-step guide to planning and executing a breakfast that actually makes money.

Chapter 5: Big Asks

Face-to-face solicitation of major gifts using the donor pyramid and donor pipeline frameworks. Learn how to identify prospects using the three-circle Venn diagram (Mission Love, Capacity/Wealth, and Relationship), cultivate donors through personal touches, schedule meetings, make the ask using specific techniques (including gift charts and menus), and handle the response. Understand why “people give to people to help people.”

Chapter 6: Finding New Donors

How to passively collect small donations and add names to your database. Set up online giving with recurring donations as the default, enable donations at your physical location, use QR codes effectively, and create systems that bring new donors into your fundraising cycle with minimal additional effort.

Chapter 7: Grant Requests

The role of foundation and corporate grants in a balanced funding strategy. Why grants should supplement (not replace) individual giving, how to research appropriate funders, write compelling proposals, manage reporting requirements, and avoid over-reliance on institutional funding. Grants should represent no more than 30-40% of your budget.

Chapter 8: Really Big Asks: Planned Giving and Capital Campaigns

When your organization is ready for major initiatives like planned giving (bequests, life insurance) and capital campaigns. Understanding DAFs (Donor-Advised Funds), RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions), and QCDs (Qualified Charitable Distributions). Knowing when these strategies make sense for your organization size and when to focus on simpler approaches. Sometimes you can bypass the donor pipeline by leveraging relationships of major donors.

NOTES ON GROWING YOUR NONPROFIT

Sustainable growth requires three things: Determination, Documentation, and Databases. Before hiring development staff, make sure you have strong systems in place. Why you should hire from the bottom up (coordinators before directors) and how to know when you’re ready.

Key Topics Covered

Fundraising Strategy & Planning

Annual development planning and goal-setting
Creating a sustainable fundraising calendar
“Work from the inside out” principle
The donor pyramid structure
The donor pipeline: Identification → Cultivation → Solicitation → Stewardship
When to hire development staff (and when not to)
Building fundraising systems vs. one-off schemes
Economies of scale in fundraising

Board Fundraising

Why “working boards” must also be giving boards
Achieving 100% board participation
How to present fundraising data to your board
Specific scripts for asking board members to give
Setting up recurring monthly gifts
The board chair’s role in board giving
Celebrating and recognizing board gifts

Annual Appeals

Building a donor database from scratch (Excel template provided)
Donor segmentation and list management
Writing effective solicitation letters
Email appeals and online giving
Direct mail best practices
Year-end giving campaigns
Thank-you call protocols
Mail house services for list cleaning

Events

Calculating true event ROI (including staff time)
Why most events lose money or barely break even
Friend-raising vs. fundraising events
Protecting against theft at events
Credit card processing and QR codes at events
The breakfast fundraiser model (complete 9-step process)
Choosing speakers and program
Table captain model
Making “the ask” at events
Event timeline and logistics

Major Gifts

The donor pyramid: identifying prospects
The three-circle Venn diagram (Mission Love + Capacity + Relationship)
Donor cultivation strategies (events and non-events)
Getting the meeting with major donors
Making the ask without naming numbers
Gift charts as asking tools
Menu of giving options approach
Handling “no” and continuing the relationship
Leveraging major donor networks

Donor Management

Donor database essentials
Tracking touches and cultivation activities
Donor communication preferences
Moving donors up the pyramid
Recurring gift programs
Donor retention strategies
Stewardship and thank-you protocols

Grants & Institutional Funding

Role of grants in balanced funding (30-40% max)
Foundation research and prospecting
Corporate giving programs
Proposal writing basics
Grant reporting requirements
Avoiding over-reliance on grants

Advanced Topics

Planned giving basics (bequests, life insurance)
Capital campaign considerations
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
When to pursue these vs. simpler strategies

Specific Problems This Book Solves

For New Fundraisers

“I don’t know where to start with fundraising”
“Asking for money makes me uncomfortable”
“I’ve never done this before and have no idea what to do”
“Should I hire a grant writer or development director?”
“How much money can we realistically raise?”
“I don’t have time to learn everything about fundraising”

For Executive Directors

“My board won’t fundraise—they say they’re a ‘working board’”
“How do I get my board to give?”
“I’m doing all the fundraising myself and it’s overwhelming”
“We don’t have a donor database or any systems”
“I spend all my time on events that barely break even”
“How do I ask someone for a major gift face-to-face?”
“I don’t know who our best donor prospects are”

For Boards

“Do all board members really have to give money?”
“How much should I donate to the organization I serve?”
“I thought the ED would handle all the fundraising”
“What’s my role in fundraising if we have staff?”
“I’m not comfortable asking my friends for money”