Customer Reviews

Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising (Jossey Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On my fundraising shelf stood just two books and a binder: "Designs for Fundraising" by Harold Seymour © 1966; "The Raising of Money" by James Gregory Lord © 1987, and my collected monthly newsletters of tips from Taft. Not a lot to go on, but Seymour's classic helped me enormously, imparting such nuggets as, "At best, with few exceptions, people don't pay close or careful attention to anything."

OK, so listen up. Times have changed. Many, many books now beckon us, delivering the full spectrum of nonprofit knowledge. Yet all books are not equal. When Henry (Hank) Rosso gathered a number of esteemed colleagues together and put out Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising in 1991, it represented a milestone in fundraising education, based as it was on his many years of teaching through The Fund Raising School, which he founded right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The School later became a program of The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and it continues to provide superior, basic training in fund raising principle and practice throughout the country. All the years of teaching experience and the benefits of association with IU are now reflected in this expanded, caught-up-with-the-world second edition of the "Rosso" (RAH-so).

It was time. Consider that when Achieving Excellence debuted in 1991, the stock market stood at 2736, Giving USA estimated total philanthropic support at $105 billion, and the National Science Foundation had just lifted its ban on commercial use of the Internet. Today, as we reel and grapple, it is worth noting that the markets have more than tripled from 1991; philanthropic dollars have doubled; and the Internet is our bread and butter. The second edition adds several chapters in recognition of the changes and rounds out its predecessor. We read about the new order, how to build endowment, women as donors, trends in major donor giving (read with caution, as markets and donor experience have had some impact), diversity considerations, Internet strategies, special events fundraising, technology use, budgeting and accountability, stewardship, international perspectives, and fund raising as a profession. These are welcome additions.

Given the scope attempted by the book, I should point out that there are, in fact, a few areas not covered, including how to obtain government grants and contracts, and exhaustive instructions on how to write a grant proposal to a foundation. But if you heed what these authors have written, you will have no problem accomplishing either feat.

Most of the authors in this edition are new to the "Rosso," numbering 27 in all. The first edition lists 13 contributors. Hank wrote eight of the chapters of that book; he has two in this one. With Hank gone (1999), we are guided into Rosso II by the gentle, sure hands of Eugene Tempel, executive director of the IU Center on Philanthropy and Tim Seiler, current director of The Fund Raising School. Between them (with a chapter from Hank), they set the stage in Parts One (Context) and Two (Fundamentals).

The book proceeds logically and is easy to navigate or use as a quick reference. "Fundamentals" is followed by sections treating "building blocks" (e.g. annual fund, capital campaign), sources, methods (e.g. direct mail, special events), management (e.g. leadership, boards, information, budgeting, consultants), ethics, stewardship, and personal professional support. A thorough Glossary and Bibliography follow.

Our AFP chapter boasts several representatives here: Kim Klein reprises her excellent chapter on grassroots fund raising and Kay Grace on leadership; Mal Warwick writes the update on direct mail; Alan Wendroff supplies special events; and Skip Henderson updates us on the trustees' role.

The context is still Hank's, which means that ultimately, the book is not about the joy of soliciting but something higher. I'm sure he would be tickled if you inscribed your book as he wrote in so many of our first editions "I hope that you will enjoy the reading of this book. Let it help you to teach the joy of giving. Hank Rosso"

Whether you've been in the fundraising profession for 10 minutes or 10 years, do yourself a favour and read this book. It will make you proud to be part of the tradition of philanthropy. It will inspire and guide you. You will see yourself and the volunteers and donors you work with in a whole new light. Don't put it in your library. Keep it on your desk. The first time you read it, and you will read it joyfully from cover to cover, keep pen and paper handy. You will find yourself making a list of things you need and want to do. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is thoughtful and thought-provoking. It is the place where the theory, practice, philosophy and spirituality of a great tradition meet.

I liked this book. It provided me with my introduction to the nonprofit world and fundraising for nonprofits back in 2004. It's not written by one person. And as a result, it is not tightly written. In fact, I think there are 27 different contributors to this book. Maybe I counted wrong? But this book is an excellent introduction to the ins and outs of fundraising in America as we know it today. It has 7 chapters:

1. Fundraising: Context and philosophy
2. Fundamentals of successful fundraising
3. Building blocks for successful fundraising
4. Sources of fundraising
5. Successful fundraising methods
6. Managing successful fundraising
7. Ethics, stewardship, and the future of the fundraising profession

I have read other books written by the following contributors to this book: Mal Warwick, Kim Klein, Kay Grace, and James Greenfield. And I've met and listened to Ted Hart who runs the nonprofit ePhilanthropy Foundation. I have gotten things from reading or listening to all these people. And my favorite fundraising book of all was written by Ms. Grace: Beyond Fundraising (ISBN: 0471707139). Kim Klein's "Fundraising for Social Change" (ISBN: 0787984558) comes in a close second.

What I liked the most about this book was the quality of writing and the breadth of coverage. It talks about annual giving programs, captial campaigns, endowment campaigns, and planned giving. It also covers ethics that fundraisers should adhere to. There is a lot to the art and science of raising funds for nonprofits. And this book seems to touch on much of it.

Don't expect to learn the specifics of how to do "an ask" in a major gift setting. Don't expect to be told how to manage a successful capital campaign, or to adeptly use the Internet as a fundraising tool. And I was happy there wasn't much if any coverage of grants and grant writing. Phew! But this book covers enough about everything that you can intelligently search out other books to supplement your read of this book. 4 stars!

Like many in the Jossey Bass series, Tempel's work is thorough and well-written, covering all important aspects of fundraising. A great introductory guide.

My title says it all. This is the only book fund development professionals need to buy. Standard and creative ideas are both proposed and are workable. I'd had mine for years, gave it to someone and bought another one. Don't waste your money on anything else.

Finishing a Masters and this book was very helpful... I have just began to use it in class, so far so good.....

Straight forward information about the fundamentals of fund raising. Useful in prep for the CFRE exam.

This is a very deep book on fundraising and the content (short of the use of the internet) is very comprehensive. A very good reference and deep read.

I'm disappointed in this textbook because it does not provide much bang for the buck. I believe that the text could have been half as thick, half as expensive and provide no less information than it does.

I bought kindle so I wouldn't have to lug several heavy textbooks around. I still have to because the third edition of this book is not available on kindle... editions change and I need to be in-sync with my class to be academically successful