Customer Reviews

RelationShift: Revolutionary Fundraising

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This wonderful book was underlined and highlighted so many times I couldn't read it anymore.....I had to start fresh and buy a new one. Of all the books on fund raising I've ever read, including MegaGifts, this book is the one that really shows you how to do it, and how to change yourself and your whole approach so that you can attract major gifts. When I gave this book out at a staff retreat, my people had read it by the second day and wanted to devote the third and final day to just this book. Our major gifts now account for more than 2/3 of our revenue, and our days are spent building relationships instead of fund raising. Our annual goal was passed in six months after that retreat! This book returns the joy to fund raising because it teaches you how to communicate with donors and donor prospects in a way that both parties enjoy and look forward to.

A colleague recommended this book to me when I announced my intention to fund an after school program for kids. I was both intimidated and secretly doubtful of my abilities to pull something like this off (but it was my dream!) This fine little gem of a book offered me a game plan, opened my eyes to the possibilities of achieving the kind of success I had only dreamed of, reinforced ideas I had of my own (but were unclear of), and the end results were that it REALLY worked.

This was not the only book I purchased, of course. But BY FAR the best. It was easy to read and very focused (Thank god!!!!!!) Many of the other books went off on tangents and were written in a language that was difficult for a first timer like me to understand.

Oh, so many thanks as we complete our first successful year here in Sausalito!

Bassoff and Chandler outline twenty dangerous myths that make up the belief systems of most fundraisers today. The book calls for a shift to a relationship building focus to replace the "scientific" approaches featured in the old fund raising books.

For over thirty years I have been associated with non-profit organizations, church and para church ministries in professional and lay capacities. I have read books, and articles, and spent hours in board and committee meetings. After reading "Relation Shift" I am taking a new look at giving and receiving and am ready to make the relation shift in fund raising.

The book is refreshing, enlightening, and highly motivating. Each chapter is filled with stories, examples, and illustrations for building relationships with your donors. The authors provide twenty positive reality shift statements and seven steps on the rope ladder to success to help you make the change, to break free of the twenty traditional, self defeating myths of fund raising.

I was especially challenged by the reality shift suggested in lieu of myth number ten.

Myth: "You don't have enough staff to raise the money your organization needs."

Reality Shift: "The number of people you have is not as big a priority as the depth of the relationships you yourself create."

Steve Chandler known for his books and seminars on relationship selling is one of America's most resourceful and successful fundraisers. Co-author, Michael Bassoff, nationally known in the field of health science development, as president of the TGen Foundation has been responsible for raising millions of dollars in gifts for research. These men are well qualified to write this revolutionary fundraising paradigm shift.

This book should be required reading for every non-profit officer, director, and staff member. "Relation Shift" is a proven approach for building new relationships that lead to having all the money you will need for your cause.

I have read all the books on fundraising I could find, and I have finally found a book that showed me a fresh, new way to do it. This book is going to annoy and upset people who miss the gold inside its simplicity. I have worked with upset people like that, people who want to hide out inside all the old fundraising dogma, and turn fundraising into a bureaucratic, linear process. This book explodes all of that narrow and dull life and opens the whole field up to the kind of creativity you normally associate with entrepreneurs, not fundraisers. This book is revolutionary in that it allows a fundraiser to think big and cultivate major gifts while 99% of the others are doing the same old same old bureaucratic desk-straightening and filing all day. There will be those who are infuriated by this book because it tells the truth. Fundraising is like falling in love. You have to be at your best as a relationship-builder for it to be wildly successful. But what a great handbook for how to do it! I wish I could give it ten stars.

I wish that this book was available when I started in Development 10 years ago. My sometimes painful experiences in Major Gift Solicitation highlight that the authors know what they are talking about.

The best advice that anyone attempting to fundraise can hear is explained beautifully in this book: develop and nurture significant personal relationships with your donors. This advice really works. For example, my wife and I adopted our son as a result of the personal recommendation of a major donor-turned-close-friend.

People (and people within foundations) give to people. The key to success in raising money is to be viewed as a resource and friend, rather than one of the hundreds of development officers who call an executive's office over the course of a year.

Buy a copy for yourself and one for all of those in leadership positions within the organization. Then put it into practice!

Many fundraising books overlook the psychological aspects of "giving" and "receiving." Bassoff's work helpfully reinforces the conviction that a nonprofit must itself "give" and contribute in order to receive "gifts" and contributions. The writing style was enjoyable, with content to match.

It's got to be the best book yet written on fundraising. The SHIFT they're talking about is the SHIFT that changes a life of scraping and struggling into a virtual heaven of support. Beneath the simplicity and drama of this book is the most sophisticated relationship science I've ever seen outlined, with plenty of specific examples to back it up. A true precision structure for the ultimate networking skill.

We have been using RelationShift for a number of years with our staff. It is a must read for anyone that is fundraising.

I liked this book. It doesn't cost that much, and it's not too detailed when it comes to fundraising. Simply put, it's just a list of things nonseasoned fundraisers might not know but should. My gosh, the price for this little booklet is only $10.17. The information included therein is definitely worth that if you don't already know it.

I encourage you to examine the Table of Contents for this book in the Search Inside feature Amazon provides. You will find 20 myths regarding nonprofit fundraising. If you don't see why they are myths, then you should get the book.

I found the book to be well written and organized. I liked the way each chapter/myth started out with the myth cited and then provided an explanation (reality shift) explaining why the myth was just that - a myth. 4 stars!

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (2/07)

Have you been involved in a campaign or a cause, and have stalled while trying to raise money, or have failed to raise what it will take to succeed? Have you and your team struggled for ideas on how to get the capital necessary to move forward? Have you made more phone calls and knocked on more doors than you care to remember, and still didn't meet your goal? If that's the case, then add this book to your repertoire of strategies and plans. It is a must-have. When you've read the book, you'll know what to do and how to do it. You'll know where to go and when to go there. You'll know who to talk to and what to say.

Michael Bassoff and Steve Chandler individually have outstanding experience, education, and abilities in terms of establishing relationships and fundraising. Combined, they are an unbeatable team. They are a first actually - they joined forces to create a strategy that really works. Their approach has people asking you how much money you need rather than you asking them. It significantly reduces those "out of your comfort zone" problems you encounter when asking for donations.

I have an entire career in public service, having served nearly 30 years in law enforcement, and retired as a Chief of Police. As an administrator it was my responsibility to prepare the department's annual budget request - essentially ask for new dollars every year. Having read this book, I wish I'd had it as I stood before the City Council every year. Now, however, I am in the initial stages of campaigning for elected office in the county where I live. Now, I do have their book, and I do have a new strategy for raising the necessary dollars to succeed. I want to say thank you to these fine authors for "RelationShift: Revolutionary Fundraising." They've written a clear and easy to understand book, one that every person involved in any cause needs to get and read. I hope th

Book received free of charge.