The Five Strategies for Fundraising Success: A Mission-Based Guide to Achieving Your Goals (The Mal Warwick Fundraising Series) (Hardcover)

by Mal Warwick (Author) "Why do you do what you do?..." (more)
Key Phrases: emerging strategic plan, thousand new donors, monthly sustainer program, Potential Plus, Visibility Strategy, Conductor's Club (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Mal Warwick has done it again! Read this book and follow the five strategies--and you will be certain of success. Whatever stage you are in your career, this book will chart a precise road map for greater production and towering results. The field's most prolific writer makes it marvelously understandable in a book that's easy and fun to read." (Jerold Panas, consultant and author of Mega-Gifts and Born to Raise)

"Mal gets right into the subject with pointed clarity--a Warwick trademark I value highly. He addresses his topics point by point, explains each, demonstrates how they work with realistic examples, and moves on quickly. You want to keep reading to his next point to see where it leads. You don't have to agree but you will have to think about how each point might be used in your own organization.... Mal moves up the bar again with new performance evaluation and measurement tools by demonstrating how his five strategies spell fundraising success." (James M. Greenfield, author of Fund-Raising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process)

"Warwick's newest book mixes effective techniques he has tested over decades and his clear analysis of human motivations. Veteran fundraisers will get Warwick's invaluable worksheets to evaluate their work. New professionals will get a candid portrayal of the pitfalls to avoid. Everyone will get a great overview of fundraising to make the best choices about raising money for permanent, powerful organizations." (Joan M. Flanagan, consultant and author of Successful Fundraising)

"Warwick's extensive experience in nonprofit consulting is evident in this practical guidebook on fundraising. Particularly helpful are the case examples which illustrate his five fundraising strategies and the pitfalls inherent in adopting strategies that are inconsistent with the organization's mission and long-term goals. The book is an easy read for those interested in nonprofit development, whether or not they are experienced fundraising professionals." (Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, president and CEO, National Society of Fund Raising Executives)

Product Description
In this practical and engaging guide, top fundraising consultant Mal Warwick introduces an entirely new and revolutionary approach to fundraising strategy and planning. He shows nonprofit organizations how to set fundraising goals based on mission and how to select, implement, and stay with the right strategies to meet those goals. His five fundamental fundraising strategies are Growth, Involvement, Visibility, Efficiency, and Stability (GIVES), all of which link directly to specific and appropriate fundraising goals. The decision as to which strategy to use springs from the organization's mission, and all fundraising activities are focused on fulfilling that mission.

Through real-world examples, Warwick shows readers how to choose a primary strategy that will drive both long-term fundraising planning and day-to-day fundraising activities. He then takes them step by step through the process of integrating the strategy into current operations, evaluating its progress, and sticking to the chosen strategy while facing the inevitable changes, obstacles, and setbacks that nonprofits encounter every day. He also provides self-tests to help readers determine which strategy and tactics will be most effective for their organizations. The Five Strategies for Fundraising Success ensures that organizations make informed, productive decisions about their futures.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (October 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787949949
• ISBN-13: 978-0787949945
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #51 in

  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Philanthropy & Charity

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars for Five Strategies, March 1, 2001

By	Lane Gewecke Consulting (Lincoln, NE USA) - See all my reviews

The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series adds another excellent resource with the publication of Mal Warwick's book, The Five Strategies for Fundraising Success: A mission-based guide to achieving your goals.

The central thesis of this nearly 300-page volume is that the way you raise funds for your organization can help you achieve your mission. Warwick finds that too often organizations tie their fund raising to short-term, fiscal year goals that require fund raisers to "get the money in the door now" rather than taking the time to cultivate donors for larger, future gifts.

In The Five Strategies, Warwick introduces the reader to the GIVES System, a method for analyzing, planning and evaluating an organization's fundraising strategy. The strategies are: Growth, Involvement, Visibility, Efficiency and Stability, hence GIVES.

In discussing Growth as a fundraising strategy, Warwick is not focusing on raising more money per se, but rather on broadening the donor base, having more donors next year than this year, and still more the year after that. A Growth strategy, according to this book, is dynamic and is characterized by audacious goals, bold leadership and low entry-level gifts.

Involvement as a strategy takes organizations beyond seeking gifts from donors to building stronger relationships with them. When supporters are active and committed, organizations can raise far more money. Organizations for whom public opinion is crucial are encouraged to adopt a Visibility strategy. Characteristics of the strategy are broad public interest, many stakeholders and brand identification.

Raising money at the lowest possible cost per dollar raised is the key to an Efficiency strategy. Planned giving, major gift programs, foundation and corporate grant solicitation and monthly giving are among the tactics that can be employed in an efficiency strategy. Warwick warns, however, that efficiency isn't always the best approach. A careful analysis of the organization's strategic choices is required.

Endurance is the core attribute of the Stability strategy. Among the tactics that can be used in a stability strategy are to build an endowment fund; employ electronic funds transfer (EFT) for fulfillment of donor pledges and engage in diversified fundraising activities.

Selecting a strategy must take into account the life cycle of the development program, the age of the organization, or both. For each of the five strategies, Warwick provides several real-life examples, not all of them success stories. This is very helpful for understanding how it might work and in identifying potential pitfalls. Warwick points out that a single strategy is not likely to remain appropriate for all time for any given organization.

The book provides details on how to pick the right strategy for your organization, common obstacles to implementing the strategies, what fundraising tactics will work with each strategy and how to evaluate your strategies.

My only disagreement with Warwick is in his definitions of vision and mission. He defines vision as why your organization exists and mission as what it does. I see the mission as clarification of purpose and an indicator of why the organization is doing what it does, while vision is what the organization aspires to look like after it succeeds in implementing its strategies and achieving its potential. That difference of opinion aside, I think the book is a wonderful resource for everyone involved in the fundraising effort, from CEO's to development officers to board members to donors themselves.

Warwick's previous books have been related to direct response fundraising and most are "How-To" books. If you are looking for a book that provides a formula or set of instructions, The Five Strategies is not it. What you will find in this book, however, is a way to think strategically about your fundraising efforts. Mal Warwick's hope with The Five Strategies is that he can help those who work for and on behalf of not-for-profit organizations understand the consequences of the resource allocation choices they face and do a better job raising money for a sector that never has enough.

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising Money? Start here!, May 2, 2002

By A Customer

I'm using this book as a crutch in my volunteer activities with a local non-profit. It's excellently written and helps as a primer for both the strategic and tactical parts of our efforts. I highly recommended as a starting point and a reference for any individual or group that is looking for a good framework to help approach the highly-complex and difficult world of getting the fuel to make a non-profit successful.