If every board member of every nonprofit organization across America read this book, it’s no exaggeration to say that millions upon millions of additional dollars would be raised. 
How could it be otherwise when, after spending just one hour with this gem, board members everywhere would understand virtually everything they need to know about raising major gifts. Not more, not less. Just exactly what they need to do to be successful. 
In his book, Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations, David Lansdowne has distilled the essence of major gifts fund raising, put it in the context of 47 "realities," and delivered it in unfailingly clear prose. 
Nothing about this book will intimidate board members. It is brief, concise, easy to read, and free of all jargon. Further, it is a work that motivates, showing as it does just how doable raising big money is. 
The appeal of Fund Raising Realities is that Lansdowne addresses every important principle and technique of fund raising, and explains them in a succinct way board members will grasp immediately. In other words, Fund Raising Realities puts everyone on a level playing field - board member with board member, and board member with staff. 
Put this book in your board’s hands, put it in your board orientation packet, put it anywhere you need the successful practice of fund raising masterfully illuminated.

Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations

Business & Money

Lansdowne, David

Management & Leadership

Emerson & Church

Why of all the hundreds of fundraising books available did AmeriCorps Vista, with offices throughout the U.S., single out The Relentlessly Practical Guide to Fundraising as the premier book on the subject and provide a copy to thousands of its staff? 
Read David Lansdowne’s acclaimed work and you’ll quickly understand why. 
No other writer in the field is as succinct, yet comprehensive. Nor do others have Lansdowne’s trademark gift of extracting the essence of a technique and illuminating it in unfailingly clear prose. 
Lansdowne plumbs every major aspect of fundraising: from annual campaigns to capital campaigns, from major gifts to Internet fundraising, from planned giving to direct mail to prospect research. 
Each chapter is delivered with heat-seeking precision. For example, do you want to know how to establish a gift club for donors? Turn to that chapter and chances are you'll learn more in the nine pages than you would from reading an entire book on the subject. 
The same goes for attracting corporate support. Yes, you could spend hours boning up on the topic. But there's no need, as Lansdowne discusses everything you should know in a mere 11 pages. 
There are other standout chapters that lift this book above others. 
• "The 16 Best Pieces of Fundraising Advice" may be the best rendering of its kind put to pen. • "Fundraising's 20 Biggest Mistakes" is a masterful discussion that alerts you to each and every red flag. • "Fundraising Myths" explores more than a dozen pernicious myths that many still labor under. • And, "What Every Board Member Must Know to Succeed," should be required reading for any trustee serving a gift-supported organization. 
Here's ‘real world’ guidance you can put into practice literally today.

The relentlessly practical guide to raising serious money: Proven strategies for nonprofit organizations

The Relentlessly Practical Guide to Raising Serious Money: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

After spending just one hour with Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face, among the Top Three bestselling fundraising books of all time, board members and volunteers will understand exactly what they need to do to raise major gifts. David Lansdowne has distilled the essence of big gifts fund raising, put it in the context of 47 "realities," and delivered it in gin clear prose. A perfect companion to Jerold Panas' acclaimed book, Asking.

Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face - Revised Edition: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations

Revised and updated third edition 
From the first page, you and your board will be hooked on this one-hour-to-read book. The warmth, the encouragement, the perfectly tuned examples, the occasional humor – it’s an inviting package that draws you at once. Even Jerold Panas, the 800-lb gorilla of fundraising and author of Asking, is effusive with praise: “David Lansdowne has achieved the near-impossible. He has transformed a classic work that’s guided tens of thousands of board members and made it better – significantly better.”\nWithout wasting a word, Lansdowne distills the essence of big-gifts fundraising into 42 “realities,” and explains each principle and technique in a way board members will understand immediately.\nPut this classic in your board’s hands, in their orientation packet, in their annual meeting folder, in their workshop handouts. Put it anywhere you need the art of fundraising illuminated in a masterful, uncomplicated, and engaging way.\nTable of Contents 
Foreword 
1 You’re a Hero 
2 The Buck Starts Here 
3 Define Your Mission 
4 Your Rationale Must Be Compelling 
5 Be Ready or Regroup 
6 Who Leads Influences Who Gives 
7 No Goal, No Objective 
8 Everyone Dislikes Asking 
9 Money Costs Money 
10 Consultants Will and Won’t 
11 Individuals are the Target 
12 A Few Contribute the Most 
13 Think in Thirds 
14 Interviews Are Revealing 
15 Calling All Recruits 
16 Those Who Set the Goal, Set Their Sights 
17 Special Events are Double-Edged 
18 Publicity Is No Substitute 
19 Forego the Frills 
20 That You Need, Won’t Inspire 
21 What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You 
22 Wealth Alone Doesn’t Dictate 
23 Each According to Their Means 
24 Go Figure 
25 Big Before Little 
26 Come a Little Closer 
27 Time Commands 
28 Stay on Top or Go Under 
29 Training Begets Bigger Gifts 
30 Those Who Ask Must Give First 
31 Teams Work 
32 Overloaded Solicitors Underproduce 
33 Make a Match 
34 More Alike Than Not 
35 Get Personal 
36 Your Donor is Expecting You 
37 Your Secret to Success 
38 No Apology Needed 
39 Return Visits Required 
40 Gratitude to One and All 
41 Simplicity Prevails 
42 An Evaluation Enlightens

Fundraising Realities Every Board Member Must Face: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations