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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Book Reviews : Book Review |
Ask and You Shall Receive: A Fundraising Training Program for Religious Organizations and Projects
By Kim Klein
Leader Manual, 159 pages, US$19.95 Participant Manual, 75 pages, US$7.95 Published by Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 888-378-2537
Reviewed by Wayne E. Groner, CFRE
Co-author, The Pastor's Guide to Fund-Raising SuccessThis excellent training program is designed to help small, grassroots organizations understand basic fundraising principles and to get them started with meaningful fundraising activities. It was written for volunteers who have little or no experience in fundraising.
Klein's approach is ecumenical, "for those who find the word spiritual more accurate in describing what they believe than the word religious." She writes in simple and clear language from her perspective of more than twenty-five years as a staff fundraiser, volunteer, board member, trainer and consultant for social change organizations.
The program covers preparing a budget, writing a case statement, finding the best special events for your situation, using direct mail, and asking for the gift. Klein prepares you for success by presenting concepts in an easy-to-understand manner and by offering practices that are readily accomplished. Strategies for complex fundraising activities are not included, such as proposal writing, planned giving, and capital campaigns.
Each of the fourteen training sessions is planned to last sixty to ninety minutes. Class sizes are anticipated to be seven to twenty persons. The sessions could be presented over a period of weeks or condensed into a two-day workshop. The leader does not have to be a professional fundraiser or even an experienced fundraiser.
There are three major parts to the program: Fundraising Basics, five sessions; Choosing the Appropriate Strategy, seven sessions; and Creating a Fundraising Plan, two sessions. Each session includes statements of outcome, learning techniques to be used, presentation of the topic and discussion, and an exercise. The leader will need to do considerable preparation and class members will have homework.
Not everyone will agree with the order of Klein's five steps to creating a fundraising plan. She puts making a budget as the first step, while many fundraisers make their budgets after all other aspects of their plans are known. Her other four steps are on target.
The participant manual includes worksheets, checklists, and bibliography. The leader manual has a bibliography and a list of major organizations providing services to nonprofits, with Web addresses of the organizations.
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