A guide to better and more strategic fundraising, Donor Cultivation and the Donor Life Cycle Map (©2013, John Wiley & Sons) presents the donor lifecycle map, which is circular in form, revealing how the convergence of the two subject matters—cultivation and the lifecycle map—can lead to better and more strategic fundraising. Author Deborah Kaplan Policy addresses the topic of cultivation and how, when focused over the donor lifecycle, it can become a logical and focused activity for obtaining increasingly large gifts. The book also offers step-by-step guidance and practical tools for understanding and making the most of the donor lifecycle and features a companion website with a variety of online tools to help readers implement key concepts. Donor Cultivation and the Donor Life Cycle Map seeks to change the perspective from transactional fundraising to recurring fundraising, beginning with the first donation and extending to the very last—an endowment that keeps on giving even after death.
“Traditional networking is backwards, focusing on what you can get from people rather than what you can give to people,” says Ken Williams, co-author with Ron Sukenick of a business fable 21 Days to Success Through Networking: The Life and Times of Gnik Rowten (©2013, Information Today). The book instructs readers how to identify new networking opportunities and receive guidance on expanding the personal networks they have. Among the learnings:
- The act of giving is its own reward; you can give time, assistance, energy, and resources without the expectation of anything in return;
- What goes around, comes around; if you help others, it is more likely that others will want to help you in return;
- You can give others the gift or your attention; listen twice as much as you speak;
- You need to constantly feed your mind and your network; there is no substitute for facts, information, knowledge, and connections;
- Following up with everyone you meet is a powerful way to formalize relationships and build better networks.
Leadership, according to Patrick Gogniat, author of Lead Truly (©2013, Xlibris Corporation), is about taking initiatives, paving the way, moving forward, innovating, seizing opportunities, and taking on challenges and responsibilities. In his book, he shares 33 basic steps to becoming the most productive and competitive leader in nonprofits. His ideas are basic and not new. Among his tips:
- Lead your way. Achieve what you want.
- Lead with value, quality, and excellence. Develop and maximize your strengths, talents, skills, competence, expertise, knowledge. Surpass yourself.
- Lead and act with a clear vision, clear goals, clear priorities, and a clear plan.
- Be smart; be creative; be sharp.
Leaders can inspire and engage, or they can disappoint and disillusion employees. Many employees are disengaged at work because they have an ineffective boss, manager or leader. Management and leadership are at a point of fatigue from years of recession, cuts, limited resources and being asked to do more with less. In yet another fable, Survival of the Hive: 7 Leadership Lessons from a Beehive (©2013, AuthorHouse), by Deborah Mackin and Matthew Harrington, takes the lid off a beehive and provides a look at effective leadership through the eyes of one of the world’s most industrious creatures, the honeybee. The book offers seven tools of leadership that will help readers learn how to build accountability, communicate more effectively, engage and motivate the workforce, and sustain loyalty and commitment. Among these tools:
- Good leaders are obsessed with what is good for the whole organization over what is good for any one person, department, or team;
- Strong leadership needs to be practices every day; leaders need the ability to remain calm and unify, to seek out resources needed to face any impending crisis;
- Good leaders foster a culture of collaboration, cooperation, and trust, building a belief that being in a group will produce something more exceptional than going it alone;
- Leaders need to build passion and yearning among their team, designating accountability and responsibility to every employee of the organization;
- Spontaneous and continuous communication is a must of good leadership;
- Leaders must be immersed in the flow of work in their organizations, rather than observing from a removed position; great leaders put themselves at the center of the organization and are able to move freely amongst the workforce;
- Leaders need to be ready to respond to internal and external threats to the organization.