Major Gift Fundraising for Small Shops: How to Leverage Your Annual Fund in Only Five Hours per Week

If you only get one book about fundraising, this should be it. Written very clearly, very how-to, she breaks it up into all the steps. She gives the theoretical and statistical background why some things work (like making thank you phone calls) but not too much. Very, very helpful. If your organization does what it says to do in this book, you WILL succeed in raising money! I read a lot of books about fundraising; this one is exceptional.

I work as the only fundraiser in an office of 6, at an org with a budget under $350,000. This book has been super helpful since a colleague recommended it!

I really love all of the books that are part of the Trenches series. They really are a must read for those entering the fundraising field or seasoned professionals to learn some new tricks.

Excellent! Clear and easy reading.

very helpful

By way of background, I've served as VP of Development for a large nonprofit hospital chain, as chief development officer at a large West Coast university, and as legal counsel for over three decades to several hundred nonprofit organizations. As a lawyer, I worked with donors on structuring major gifts, and advised organizations receiving them. More to the point of this book, in the early days of my career I co-founded two successful parochial schools, helped plant a church, and co-founded an organization that feeds the homeless in our region. This broad experience gives me a perspective on major gift fundraising in both the large-institution context and the small-shop context.Amy Eisenstein has nailed it. She simply "gets" that those who work for and on behalf of nonprofits with small development shops have challenges (and opportunities) that those in large development shops simply don't have. I know that those of us who are veterans in the nonprofit world say this too often, but in this case, it's true: I wish I had this book when I was launching those nonprofit organizations in my early career. But I know of plenty of folks in small development shops, and I have happily been recommending this book.

Having been a one-woman development department at a small, community-based nonprofit organization earlier in my career, I understand the challenges faced by small shops, especially when it comes to major gift solicitation.I had no formal fundraising training when I took my first job as a director of development – and I really wish that this book had been around to guide me!In this book, Amy’s goal is to encourage nonprofits, small ones especially, to “mine the diamonds hidden within their own database(s)” rather than spend a lot of time, money and effort searching for new donors and succumbing to “shiny new object” syndrome.What I like most is that the book is about the doing. How can a tiny nonprofit get a major gifts program up and running – and thriving – in just five hours a week? Amy shows you how.Many fundraising books spend a lot of time on the importance of fundraising. Amy’s book jumps right into the action steps that nonprofits can take today to build and sustain a major gifts program.~Julia Campbell, J Campbell Social Marketing[...]

This is the fundraising blueprint you've been looking for!As a nonprofit marketing strategist, I'm deep into fundraising. And, like most professionals, I am continually striving to build my skills and knowledge base.But so much fundraising content (books, blogs and training) repeats the same old thing on the basics of fundraising. Amy breaks through that barrier here—demystifying major gift fundraising, thereby making it accessible to even the smallest or most short-staffed nonprofit!I found this to be a clear, ambitious but realistic path to building a productive major gifts program for small fundraising teams or taking your major gifts approach to the next level. Jump on it! I think you'll see what I mean.

I've been worked in major gifts for a few years and this book is absolutely great for anyone just starting out or if you've been doing it for years. Very useful information