Reading Essentials for the Development Director

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Source Newsletter for Advancement Header Image

Advancement//

September 14, 2011

While the students at your school get all their new books for the year, we thought we’d ask ISM’s development consultants what books are essentials for their bookshelves. Here are a few they suggest:

Beyond Fundraising: New Strategies for Nonprofit Innovation and Investment, 2nd Edition
By Kay Sprinkel Grace
Fund-raising expert Grace discusses her internationally field-tested core beliefs, principles, and strategies for developing long-term relationships with donor-investors and volunteers.

The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards: A 59-Minute Guide to Ensuring Your Organization’s Future
By Jerold Panas
Written specifically for Board members, Panas reveals how your board can raise surprisingly more money with a tweak here and there. This centers on helping Boards adopt the right habits; it's written by a consultant who has motivated nearly 400 Boards to raise billions of dollars.

Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure a Gift
By Jerold Panas
Panas puts his knowledge and experience in a book that has become America's bestselling book on the subject. Board members and volunteers will learn to ask with skill, finesse, and powerful results.

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
By Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher
Learn how to handle your most difficult conversation with confidence and skill. Get a step-by-step proven approach to having your toughest conversations with less stress—and without defensiveness.

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time
By Susan Scott
This book, includes exercises and tools to take you step by step through the Seven Principles of Fierce Conversations; learn to overcome barriers to meaningful communication;expand and enrich conversations with colleagues, friends, and family; increase clarity and improve understanding; and handle strong emotions on both sides of the table.

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
By Keith Ferrazzi
Ferrazzi is a master networker, and in this book he outlines the specific steps he uses to reach out to thousands of people. He says the secret to success is using the “power of relationships—so that everyone wins.”

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