High Impact Philanthropy: How Donors, Boards, and Nonprofit Organizations Can Transform Communities [Hardcover]

High Praise for High Impact Philanthropy

"Successful navigation through today's changing world of philanthropy requires greater understanding by nonprofits and donors. High Impact Philanthropy meets this need."-Roberta W. Gutman, Executive Director, Motorola Foundation

"At a time when the terrain of American philanthropy is so rapidly shifting in new and unprecedented ways, this bright and focused analysis stands as a beacon of innovative thinking for donors and community organizers alike. By sketching in bold strokes the case for more effective collaborative giving, this book may well help transform our communities in the twenty-first century."-Peter deCourcy Hero,President, Community Foundation Silicon Valley

"High Impact Philanthropy provides a thoughtful analysis of how venture philanthropy is changing the way nonprofits run and how philanthropists give. Important parallels are made to the business world, demonstrating how nonprofits and donors can both benefit from putting their business hats on and running their organizations and giving programs like businesses."-Jan D'Alessandro Wadsworth, Vice President, AOL Foundation

"High Impact Philanthropy is an effective and articulate guide to planning a major gifts strategy, soliciting major gifts from individuals in a personable and efficient manner, and integrating this essential task into the very structure of a nonprofit organization."-Claude Rosenberg, Founder, New Tithing Group

A definitive text about transformational philanthropy in the 21st century. A guide for nonprofit organizations, their staff leaders, their board members, other volunteers, and the nonprofit donor-investor. Includes eight main ideas of philanthropy, including solid strategies for traditional major gifts programs to make them transformational. DLC: Fund raising.

The public’s perception of and interest in philanthropy has grown at Internet speed during the past decade. Front-page newspaper and magazine articles announce major transformational gifts in all parts of the United States and the world, and provide commentary on the impact of a thriving economy on what has long been known as the Third Sector (with business and government). It has been called a Golden Age for philanthropy–the exciting convergence of a robust economy, a maturing philanthropic sector, and a growing awareness of opportunities to participate in the shaping of vigorous communities through private infusion of funds into social, health, educational, cultural, and other programs.

This book is about change: changes that can happen in communities when philanthropy succeeds, and changes that must happen within the nonprofit sector if those truly transforming investments are to be made.

This book was written by two people with one goal: to write a definitive book about transformational giving and its impact on twenty-first-century philanthropy.

It has been written for nonprofit organizations, their staff leaders, their board members, and other volunteers, and for the nonprofit donor-investor. As such, it is a guide to maximizing both the process and the impact of philanthropy.

Kay Sprinkel Grace, building on her successful book Beyond Fund Raising: New Strategies for Innovation and Investment in Nonprofits (Wiley), positions High Impact Philanthropy as a philosophical and strategic handbook; Alan Wendroff, keying off his successful Special Events (Wiley), provides additional strategy, case studies, and tactics. Together, the authors round out the body of information and ideas that provide both inspiration and tools for the reader.

There are eight key ideas that frame this book:

• Philanthropy is increasingly issue-based and donor-driven
• High impact philanthropy occurs when there is a balanced partnership between the community (identifying the needs), the nonprofit (addressing the needs), and the donor-investor (providing the resources to meet the needs)
• There is a major difference between transactional giving and transformational giving, and it is the latter that leads to high impact philanthropy
• A major key to attracting transformational gifts is issue-based and values-driven marketing
• Nonprofits, themselves change agents, need to change their practices and processes now if they are to attract transformational gifts
• The "new philanthropists" have varied profiles but many common characteristics that present new opportunities for nonprofits
• Stewardship of the donor is increasingly donor-designed but must be seen as a philosophical commitment on the part of the organization
• Deliberate evaluation of results as the basis for measuring and communicating impact has never been more important

As a foundation to these new ideas, the authors provide solid strategies for more traditional major gifts programs and show how they can grow into transformational giving that leads to high impact philanthropy.

Filled with real-world insights, planning tips, and warning flags regarding common misperceptions and pitfalls to avoid, High Impact Philanthropy provides the answers to pivotal questions such as:

• Who are the new major donors and what are they looking for?
• How do I determine and develop the best strategies for my organization?
• How do I build an organizational culture that will lead to transformational giving?

. . . and much more to equip development officers, managers, board members, and donor-investors from a range of nonprofits–from homeless shelters to major universities–to more effectively help their organizations achieve their mission and strengthen their communities.

High Praise for High Impact Philanthropy

"Successful navigation through today’s changing world of philanthropy requires greater understanding by nonprofits and donors. High Impact Philanthropy meets this need."–Roberta W. Gutman, Executive Director, Motorola Foundation

"At a time when the terrain of American philanthropy is so rapidly shifting in new and unprecedented ways, this bright and focused analysis stands as a beacon of innovative thinking for donors and community organizers alike. By sketching in bold strokes the case for more effective collaborative giving, this book may well help transform our communities in the twenty-first century."–Peter deCourcy Hero,President, Community Foundation Silicon Valley

"High Impact Philanthropy provides a thoughtful analysis of how venture philanthropy is changing the way nonprofits run and how philanthropists give. Important parallels are made to the business world, demonstrating how nonprofits and donors can both benefit from putting their business hats on and running their organizations and giving programs like businesses."–Jan D’Alessandro Wadsworth, Vice President, AOL Foundation

"High Impact Philanthropy is an effective and articulate guide to planning a major gifts strategy, soliciting major gifts from individuals in a personable and efficient manner, and integrating this essential task into the very structure of a nonprofit organization."–Claude Rosenberg, Founder, New Tithing Group