12 great reads for nonprofit fundraisers

Now that summer is here, you likely have some breathing room to catch up on your to-do list, recharge your battery, and plan for the months ahead. To help you collect ideas and inspiration, members of the LGL team have put together a list of some favorite nonprofit reads. They may not qualify as fluffy beach books, but they’re valuable resources that offer practical advice and strategies, insightful case studies, and motivation for nonprofit professionals:

Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken 

Sometimes we need to take a step back and remember why we get up each day and dedicate ourselves to working for a nonprofit. Hawken’s book explores the history, ideas, and strategies of the social justice movement.

Blessed Unrest [Amazon.com]

Content Marketing for Nonprofits by Kivi Leroux Miller
Find out how to develop, share, and manage content that will inspire people to support your organization. Full of case studies, this book will help you make a plan and put that plan into action.

Content Marketing for Nonprofits

Donor Centered Fundraising by Penelope Burk
Learn how you can implement donor communication and recognition strategies that will build loyalty and support for your organization.

Donor-Centered Fundraising

Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins
31 pages every fundraiser should read!

Good to Great and the Social Sectors

Imagining Abundance by Kerry Alys Robinson
Written for staff of faith-based organizations, this instructive book offers a perspective on fundraising in the context of ministry and mission.

Imagining Abundance

Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
Find out what tools and strategies can help you establish and strengthen your organization’s online presence.

Inbound Marketing

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
All fundraisers can use help making our case more “sticky” (and shorter). Made to Stick will help you do just that.

Made to Stick

Managing the Nonprofit Organization by Peter Drucker
A must-read for nonprofit employees… open it to any page and you’ll likely find some solution to an issue you’re facing (or will face).

Managing the Nonprofit Organization

Retention Fundraising by Roger Craver
Explore the seven key drivers that deepen a donor’s commitment, the eight primary reasons why donors stop giving, and the major barriers to donor retention.

Retention Fundraising

The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist
Examines our relationship with money and how changing that relationship can transform our lives.

The Soul of Money

When to Rob a Bank by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
No, we aren’t suggesting that you add “rob a bank” to your development plan! This book, from the authors of Freakonomics, explores answers to seemingly mundane questions and can help you shift your perspective to find new solutions to the challenges your organization faces.

When to Rob a Bank

Zilch by Nancy Lublin
Lublin’s pragmatic book will energize you and help you amplify your ability to accomplish a lot with limited resources.

Zilch

Do you have a favorite resource to add to LGL’s summer reading list? Tell us about it on our Facebook page.