Focused Fundraising How to Raise Your Sights and Overcome Overload

Maintain your focus, your productivity, and your sanity in the contemporary fundraising environment

In Focused Fundraising: How to Raise Your Sights and Overcome Overload, accomplished nonprofit management strategists and leaders Christopher Cannon and Michael Felberbaum deliver a must-read combination of the latest mindfulness techniques and operational strategies that will equip you to succeed in an increasingly chaotic, noisy, and confusing fundraising environment. You’ll find concrete strategies to navigate the challenges of modern fundraising, including technology changes, scarce resources, and shifting donor expectations.

In the book, you’ll also find:

• Hands-on skills for sharpening your focus while those around you are giving in to endless distractions
• An insightful combination of big-picture views and micro-considerations that offer a practical roadmap to set and stick with your priorities
• Practical applications of tried and true mindfulness and nonprofit strategy research that you can implement immediately in your organization

An essential, desk-side resource for nonprofit board members, managers, leaders, and team members, Focused Fundraising is a one-of-a-kind toolbox designed to help you tackle the challenges you face every day.

CHRISTOPHER M. CANNON is the President of Management Consulting at Zuri Group, where he advises many of the world’s top nonprofits and oversees projects for clients who raise billions of dollars each year. He is the author of An Executive’s Guide to Fundraising Operations.

MICHAEL FELBERBAUM is the leader of Yale University’s Advancement Systems and the co-founder of Causativity.org. Michael is a long-time mindfulness meditation practitioner and teacher. He also serves as a Board Member of New Haven’s Solar Youth.

Welcome to Focused Fundraising: How to RAISE Your Sights and Overcome Overload

Part 1: The Challenges of Focused Fundraising 11

Chapter 1: The Constant Craziness of Nonprofit Life 11

Chapter 2: Focus Begins By Valuing The Work 13

Chapter 3: You Can Focus Because You Are Mindful 17

Chapter 4: The Tech Tug and Instant Overload 19

Chapter 5: Why Instant Overload is Here to Stay: The 4 M’s 23

Chapter 6: This Is Not the Focus You’re Looking For 29

Part 2: Focus-First: The RAISE Framework 39

Chapter 7: How RAISE Helps 39

Chapter 8: Recognize Your Point of View 44

Chapter 9: Assess Your Standards 47

Chapter 10: Inspire Your Efforts 54

Chapter 11: Structure Your Work 61

Chapter 12: Evolve your Approach 69

Part 3: Focused Fundraising Teams 74

Chapter 13: The Importance of Culture 74

Chapter 14: Prospect Development 79

Chapter 15: Engagement Strategies

Chapter 16: Fundraising Operations

Chapter 17: Strategic Information Management

Chapter 18: The Power of Maturity Models

Chapter 19: Focused Fundraising Maturity Model

Chapter 20: Further Thoughts on Thought Work

Chapter 21: Causativity

Conclusion

RAISE: Practical Examples

References

Acknowledgments

Index

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