How to Connect with Donors and Double the Money You Raise

Reality check. Can you, as the title of this new book by Thomas Wolf says, really double the money you raise?

That depends. If you’re already raising a sizable sum, then, yes, you might well double your revenue by heeding Wolf’s advice. But if you’re raising only modest amounts now, then you should be able to triple or even quadruple your charitable income.

One thing is certain. Most fundraisers haven’t been raising nearly the amount they could, argues Wolf. Too often we see donors through the lens of retention rates, average gifts, moves management, and gift table place setters. It’s as if our donors have become video game avatars we can manipulate. While that may help us harvest low-hanging gifts, fundraisers who reap the real bounty do something many neglect in this era of Facebook. They engage their donors in a multitude of ways, large and small.

Not that it’s always easy to relate to your donors and treat them as the key partners they are. What about when your donor is too demanding? What about when you feel too close to ask? What about when the gift you receive is disappointing? Worst of all, how do you relate, with any degree of authenticity, to a donor you find somewhat offensive? As a first step, you follow Wolf’s advice, which he offers through irresistible, real-life stories about donors. How to Connect with Donors and Double the Money You Raise convincingly shows that successful fundraising is all about turning a name into a relationship. When you do that, the money will flow.

FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

1. I’d love to get to know you better 
2. Enough about me! 
3. What’s wrong with talking about money? 
4. It’s the donor’s ballgame 
5. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! 
6. Remember the children 
7. Can you be too close to ask? 
8. Why isn’t he giving?! 
9. When donors disappoint 
10. Recovering from a fumble 
11. But I can’t stand the fellow! 
12. Whose friend are you anyway? 
13. We honor his memory 
14. Grantmakers need attention too 

Dr. Thomas Wolf’s career encompasses the fields of philanthropy, nonprofit management, education, and the arts.

After serving as the founding Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts for seven years, he established a consulting firm in 1983 (now called WolfBrown) to assist nonprofit organizations and the philanthropic sector.

Helping his clients increase fundraising results and improve management practices, he also assisted 10 of the 50 largest U.S. foundations and various government agencies with their grants programs. At the same time, his workshops and convocations for trustees, administrators, and volunteers have earned him national recognition.

Wolf holds a doctorate in education from Harvard, and has taught at Harvard and Boston Universities. He is the author of the definitive textbook on nonprofit management that has been in print for over a quarter century (now titled Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the 21st Century) and he has written numerous other books and articles.

A professional flutist whose career included touring with the Goldovsky Opera Theatre and founding Bay Chamber Concerts in Maine, he is currently listed in the International Who’s Who of Music.