Alumni Authors Recently published works
Ask Without Fear! A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most
money. Love your donors. The underlying aim of all four steps is to build authentic relationships with your donors because “people are always more important than their gifts.”
by Marc A. Pitman ’91
Marc covers the seven most common fundraising myths and the biggest mistakes fundraisers tend to make. He also provides assessments to help fundraisers communicate more effectively with donors and colleagues. Many examples are actual stories that illustrate what works and what doesn’t.
Asking for money makes many people uncomfortable—including fundraisers. In Ask Without Fear! Marc Pitman provides readers with simple tools to help face the fear of “the ask” and put the fun back into fundraising. His book is not only for professional development staff, but also board members and volunteer solicitors. Marc developed a fundraising approach he calls R.E.A.L.—Do your Research. Engage your prospect. Ask for
Author Brian Tracy writes, “This short, practical book gives you a series of step-by-step methods to raise more money, faster and easier than you ever thought possible.”
Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins: How Absolutely Anyone Can Pitch In, Help Out, Give Back, and Make the World a Better Place by David T. Levinson ’77 If you are new to volunteering or want to make the most of your commitment, David Levinson’s how-to guide for the socially conscious will tell you everything you need to know. David is the founder and executive director of Big Sunday, a non-profit that organizes 50,000+ volunteers at work on projects throughout California. “Everyone helps, everyone wins” is Big Sunday’s motto.
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Milton Magazine
David’s book asks simple but important questions: Why are you volunteering? Who needs your help? How big of a commitment do you want to make? He then offers ways to match specific skills to a particular cause or non-profit. He covers group volunteering; leadership roles; and outlines ten ways to be a good volunteer and ten ways to be a bad one. The book’s appendix contains 52 ways in which you can give of yourself in the coming year, whether it’s donating blood, singing at a nursing home, walking/running/biking for a charity, or helping out at a food bank or animal shelter. Actor and Big Sunday volunteer Jason Alexander writes, “David Levinson’s wonderful book on volunteering shows you how to do it all: from giving someone a fish to showing them how to fish. If you have a heart, this book will show you how to share it.”