2013 Wishlist of Books for Nonprofit Folk and Blockbuster Giveaway !!!!!

Update: 12/4/13 - Nancy Iannone is the winner of Amy Sample Ward's Social Change Anytime Everywhere and Patty Manwaring is the winner of Measuring the Networked Nonprofit.  Congratulations to both of you.  And a big thank you to Beth Kanter and Amy Sample Ward for offering their books in this giveaway.

Giveaways - Measuring the Networked Nonprofit and Social Change Anytime Everywhere

This is the fifth year I am writing the Wishlist of Books for Nonprofit Folk which has grown and grown since its inception.  This year I am soooooo excited to be offering the Terry McAdam Book Award winner and finalist as giveaways as part of the post.  Can you believe it – I hardly can!  Beth Kanter is offering her Measuring the Networked Nonprofit and Amy Sample Ward is offering Social Change Anytime Everywhere.

This is a curated list with recommendations made by nonprofit thought leaders covering a wide range of topics including governance, finance, social media, board development, marketing, mergers and more. 

I publish this list at this time of year because I think a book is the perfect holiday gift for that someone special in your nonprofit network – whether they are on the board or staff.  Any of these books would be a very thoughtful gift.

First up are the two books that are being given away – compliments of the authors.  Details to enter the giveaway are at the end of the post.

Measuring the Networked Nonprofit: Using Data to Change the World

by Beth Kanter and KD Paine
JD Lasica was the first response to my request for recommendations saying that this is “The one I always recommend.”  Measuring the Networked Nonprofit is this year’s Terry McAdam Book Award winner. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management  confers  the Terry McAdam Book Award to the most inspirational and useful new book published which makes a substantial contribution to nonprofit management.  It is the most prestigious book award that a book for nonprofits can receive.  Well deserved by Beth and Allyson, this book should be on the bookshelf of every nonprofit executive.

Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money, and Engage your Community by Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward

I personally recommend Amy’s book – it is both inspirational and practical.  Amy and Allyson advocate integrating multiple channels into your communications strategy and they use lots of excellent examples and case studies.  Social Change Anytime Everywhere was a Terry McAdam Book Award finalist  - recognized as one of the best nonprofit books of the year.  See all I had to say at this blog post:  Social Change Anytime Everywhere – Think MultichannelStrategy


Heather Carpenter, PhD, Assistant Professor, Grand Valley State University recommendations:

Heather is a young PhD already with a wealth of practical, academic and research experience in the nonprofit field.  Heather is using these books as texts in her courses this term and this is what she had to say about them:  “These books are practical and provide concrete help for successfully running a nonprofit… the research I've done shows that nonprofit managers still need the core financial management and fundraising skills to effectively run their organizations.”  Hey, Heather,  I completely agree and this is an excellent set of current books which address both basic and more advanced skills for nonprofit leaders.
 
Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals by Darian Rodriguez Heyman

Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability by  Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka and Steve Zimmerman

Fundraising for Social Change by Kim Klein

Budgeting and Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations by Lynne A. Weikart and Greg G. Chen

Amy Sample Ward recommends....

Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series)by Kivi Leroux Miller

Another important fundamental for nonprofits is marketing and no one knows more about nonprofit marketing than Kivi Leroux Miller.  Amy Sample Ward called this book simply “Great.”  And that’s the word from the reviews at Amazon.  This is a must have for nonprofit marketing.

Moving onto Board and Governance Issues…..

You and Your Nonprofit Board: Advice and Practical Tips from the Field's Top Practitioners, Researchers, and Provocateurs edited by Terrie Temkin

I was so proud to be a contributor to this book.  Terrie Temkin and Debra Beck offered these comments:  Terrie:  “This anthology is comprised of 38 strong, knowledgeable voices from around the world - each taking a different approach to deal with some critical aspect of governance. The reviews have been stellar. One reason is that the book speaks to governance as it exists today, not last year or even yesterday.”   Debra says of Terrie:  “She picked the brains of some of the great governance writers and practitioners, offering from-the-field wisdom about what it takes to support and inspire nonprofit boards to perform to their highest potential (and their greatest aspirations). Advice is highly practical as well, and infinitely do-able. “  See my post for more on this volume:

You and Your Nonprofit Board – Just Published

Debra Beck recommends these two additional books with governance topics:

The Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership: Building High-Performing Nonprofit Boards by Cathy Trower

Debra Beck comments: “Cathy provided the desperately needed follow-up to Chait, Ryan and Taylor's seminal "Governance as Leadership." She offers practical, grounded approaches for applying GAL in the field, based in large part on her own research and her work in the sector. Those of us who responded to Chait et al's work with, "Wow! Now what?" now have the "Now what…"

Nonprofit Governance: Innovative Perspectives and Approaches (Routledge Contemporary Corporate Governance) edited by Chris Cornforth and William A. Brown 

Debra is a contributor to this volume and she describes it as, “articulate, in practitioner-friendly ways, the best and latest research that has the potential to impact board practice. Each chapter explores a different study and a different aspect of what actually happens in nonprofit boardrooms. It offers insights into some of the more pressing "how" and "why" questions and research that attempts to address them.”

The Nonprofit Mergers Part I: The Leader's Guide to Considering, Negotiating, and Executing a Merger by David La Piana

David LaPiana says that this book on nonprofit mergers continues to be a strong seller and he recommends it for this list. If your Board is thinking about this subject, reading this book is the place to learn about everything to consider.

Each year this list features books that are not nonprofit specific but that are recommended by contributors for us nonprofit folk.  There is always something that I would not otherwise have known about that turns out to be a great read.  This year there are two recommendations:

Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype by Jay Baer

John Haydon recommends it (so you have to read it, right.)  John says that Jay Bear “talks about how content marketers shouldn't focus on being awesome, they should focus on being useful. The book covers many examples, mostly for-profit, but the ideas in the book can easily be translated to a nonprofit. Finally, it's a quick read and is organized like a guidebook on the topic.”  Sounds to me like it is for the grown-up crowd.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Nell Edgington writes that Susan Cain helps you appreciate that you must understand and tap into your unique skills and abilities (whatever they may be) in order to make real change happen.  Nell says “the quiet wisdom of this book – it really makes you think, which introverts often encourage us to do.”

So there you have it – a wide range of books running the gamut on topics from the practical to more research driven works.  Whether you are making a wishlist for your own library of thinking of a perfect gift to give, there is probably a gem on this list.

My thanks to all of the thought leading contributors for sharing their recommendations with us and a special thank you to Beth Kanter and Amy Sample Ward for offering their highly acclaimed books as giveways for this annual post.

Giveaway Details

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Measuring the Networked Nonprofit by Beth Kanter and KD Paine or Social Change Anytime Anywhere by Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward  just leave a comment here about the list or add a book you would recommend.  Another way to enter is to visit the MarionConway – Nonprofit Consultant  facebook page and leave a comment on the post about this giveaway.  The winner will be chosen using random.org from all comments made by midnight, December 2, 2013.

If you enter the giveaway, please email me your email address and preferred book if you win – marionconway@gmail.com.  I will not use your email address for anything other than to contact you if you are a winner.

All of these books are at Amazon.  Just click on the title below and you’ll be at Amazon.

Marion