2014 Wishlist of Books for Nonprofit Folk and Giveaway

Update:  The giveaway is now closed.  Also check out the 2013 Wishlist here. 

This is the sixth year I am writing the Wishlist of Books for Nonprofit Folk which has grown and grown since its inception. I am unabashedly proud of this diverse, curated list.  This year, for the second year in a row, the Terry McAdam Book Award winner will be the featured book and giveaway book on the list. 
Kivi Leroux Miller has graciously agreed to offer her award winning Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money as a giveaway for the post.  

I also extend a huge thank you to the nonprofit thought leaders who contributed to this list.  They are Debra Beck, Kathleen Brennan, Heather Carpenter,  Linda Czipo, Pamela Grow, John Haydon, Beth Kanter and  Marc A. Pitman.  What a stellar list of contributors! 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.  Any of these books would be a very thoughtful gift.

To give some order to the list, I have arranged it loosely into three sections:

• Marketing and Communication
• Planning and Leadership
• Fundraising

Marketing and Communication

First up is Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money which is the giveaway this year compliments of the author, Kivi Le Roux Miller.

The way this list is put together is that I send an email to nonprofit sector leaders and changemakers and ask for their recommendations.  The very first reply I had was from John Haydon who recommended this book and said: “Content Marketing for Nonprofits by Kivi is a must. I love this book because it walks you through, step-by-step, the process for creating a comprehensive content marketing strategy. Each chapter is full of tactics that nonprofits can put into action right away.” 

It is the winner of the prestigious Terry McAdam Award which is annually awarded by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management to

the most inspirational and useful new book published which makes a substantial contribution to nonprofit management.  The Chair of the 2014 Committee, describes Kivi’s book as “a fun and insightful read that guides the management of nonprofit organizations to integrate marketing and communications with community engagement, fundraising and programmatic services. It provides the approach with both depth and practical application and examples.”  This is a must have in any nonprofit personal library.  Details to enter the giveaway are at the end of the post.  Visit Kivi’s website here.

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

​Also recommended by John Haydon – Nonprofit author, web creator, #1 Facebook maven

John says:  “For Nonprofit marketers who feel like they can't write, or feel overwhelmed with starting a blog or writing E-mail newsletters, this book provides tactics to help even the "non-writer" get started.​”

Your Perfect Presentation: Speak in Front of Any Audience Anytime Anywhere and Never Be Nervous Again by Bill Hoogterp
Recommended by Linda Czipo, Executive Director at NJ Center for Non-Profits

Linda says, “It offers a wide array of tips, techniques, exercises, etc., to strengthen public speaking skills in a variety of situations. Even if you only use a fraction of the information, it will improve your effectiveness as a speaker.

Thiagi's Interactive Lectures: Power Up Your Training With Interactive Games and Exercises by Sivasailam Thiagi Thiagarajan  
Recommended by Beth Kanter – Internationally recognized nonprofit social media guru, trainer and facilitator   Beth referred her blog post Nonprofit Technology Training for this list.  If you are involved in training and facilitation you must read this post and check out all of the resources.  I have included Interactive Lectures because I think it has broad application.  Beth’s comments:  “”Thiagi’s” tips will help you avoid being boring and make it more interactive.  This book has been on my shelf for almost 10 years and I’ve had the opportunity to test and play with almost all the techniques in the book - and it makes teaching so much more fun for both you and your students.”

Planning and Leadership

The Sustainability Mindset: Using the Matrix Map to Make Strategic Decisions by Steve Zimmerman and Jeanne Bell

Recommended by Heather Carpenter, PhD, Assistant Professor at Grand Valley School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration

This is a comprehensive resource which will give a nonprofit the framework they need to make decisions for sustainability and help leaders address the challenges inherent in balancing mission impact with financial viability.  This book is a successor to the authors’   Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability  which has been one of the most popular books on last year’s list.  (Yes, I know that.)  It is loaded with useful figures, tables and templates.

Consider: Harnessing the Power of Reflective Thinking In Your Organization by Daniel Forrester

Recommended by Debra Beck, Nonprofit Board/Governance expert -author, blogger, educator

Deb has an excellent blog article on this topic which includes a video by Forrester.   Click here for “The Power of Intention in Nonprofit Governance: Building Reflective Leadership.”

Forrester makes a clear and compelling case for the value of reflection in organizational life. Embracing the role of pausing, reflecting, and digging deeper to address the underlying issues being considered increases the potential for both higher-quality board decisions and higher board member satisfaction and motivation.

Fundraising

There are a zillion fundraising books out there but these books have been recommended by top fundraising experts.  I am so happy to see two of them aimed specifically at small nonprofits.

Kathleen Brennan – CEO, Emerson and Church Publishers and Pamela Grow – Fundraising Expert recommended the same two books:

Train Your Board (and Everyone Else) to Raise Money: A Cookbook of Easy-to-Use Fundraising Exercises by Andrea Kihlstedt and Andy Robinson

Straight to the point, Pamela says, “Fundraising really is everyone’s job. That’s why I loved Andrea Khilstedt and Andy Robinson’s new book.”  See Pamela’s review here.

Retention Fundraising: The New Art and Science of Keeping Your Donors for Life by Roger Carver
Pamela says, “Ask anyone what the biggest problem in nonprofit fundraising is and the statistics don’t lie: donor retention….should be on every fundraiser’s bookshelf. See Pamela’s review here.

Pamela and Amy Eisentein both recommend Amy’s new book:

Major Gift Fundraising for Small Shops: How to Leverage Your Annual Fund in Only Five Hours per Week

Pamela says, “It guides readers, step by step through starting and growing their major gift fundraising.”

Pamela also provided a link to her post: Five Great Non-Fundraising Fundraising Books.  Click here to see Pamela’s list.

The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits by Kirsten Bullock, Betsy Baker, Gayle L. Gifford, Pamela Grow, Lori L. Jacobwith, Marc A. Pitman, Sherry Truhlar, Sandy Rees

 Recommended by Marc A. Pitman  

Marc recommended a wonderful list of books, many of which have been on previous wishlists.  I’ve chosen this blockbuster from his list to be on the wishlist.  Look at the list of stellar fundraising experts who collaborated as authors for this book. Marc says, “8 of us launched The Essential Fundraising Handbook this year. WOW. It keeps selling well every month!” And I say,  “Wow! All fundraisers will want to have this on their bookshelf.”

Also by Marc and not on a previous wishlist…..

Nonprofit Social Media: A beginner's guide to nurturing relationships from your desk   

We all know that nurturing relationships is important to nonprofits but do you know how to do it on Social Media?  Here’s the how-to resource guide for you.

I am adding just one book to this diverse list of books:

Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement by Kari Dunn Saratovsky and Derrick Feldmann

Derrick and Kara are the premier researchers on what makes Millennials tick when it comes to nonprofits.  I have been writing about their reports and annual conference for the last few years and this book has been on the Wishlist for Nonprofit Folk Pinterest Board for quite some time. Millennials do things differently than older generations and if you want to connect with them as volunteers, supporters and donors you need to understand how they relate to nonprofits.  Here is a link to Beth Kanter’s excellent full review of this book.

My thanks to all of the thought leading contributors for sharing their recommendations with us and a special thank you to Kivi Leroux Miller for offering her highly acclaimed, award winning book as the giveway for this year’s post.

Giveaway Details

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Content Marketing for Nonprofits 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 from comments made by midnight, November 28, 2014.

If you enter the giveaway, please email me your email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

An InLinkz Link-up

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