9 Must-Read Fundraising Books for Nonprofit Professionals
Fundraising is essential for nonprofit organizations working diligently towards their cause. However, after a busy event season, it’s normal to feel a little blocked when it comes to planning for the following months. Or maybe your nonprofit’s staff members are looking for ways to refresh and jazz up your existing fundraising plans.
That’s why we’ve gathered nine of our favorite fundraising books to help you get inspired:
- Planning a Successful Major Donor Event by Kristin Steele and Samantha Swaim
- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
- Start with WHY: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic
- Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron
- The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
- The Surprising Gift of Doubt: Use Uncertainty to Become the Exceptional Leader You Are Meant to Be by Marc A. Pitman
- Boards on Fire! Inspiring Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully by Susan Howlett
- How to Turn Your Words Into Money: The Master Fundraiser’s Guide to Persuasive Writing by Jeff Brooks
These books will offer you insights for the next fundraising season ahead. They cover a variety of topics, from gathering and storytelling to leadership and more. Use the information within them to inform your own fundraising efforts.
If you’d like to borrow one of these books instead of purchasing it, try Libby, a library app with thousands of titles that you can check out and read directly in the app or on Kindle. Many titles also have audiobook versions that you can borrow and listen to on your phone or iPad. All you need is the Libby app and a library card.
9 Books for Nonprofit and Fundraising Professionals
1. Planning a Successful Major Donor Event by Kristin Steele and Samantha Swaim
About the book
Planning a Successful Major Donor Event is our ultimate guide for fundraising and nonprofit professionals who want to raise more money at their next event. This book takes our years of fundraising and event planning experience and breaks it down into easily implementable lessons. We even give you specific case studies and examples that you can start using today that will have an immediate impact on your work.
You’ll get helpful insights into:
- Budgeting
- Logistics
- Sponsorship strategies
- Procurement
- Volunteer management
- Scripting and storytelling
- Special appeal execution
This fundraising book will give you the tools you need to understand how to craft an engaging event that deepens your relationship with your donors, particularly major donors.
About the authors
Kristin Steele helps connect people more deeply to missions they believe in. Her background is in writing and teaching, but she has over 25 years of experience as a nonprofit advocate. Kristin co-founded Swaim Strategies in 2004 with the goal of helping nonprofits and their donors change the world. She believes that the very human act of storytelling makes change possible.
Samantha Swaim is the Strategic Director and co-founder of Swaim Strategies. With over 20 years of experience in event production and nonprofit fundraising, Sam is passionate about bringing people together to create a shared experience, build community, and work toward a mission. Sam brings her background in theater and TV production to her role and co-hosts a podcast with Kristin called The Fundraising Elevator.
2. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
About the book
Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters will transform the way you think about gathering. Her fundraising book offers thoughtful ways to take a human-centered approach to coming together, empowering the reader to cultivate more purposeful experiences for work and play. We love Priya’s book so much that we invited her to be a keynote speaker at Elevate 2021, our annual conference for fundraising events. Click here to listen to her keynote.
About the author
Priya Parker’s work is informed by her upbringing toggling between the “two vastly different worlds and worldviews” of her father and stepmother, and her mother and stepfather. Now, as a facilitator, strategic advisor, and author, Priya helps people rethink how they gather to create more meaningful connections. You can get a copy of her fundraising book here.
3. Start with WHY: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
About the book
Learn how the world’s most influential people think, act and communicate in Simon Sinek’s Start with WHY. Simon will teach you the power of your “why” and how “why” motivates people. You’ll learn about the “The Golden Circle,” and the framework it provides that has propelled many successful organizations and effective movements. This fundraising book will change the way you engage your donors to make a lasting impact at your nonprofit.
About the author
A self-described unshakeable optimist and a trained ethnographer, Simon Sinek is riveted by the organizations and people who’ve made the greatest impact in the world. Best known for his TED Talk on the concept of WHY, Simon is also a bestselling author and the host of the podcast, A Bit of Optimism. He’s the founder of The Optimism Company, which partners with Penguin Random House’s Optimism Press to publish works for inspiring thinkers and doers.
4. Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic
About the book
Numbers and Nerves is a collection of essays and interviews that explore the ways humans process quantitative information. This fundraising book offers strategies for how to deliver that data in consumable ways. It includes contributions from journalists, literary critics, psychologists, activists, and others and explores communication strategies through real-world examples. Numbers and Nerves will help you pair data with concrete experiences to tell emotionally compelling stories.
About the editors
Paul Slovic is president of Decision Research and professor of psychology at the University of Oregon. He studies human judgment, decision-making, and the psychology of risk. He is a leading theorist and researcher in the risk perception field and has received several awards for his work, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association and the Outstanding Contribution to Science Award from the Oregon Academy of Science.
Scott Slovic is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Idaho. He’s published more than 300 articles, interviews, op-eds, and reviews and is the author, editor, or co-editor of over 20 books. Scott teaches courses in interdisciplinary environmental humanities, American and comparative literature, environmental writing, and nonfiction writing.
5. Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron
About the book
Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story will take your storytelling from well-written to truly compelling. Backed by neuroscientific research and examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Lisa will show you how to write stories that will keep readers captivated from beginning to end. If you want to learn the evolutionary purpose of story to improve your donor engagement, this is the fundraising book for you.
About the author
Lisa Cron is a story coach and speaker with experience as a literary agent, television producer, and story consultant for Warner Brothers and the William Morris Agency. In addition to teaching in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, Lisa works with writers, nonprofits, educators, and journalists on the art and craft of story.
6. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
About the book
As fundraising professionals, we use stories to change the world for the better. In his fundraising book, The Storytelling Animal, Jonathan Gottschall uses neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology to help you craft a story that brings people together around common values. In this fundraising book, he explains how story is tied to motivation and empathy and how to use storytelling to change the world for the better.
About the author
Jonathan Gottschall is a Distinguished Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. His writing has been featured in a variety of magazines, including The New York Times, Scientific American, and The Atlantic. Jonathan is the author or editor of eight books, including The Professor in the Cage and The Story Paradox.
7. The Surprising Gift of Doubt: Use Uncertainty to Become the Exceptional Leader You Are Meant to Be by Marc A. Pitman
About the book
In The Surprising Gift of Doubt, leadership executive coach Marc A. Pitman will help you use doubt to become a better leader. He’ll show you how to overcome imposter syndrome by harnessing the very feelings you might think are holding you back.
This fundraising book will teach you how to:
- Effectively identify and apply your strengths to your work
- Use storytelling to be a better leader
- Set leadership goals in your career and in your life
- Boost performance through team engagement
The Surprising Gift of Doubt will explore how the power of doubt can help you grow. It offers practical advice and personal anecdotes to show you how to harness your doubt for good.
About the author
Concord Leadership Group founder Marc A. Pitman is an international leadership development coach and fundraising trainer. He believes that fundraising is all about leadership, and is committed to making it easy for everyone. His coaching and training have helped thousands of nonprofits forward their missions, meet revenue goals, and improve their quality of life.
8. Boards on Fire! Inspiring Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully by Susan Howlett
About the book
Get your board excited about fundraising with the simple steps you’ll learn from Boards on Fire! by Susan Howlett. This fundraising book will offer you insights on and solutions to things like:
- Why board members struggle with asking
- How to get your board enthusiastic about raising money
- Which donors and potential donors to engage with and how
- How to turn trustees into passionate ambassadors
Use Susan’s short and practical guide to learn all about what board members need to be successful fundraisers.
About the author
Susan Howlett has consulted thousands of nonprofits for 25 years and has previously served as a board member, development director, and executive director. In addition to facilitating monthly board retreats, Susan offers simple solutions to complex systemic problems through speaking, training, and consulting. Her books have helped thousands of organizations work better together.
9. How to Turn Your Words Into Money: The Master Fundraiser’s Guide to Persuasive Writing by Jeff Brooks
About the book
If you’re looking for fundraising writing tips, be sure to check out Jeff Brooks’ How to Turn Your Words Into Money. In this book, Jeff will give you hundreds of writing examples with in-depth guidance on topics such as:
- How to make your ask
- Using rhymes to make your message stick
- Telling stories that motivate giving (even when you think you don’t have a story)
- How to meet the emotional needs of your donors
- Writing pitfalls and how to avoid them
Whether you have years of writing experience or you’re working on your first fundraising ask, this fundraising book will leave you with invaluable takeaways.
About the author
Jeff Brooks is a fundraising professional with over 30 years of experience. As a copywriter turned creative director for fundraising agencies like The Domain Group, Merkle, and TrueSense Marketing, Jeff has seen the gamut of what works and what doesn’t in nonprofit messaging. He’s passionate about taking a donor-centered approach and finding a way to connect your nonprofit’s mission with donors’ values.
Conclusion and Additional Resources
Whether you’re looking to engage more deeply with donors, write more compelling stories, plan more meaningful events or learn the ins and outs of effective fundraising strategies, this list of fundraising books has something for you. Consider what fundraising concept you’re looking for guidance on and peruse the book that you feel would best help.
If you’re interested in learning more about fundraising, take a look at these resources:
- Level Up Your Fundraising: 10 Best Fundraising Books to Read – Looking for more books to fill out your reading list? Our fundraising event learning hub, Elevate Nonprofit, also has a booklist you can peruse.
- Planning the Perfect Nonprofit Event: A Comprehensive Guide – If you’re feeling stumped about how to plan your nonprofit event, this guide will help you with the basics!
- Melding In-Person and Virtual with Hybrid Fundraising Events – Want to leverage the power of hybrid events? Check out this step-by-step guide for ideas.
