Advice to Board Members on Soliciting Three- and Four-Figure Gifts

Big Gifts for Small Groups: A Board Member’s 1-Hour Guide to Securing Gifts of $500 to $5,000, by Andy Robinson, offers fund-raising advice to the novice board member of a small charity for whom six- and seven-figure gifts may be hard to obtain. Andy Robinson, a consultant to nonprofit groups, writes that gifts of $500 to $5,000 can add up to a lot for small nonprofit groups and are a good way for new board members to gain experience in soliciting donations. Board members should feel comfortable asking anyone for small gifts, he says, even people who make modest salaries. Mr. Robinson outlines a three-step process for soliciting gifts—letter, phone call, and visit—and suggests how to maximize success at each step. For instance, he tells the reader not to overwhelm potential donors with information about the charity, but instead to engage donors in a conversation about their giving interests. “You can listen someone into giving by asking good questions,” he says.

Publisher: Emerson & Church, Publishers, P.O. Box 338, Medfield, Mass. 02052; (508) 359-0019; fax (508) 359-2703; http://www.contributionsmagazine.com; 104 pages; $24.95; ISBN 1-889102-21-0.