February 19, 2013

Lots of people ask me what I’m reading. And one of these days, I’ll add my favorite all time readings to the Learning Center on this website. But I haven’t done so yet.

So here are some recent resources:

– Women’s rights…basic human rights for women…leveling the playing field for women and girls. Why? Because everywhere in the world … including in the USA… it is a disadvantage to be a woman. Laws and regulations help change behavior. But laws and regulation cannot be the only answer. Institutions need to step up to the plate, whether its the university or the bank. Men need to step up to the plate. And our society – all of us – have to stop thinking that “feminism” is outdated and “everything” is fixed. Check out MsRepresentation. Compiler of news articles and what’s happening (or not) to level the playing field for women and girls.

Check out this great grant application story. Who is the applicant, George and Ben and Tom and Sam. You’ll know them as soon as you start reading. Share this with your community foundation? Share this with your favorite foundation donor… who has a sense of humor.

– Try this new financial website, developed by the Wallace Foundation and Fiscal Management Associates: StrongNonprofits.org. Tips and tools to strengthen your financial management. Budgeting and financial analysis. Monitoring performance. Governance and staff roles.

– For colleagues in Dallas/Fort Worth who attended my presentation on February 13… You asked for some of my favorite readings. Here are just a few: 

Fundraising Principles and Practice by Sargeant, Shang, and Associates. Building Donor Loyalty by Sargeant and Jay.

Tom Ahern’s books and e-news about donor communications. Read Kay Sprinkel Grace’s books about boards and fundraising.

Relationship Fundraising by Ken Burnett. And make sure you subscribe (for free) to SOFII, Showcase for Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration. Ken founded this website that features the best in fundraising around the world. (The U.S. is not the best in all fundraising all the time.)

Read The Agitator (Roger Craver and Tom Belford) and Future Fundraising Now (Jeff Brooks) all the time. And see the others on my BlogRoll. Read the Nonprofit Quarterly online and in print. Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Read my book Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, 3rd edition. Also read Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships, co-authored with Tom Ahern.

One last resource, for today: Read Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together that talks about technology. If you’re gonna play with the Internet and social media, read the research!

And subscribe to my free monthly e-news and my free weekly blog. I regularly give you tips and list resources and more.

 

Filed under: Resources / Research

About Simone Joyaux

A consultant specializing in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, Simone P. Joyaux works with all types and sizes of nonprofits, speaks at conferences worldwide, and teaches in the graduate program for philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University, MN. Her books, Keep Your Donors and Strategic Fund Development, are standards in the field.

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