Fundraising as a Career: What, Are You Crazy?
Full citation: Lysakowski, Linda. 2010.
Fundraising as a Career: What, Are You Crazy? Rancho Santa Margarita: CharityChannel Press.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Contributed by Steven Depolo
Everyone knows somebody who wants to get into fundraising. Whether they want save the world or change careers, you should give them a copy of
Fundraising as a Career: What, Are You Crazy?
A quick read,
Fundraising as a Career is written by Linda Lysakowski, who has raised millions of dollars over an impressive career. Linda does of great job of distilling the complex career of fundraising into a 90-page book, including appendices and index.
The book is straightforward and clearly written. Linda does not assume that the reader knows anything about fundraising. In fact she sprinkles important facts, practical tips, and definitions of lingo throughout the text.
The book begins by discussing what it means to work for a charity, from the size of the nonprofit sector to who donates all of that money.
The different types of fundraising careers are discussed. She asks do you want to be a big fish in a little pond, or a little fish in a big pond? You can be a generalist, and do a little bit of everything, or a specialist. Then she discusses all of the different types of activities and donors you can work with.
The next chapters talk about what it takes to succeed. The author strips away some of the mystery, like only an experienced professional can do, to highlight qualities like integrity, listening, motivation, and hard work.
Linda discusses how to acquire the necessary qualities and find people who have them.
Not everyone dreams about growing up to be a fundraiser. This book talks about making the transition to development from other careers and transferring from within an agency. And then the author outlines the steps to ensure that the new fundraiser starts out on the right foot.
The book ends with what to do when contemplating whether to ask for a promotion, or move on to the next challenge at a new agency.
With appendices that discuss the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards for Fundraisers and the Donor Bill of Rights,
Fundraising as a Career shows the reader that fundraising is a professional career to be proud of.
Linda Lysakowski’s
Fundraising as a Career: What, Are You Crazy? is an excellent introduction for anyone thinking about this challenging, yet rewarding career.
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You may purchase this book from
CharityChannel Press. Members automatically receive a 30 percent discount.
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