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Summary: I put sticky notes on half the pages
Review: I took this book, along with many others on fundraising, out of my local library. Though I'm new to raising funds, I've made much of my living writing articles and books; I wasn't sure it would have much to teach me. This book was so startlingly useful that I had to buy it. It will likely become your most dog-eared fundraising guide.
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Summary: Not just a guide to writing proposals - a guide to life
Review: Not surprisingly, this book provides advice that -- if applied literally -- will assist you in writing excellent proposals to fund your non-profit organization's ventures. Surprisingly, the advice contained herein -- if made more generic in your mind -- is excellent advice for entire areas of your life. Sounds hokey, true. But honestly, boiled down the advice can be listed as: 1. Identify what the problem is. Do your research until you really understand the causes of the problems and their many effects. 2. Identify how you will know when you have made the problem better. How will you know when the problem has been alleviated? What intermediate steps need to be taken? How will you measure your progress along the way? 3.Identify what tools are available, and which are still needed, to move towards a resolution, or diminution, of the problem. Be specific here. Vague generalities are useless, but the brass tacks of a solution are absolutely priceless. Who has access to these tools? Who can make difficult things easy? 4. If you are asking for someone to help you with this problem, present the whole equation to them in a light that makes the most sense to *them*. This doesn't mean to lie, or exaggerate. It only means to focus your proposal in a way that makes them see it most personally. 5. Proofread what you have written, to be sure it says what you want it to say. Then proofread it again. And again. Get it right, because it is a hard and fast representative of you. This should be true in everything concrete you put out in the world with your name on it. Now, all of this can be applied to writing a grant proposal. And much of it can be applied to the other things in life. Filling a job position, finding a home, working out a deteriorating relationship, educating yourself or your children ... you name it. It's so rare that a book directed at an audience of specialists resonates with so much broadly applicable truth ... and it was such a delight to find it. I plowed through this book last night, reading every word, applying its advice mentally to all sorts of issues in my own life. I am pleased to report that it opened my eyes to solutions that had eluded me until now. Wonderfully written, amusingly told, full of great advice to writers of all persuasive materials, this book is a gem.
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Summary: Puts the Fun in Fundraising
Review: When I am on deadline and desperately in need of help, "Writing for a Good Cause" is where I turn first for guidance, solace, or inspiration (seeing as how our office manager objects to open containers of alcohol at one's desk). Not only is this book full of incredibly practical writing tips in handy list form, it is also very funny and a page turner. The heart of the book is a clear guide to how to write a great proposal, but other valuable topics are covered, including newsletters, case statements, interviews, and the like. In one section, the authors mix genuine examples of great fundraising writing with an imaginary proposal to fund the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. They not only convince you to help build the Brooklyn Bridge, you're ready to buy it. The bridge is not for sale, but this book is. It is well worth its price of two fast food lunches. Buy it, read it, and be happy.
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