Description

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There has never been a greater need for raising the funds necessary to promote the causes that will help build a sustainable future. In Money for the Cause: A Complete Guide to Event Fundraising, veteran nonprofit executive director Rudolph A. Rosen lays out field-tested approaches that have been among those that helped him and the teams of volunteers and professionals he has worked with raise more than $3 billion for environmental conservation. As Rosen explains, fundraising events can range from elite, black-tie affairs in large cities to basement banquets and backyard barbeques in small-town America. Money for the Cause runs the gamut, demonstrating methods adaptable to most situations and illustrating both basic and advanced techniques that can be duplicated by everyone from novice volunteers to experienced event planners.
Each chapter begins with a pertinent, real-life anecdote and focuses on major areas of event fundraising: business plans and budgets, raffles and auctions, tax and liability matters, contract negotiation, games and prizes, site selection, food service, entertainment, publicity, mission promotion, food and drink service, and effective team building and use of volunteers. The author applies each topic to the widest possible range of events, providing practical detail and giving multiple examples to cover the differences in types of organizations and their fundraising activities. Whatever the funding objective may be, Money for the Cause: A Complete Guide to Event Fundraising is both a textbook and a practical reference that will be indispensable to anyone involved in mission-driven organizations, whether as a volunteer, a professional, a student, or an educator.

To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

About the Author

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RUDOLPH A. ROSEN is a professor at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, where he also directs the Conservation Leadership Initiative, focusing on teaching and research on nonprofit conservation institutions. Rosen has previously served in executive and leadership positions for National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International and its foundation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Praise For…

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“. . . there are literally tens of millions of volunteers in organizations of all sizes who would benefit from this book. . . This book will help to avoid the “trial and error” approach I see most organizations making as they attempt to raise funds through events . . . should be read by any professional fundraiser or by anyone who is in charge of their local charity fundraiser.  It should become a part of the library of anyone who aspires to be proficient at this important part of charity work.“--Alan Wentz, former chief conservation officer, Ducks Unlimited Inc.
 

— Alan Wentz

"In this book, Dr. Rosen explains in a very understandable, clear, and concise way precisely what to do, what not to do, how to do and how not to do the myriad things needed to translate a worthy cause into a successful social force. It should be considered mandatory reading for all organizational volunteers, as well as their higher-level professional staff. This book is based on Rosen's lengthy career in the non-profit world. It is this decades-long experience that has provided the real world examples that are used to enlighten the reader and, hopefully, preclude the many kinds of mistakes that so often happen. Truly, this book represents a roadmap through the minefields faced when well-intentioned amateurs attempt to function in a complex and at times litigious society. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Rosen at a non-profit organization (Safari Club International) where he was the Executive Director and I was the Director of Publications. He successfully worked with a diverse board of directors on one hand, and with an extensive professional staff on the other. This book offers the reader unprecedented insight into the lessons Dr. Rosen and others around him learned on a day-to-day basis as all involved helped move the organization forward at the global level. Although Dr. Rosen is at home in academic settings, this book is a testament to what he also learned while literally in the trenches of the non-profit organizational world. In other words, he's been there, done that and now shares all of those valuable experiences with the rest of the world."--Steve Comus, director of publications, Safari Club International; author; and award-winning photo-journalist

— Steve Comus

"Rosen is well-qualified to write this book as he has served in various leadership roles that provide an important reservoir of nonprofit experience and fundraising acumen."--Larry Schweiger, president, National Wildlife Federation

— Larry Schweiger

"I have always had the greatest respect and admiration for Rudy Rosen, the Master Fundraiser. This book is a trove of his experiences which can help and heighten our effectiveness in financing our conservation efforts."--J. Blanton Belk, Jr., founder and chairman emeritus, Up With People, Inc.

— Blanton Belk

"Rosen’s book is essential for any event fundraiser.  Perfect for those who are new to fundraising, it walks through every aspect of planning and executing a successful event.  It’s also a great asset to anyone running a fundraising event who has been challenged to raise more.  Rosen illuminates how the details can make or break your event.  He lays out how to maximize donations by focusing on your donor mix and layering on varied and numerous opportunities to give. His years of experience help you avoid the pitfalls and develop a successful event aligned with your mission and supporters."--Nancy J. Painter, vice pesident of executive search, Olive Grove Consulting

— Nancy J. Painter

"...a comprehensive guidebook intended for novice and veteran event planners seeking to raise net revenue through fundraising events...an in-depth discussion of event fundraising planning and execution."--Rob Bruno, Nonprofit Literature Blog
— Rob Bruno

“From the beautiful birds on its cover to its index, Rudolph Rosen mines his decades of successful fundraising to share with the reader a comprehensive and pragmatic resource for successful event fundraising.  Money for the Cause is a masterful manual that helps the reader appreciate Rosen’s introductory counsel that ‘the fundraising event is an elaborate affair where everything attendees see, hear, smell, and do once they enter the event site affects the outcome of giving, and thus net revenue.’  Woe to those who ignore Rosen’s hard-earned wisdom.”--Barry Silverberg, President & CEO, Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations (TANO)

— Barry Silverberg