Kim Klein
Kim Klein is an internationally known trainer, speaker and author of five books, including Reliable Fundraising in Unreliable Times, and the classic text Fundraising for Social Change.
Dealing With Anxiety
During the 24 years I have been in fundraising, I have observed that the greatest factor causing people to leave fundraising, or to “burn...
Exploring Alternative Sources of Fundraising
A low-income housing organization borrows $2 million at 1 percent interest and is able to buy a large number of homes that it then...
Letter-Writing Tips When Dealing With Funders
Imagine you are a program officer of a medium-sized family foundation. It’s late in the day, and it will be another hour before you...
The Effects of Elections on Fundraising
While many people debate the effect of fundraising on an election – who gives the money, how much money any person or corporation should...
Power of (Ex)change
An organization dedicated to "youth empowerment" sends a proposal to a sympathetic funder. The proposal contains this sentence: "We seek nothing short of revolutionary...
How to Cope with Funding Cutbacks
I’ve been in fundraising since 1976, and I remember the panicked calls I received after Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980: “We’re losing our...
Using Special Events for Fundraising
Special events or fundraising benefits expand the reputation of an organization, provide participants an interesting time, and sometimes make money. Because of their variety...
Fundraising: Multiple Mail Appeals
Grassroots groups, while constantly trying to find better ways to recruit new donors, often act as though their current donors were fragile china only...
The Three Types of Donations, and How to Use Them
Many grassroots organizations want to buy their own building, open an endowment or raise more program money from major donors. Projects like these represent...
Making Use of December
There is a popular myth in fundraising circles that December is the best month to raise money. Like most myths, this one has some...
The Importance of Being Gracious
Maybe it’s the aftermath of the presidential election. Maybe it’s the disappearance of the dot.coms as the hot new source of funds. For some...
Raising Money from Religious Institutions
Although religious institutions use most of the money they raise to pay for their own programs, organized religion is also a major source of funds for secular nonprofits.
Practice Makes Perfect – Or At Least Able to Do the Job
Below is an excerpt from Fundraising for the Long Haul, recently published by Chardon Press. In this book, I explore the particular challenges of...
First Steps to a Capital Campaign
A "capital" campaign is a two-to-five year effort to raise money for a one time need over and above the annual budget. They are...
Raising Money for Progressive Arts and Culture Organizations
Discussions about the difficulty of raising money for certain issues are generally started by people who feel sorry for themselves. Nevertheless, progressive arts and...
The Executive Director and Development Director Relationship
This article is for development directors (DD) and the executive directors (ED) who supervise them. The executive director can be a development director's greatest...
Approaching Corporations for Funding
For more than 30 years, the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel has published an annual report called Giving USA, which analyzes trends in philanthropy...
Collaborative Fundraising
My grandmother, when she wanted to describe a scary but potentially important undertaking (such as going on a trip to another country, or opening...
When Fundraising Strategies Wear Out
Nearly all organizations have three fundraising fantasies:
Fantasy 1: The Council on Foundations will declare their group, "The group to fund now and forever" and,...
Why Do Grassroots Fundraising?
Organizations working on housing issues often suggest that the work of building a base of individual donors is out of proportion to the amount...