June 28, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Pinpointing Affluence in the 21st Century: Increasing Your Share of Major Donor Dollars
by Judith Nichols
Many charities miss out on fund-raising opportunities because they focus on the wealthiest individuals rather than on those most likely to give, this book says.
The problem, writes Judith Nichols, a development consultant, is that fund raisers “assume that our donors are philanthropists first, driven by an overwhelming desire to make a difference, rather than propelled by the world they inhabit towards that conclusion.”
Fund raisers would be better off seeking gifts from people capable of giving between $1,000 and $100,000, Ms. Nichols suggests in this expanded and revised edition of her 1994 book. To help charities identify likely donors, Ms. Nichols uses demographic information and marketing strategies that analyze people’s values and attitudes. Important characteristics include age, gender, race, and ethnic background, as well as attitudes, values, and consumption habits, she writes.
In Part One, “Understanding Why We Need a New Approach to Fund Raising,” Ms. Nichols explains why charities should focus on attracting major gifts and why the majority of donor prospects should be individuals, not corporations or foundations.
Part Two, “Meet Today’s and Tomorrow’s Donors,” reviews U.S. demographic trends and looks at psychological traits among potential donors. Part Three discusses how to find affluent individuals by age group, gender, and hobbies and interests. Other chapters in this section teach fund raisers how to find affluent people by geography, in corporate America, among professionals and the self-employed, and in small businesses.
Parts Four and Five focus on fund-raising strategies and discuss the goals fund raisers should focus on, face-to-face meetings with donors, and how to use direct-marketing techniques to ask effectively for money.
An excerpt from the preliminary version of the book and an interview with Ms. Nichols appeared in the March 22 issue of The Chronicle.
Publisher: Bonus Books, 160 East Illinois Street, Suite 300, Chicago, Ill. 60611; (312) 467-0424 or (800) 225-3775; fax (312) 467-9271; http://www.bonus-books.com; 371 pages; $40; I.S.B.N. 1-56625-165-6.
