Collection Development "Business of Nonprofits": Nonprofit Sharing

By Linda Koss -- Library Journal, 4/1/2007

The United States is home to about 1.3 million organizations that fall under the IRS's 501(c)(3) classification of “[tax]-exempt organizations,” known informally as nonprofits. A nonprofit is defined as a formally incorporated nongovernmental organization that operates in the public interest, rather than in order to make a profit. Its income, in other words, is used to enact its mission. Nonprofits may include schools and universities, social service and religious organizations, cultural and scientific groups, hospitals, and public libraries. However, “tax-exempt” does not mean that nonprofits pay no taxes whatsoever, nor does it mean that all contributions to them qualify for tax deductions.

See below for our
web addendum

There has been a surge of interest in the last several years on how to start nonprofit groups, including public libraries that would like to establish a separate 501(c)(3) fundraising arm for their otherwise publicly funded institutions. Likewise, an increasing number of nonprofits want to know how to obtain funding from grant-making foundations and government agencies.

Driving this demand for information are popular Free Money… books, such as those authored by Matthew Lesko, and financial seminars (e.g., the National Grants Conference) that emphasize that nonprofit status is needed to obtain most grants.

While this is true, nonprofit status can be difficult to obtain, hard to keep, and is of itself absolutely no guarantee that you will get a dime of public or private grant money.Grants to individuals are often made through a sponsoring nonprofit organization, and there are limited grant funds for individuals available. Furthermore, the requests for information on “how to get grants” are inflated by a general misunderstanding that most funding of nonprofits comes through grants, while veteran nonprofit managers know that about 80 percent of the funds American nonprofit groups receive are raised from private individuals.

A profitable collection

There is a need for libraries to offer a well-rounded collection of books, periodicals, and web sites that comprehensively covers this subject, including nonprofit formation and management and realistic approaches to obtaining grant support. Such a collection will offer both proposal writing books and materials on other forms of fundraising, including guides aimed at individuals, small grass-roots organizations, and the large well-established ones. There should also be resources that focus on particular fundraising mechanisms, such as special events, mailings, or annual campaigns.

Existing nonprofits themselves regularly seek expertise on maintenance of their nonprofit status, effective nonprofit organization, and keeping current on applicable federal and state regulations that relate to them. Libraries must keep their collections up-to-date with books on these legalities—their titles should not be more than two years old, if possible, because such laws can change quickly.

Another issue for nonprofits is how to create a hard-working board that can oversee the organization without micromanagement and that can work with the staff in fundraising efforts. Books outlining and explaining the duties of board members can benefit both nonprofit staff seeking to establish an effective board and members of the community who are potentially going to join a nonprofit board.

Because many nonprofits use volunteers, information on their recruitment, training, and retention is of tremendous interest to the organizations and to those individuals exploring the nature of such work. Even in agencies that are not all-volunteer, success often hinges on developing and retaining a strong volunteer cadre.

Nonprofits in print and online

Important imprints in the nonprofit management and fundraising fields include Chardon Press, Jossey-Bass, and Emerson & Church. Legal self-help publisher Nolo Press, which has long published Anthony Mancuso's classic title on starting a nonprofit, has recently branched out into other titles on nonprofit management. For directories of specific grants, the Foundation Center in New York and Greenwood Publishing are the major houses.

Librarians who wish to find sources beyond those listed in the bibliography below, may go to the Charity Channel web site (charitychannel.com) and consult its book review section, “We Review,” which covers new books on every aspect of nonprofit management. The Chronicle of Philanthropy (see below) frequently has reviews of relevant books.

Finally, librarians will encounter patrons who wish to know if a particular nonprofit is “legitimate”; that is, if it is reputable and spends money effectively without huge overhead. Listed below are two online resources for analysis of the efficiency and honesty of many charities.

Starred [] titles below are essential for all public library collections. Larger libraries and those serving nonprofit organizations should consider the entire list.

FundRaising & Grant-writing

The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals. 2003. 353p. ed. by Sarah Collins. ISBN 978-1-931923-47-7.
The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals II. 2005. 418p. ed. by Judith B. Margolin & Gail T. Lubin. index. ISBN 978-1-59542-054-1. ea. vol: Foundation Ctr. illus. bibliog. pap. $34.95.
Although in demand by new grant-writers, examples of successful grant proposals are hard to find. Accompanied by funders' comments, the winning proposals here run the gamut from pitches for the funding of special projects (the most common type) to capital funding and operating grants, capacity development grants (not often discussed in other books), budgets, and cover letters.

Gerding, Stephanie & Pamela Mackeller.Grants for Libraries: A How-To-Do-It-Manual. Neal-Schuman. 2006. 225p. bibliog. index. ISBN 1-55570-535-9 [ISBN 978-1-55570-535-0]. pap. $99.95 with CD-ROM.
Two grant specialists instruct libraries in securing the funding they need. The CD-ROM includes practice templates and sample proposal tools. (Professional Media, LJ4/15/06)

Grants for Libraries and Information Services 2006–2007. Foundation Ctr. 2006. 138p. ISBN 978-1-59542-117-3. pap. $75.
For public, academic, research, special, and school libraries, and archives and information centers seeking grants, this directory lists 651 foundations, indexed by project type (subject), geographic area, and recipient. There are descriptions of over 2500 recent grants of $10,000 or more.

Hall, Mary S. & Susan Howlett. Getting Funded: The Complete Guide to Grant Proposals. 4th ed. Continuing Education Pr: Portland State Univ. 2003. 180p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-87678-071-0 [ISBN 978-0-87678-071-8]. pap. $34.95.
Rather than instructing nonprofits on grant-writing, this helpful book tells them if they should even begin the process, asking potential applicants to gauge their readiness and organizational capacity to write a grant and carry their project to fruition.

Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising. 2d ed. Jossey-Bass. (Nonprofit & Public Management). 2003. 576p. ed. by Eugene R. Tempel. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7879-6256-2. $42.
Fundraising master Rosso's classic 1991 advice on both the practical aspects and the philosophical underpinnings of fundraising has been updated with articles contributed by leading figures in the nonprofit field.

Klein, Kim. Fundraising for Social Change. 5th ed. Jossey-Bass. (Kim Klein's Chardon Press). 2006. 527p. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7879-8455-8. [ISBN 978-0-7879-8455-7]. pap. $38.
The seminal book for grass-roots organizations with less than $1 million in assets. Stuffed with practical advice, it concentrates on raising money from individual donors. Sections include strategies for keeping donors, budgeting, fundraising management, online fundraising, and ethics.

Miner, Jeremy T. & Lynn Miner. Models of Proposal Planning and Writing.Praeger. 2005. 268p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-275-98696-9 [ISBN 978-0-275-98696-4]. pap. $39.95.
These samples outline step by step the planning stages involved in grant-writing, from reading and analyzing the RFP (request for proposal) to writing the final proposal.

Panas, Jerold. Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers and Staff Must Know To Secure the Gift. Emerson & Church. 2002. 112p. ISBN 1-889102-17-2 [ISBN 978-1-889102-17-7]. pap. $24.95.
Taking an encouraging, positive approach, fundraising expert Panas helps solicitors overcome their fear of asking donors for money as well as how to recognize and cope with various kinds of donor resistance.

Roth, Stephanie & Mimi Ho. The Accidental Fundraiser: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Money for Your Cause. Jossey-Bass. (Kim Klein's Chardon Press). 2005. 303p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-7879-7805-1. pap. $19.95.
For people who never thought they'd be raising money, whether for their school's band or for an overseas disaster, this useful guide outlines such strategies as phone banks, house parties, and bowlathons. Worksheets, fundraising scripts, and sample forms are included.

Warwick, Mal. How To Write Successful Fundraising Letters. 2d ed. Jossey-Bass. 2001. illus. index. 320p. ISBN 0-7879-5652-X [ISBN 978-0-7879-5652-3]. pap. $29.95.
Fundraising consultant Warwick offers not just a wide sampling of different letters (to recruit new donors, encourage annual gifts, and increase donations) but also delves into the motivation for giving, the kinds of resistance a letter can encounter, and examples of successful campaigns. (LJ 7/94)

Law & Legislation

Hopkins, Bruce R. Charitable Giving Law Made Easy.Wiley. 2006. 368p. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-471-78353-6 [ISBN 978-0-471-78353-4]. $34.95.
The rules and laws around charitable gift giving are confusing both to nonprofits and potential donors. Hopkins outlines various types of gifts, their deductibility, and appraisal requirements.

Mancuso, Anthony. How To Form a Nonprofit Corporation. 7th ed. Nolo. 2005. 368p. illus. index. ISBN 1-4133-0348-X [ISBN 978-1-4133-0348-3]. pap. $49.99 with CD-ROM.
Attorney Mancuso gives tips on how to choose a name for your nonprofit, stresses the importance of the legal status of your organization, outlines the legal duties of various officers in your new nonprofit, and lists agencies that oversee nonprofits in each state. Sample forms (including the IRS 1023 Application for Exempt Status) come with instructions on how to fill them out. A separate version for California is available.

Tesdahl, D. Benson. The Nonprofit Board's Guide to Bylaws: Creating a Framework for Effective Governance. BoardSource. 2003. 32p. ISBN 1-58686-066-6 [ISBN 978-1-58686-066-0]. pap. $36 with CD-ROM.
One of the most-asked questions about nonprofit formation that librarians receive is how to write bylaws. This brief volume, accompanied by a CD-ROM with sample forms, is careful to advise nonprofits that their ultimate authority is the nonprofit law covering their state, while also offering information on what should be in the bylaws.

Management

Andringa, Robert C. & Ted W. Engstrom. Nonprofit Board Answer Book: Practical Guide for Board Members and Chief Executives. 2d ed. BoardSource. 2002. 299p. bibliog. index. ISBN 1-58686-029-1 [ISBN 978-1-58686-029-5]. $40.
A compilation of relatively short (three- to five-page) answers to such basic questions as board responsibilities, structure, choosing board members, board-staff relations, and the board's fiscal role. Each chapter ends with suggested actions.

Robinson, Maureen K. Nonprofit Boards That Work: The End of One-Size-Fits-All Governance. Wiley. 2001. 176p. index. ISBN 0-471-35432-5 [ISBN 978-0-471-35432-1]. $45.
The former director of education for the National Center for Nonprofit Boards (now BoardSource) outlines methods for boards to perform their responsibilities in relation to policy, fiscal oversight, and fundraising.

Volunteers—Recruiting

Ellis, Susan J. The Volunteer Recruitment (and Membership Development) Book. 3d ed. Energize, Inc. 2002. 156p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-940576-25-2 [ISBN 978-0-940576-25-4]. pap. $18.95.
While lightly touching on the importance of creating good opportunities and supervision for volunteers, the author focuses on recruitment strategies.

Little, Helen. Volunteers: How To Get Them, How To Keep Them.Panacea Pr. 1999. 128p. index. ISBN 1-928892-01-9 [ISBN 978-1-928892-01-4]. pap. $24.95.
This slim book lists the 12 management needs of volunteers: specific, manageable tasks; clear instructions; reasonable deadlines; adequate training; and more.

Periodicals

Chronicle of Philanthropy. 1988. bi-w. $72. www.philanthropy.com. Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc., 1255 23rd St. NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037; 202-466-1080. ISSN 1040-676X.
The “newspaper of the nonprofit world” carries big news, trends, legal issues, and statistics important to philanthropy, as well as job listings and recent grant announcements. Besides both combined (print and web) and online-only subscriptions, the publication also offers a subscription database, the Chronicle Guide to Grants.

Web Sites

BoardSource: Building Effective Boards
www.boardsource.org
Formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, BoardSource is dedicated to nonprofit board service and management, with a monthly e-newsletter, links to workshops and courses, and books, CDs, and DVDs for sale.

Charity Navigator: Your Guide to Intelligent Giving
www.charitynavigator.org
This independent charity evaluator analyzes the financial fitness of over 5000 nonprofit groups. Information includes CEO compensation, a short rating comparison with other charities of the same type, and whether the charity has a donor privacy policy.

Internal Revenue Service
www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/index.html
The source for information about federal laws and regulations for tax-exempt organizations, including how to apply for exempt status and the downloadable 1023 application package, as well as updates on new or proposed regulations and links to state government web sites on charity formation and fundraising regulations specific to those states.

National Charity Reports Index
www.give.org/reports/index.asp
Created by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, this site links to charity evaluations, which cover an organization's activities, executive compensation, fundraising and project expenses, and how it conducts fundraising. The reports also indicate whether the nonprofit has met the alliance's Standards for Charitable Accountability (a link is provided to a webpage that enumerates the standards).

Web Addendum:

Web Sites

Nonprofit Gateway: http://www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml

The federal government’s “gateway” of websites of interest to nonprofit organizations. It includes links to federal grant websites and information about federal nonprofit laws. Especially useful is the link to state nonprofit filing sites: http://www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit_State.shtml

idealist.org's FAQ of nonprofit issues like management, board management, and dissolution. http://www.idealist.org/en/faqcat/1-7

The Foundation Center homepage (http://www.foundationcenter.org) leads to good information on searching and finding foundations by name, as well as the heading, “Gaining Knowledge,” in which there is much information on proposal writing (http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html) in a number of languages, including Spanish, French, and Russian.

One of my favorite grantwriting websites is the one run by the Minnesota Council of Foundations (http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/writing.htm), because it is “right down the middle” in terms of information: not too overwhelming, and not too skimpy.

NB: these titles are briefly noted as additions to those titles selected by Linda Koss above.
Fundraising & Grant Writing

Ahern, Tom. How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money: The Art, the Science, the Secrets. Emerson & Church. 2007. 187p.ISBN 1-889102-31-8 [ISBN 978-1-889102-31-3]. $24.95.

An expert in effective communications reveals his trade secrets for writing profitable fundraising letters, newsletters, annual reports,websites and more.

Geever, Jane C. The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing. 5th ed. Foundation Ctr. 2007. 232p. bibliog. ISBN 1-59542-129-7 [ISBN 978-1-59542-129-7]. pap. $34.95.

An in-depth look into the various parts of a grant proposal, along with a complete sample.

Landsdowne, David. Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face: A 1-Hour Crash Course on Raising Major Gifts for Nonprofit Organizations. Emerson & Church. 2007. 109p. ISBN 1-889102-32-6 [ISBN 978 978-1-889102-32-0] $24.95.

First published in 1996, this classic lays out the47 realities of major gift fund raising.

Seltzer, Michael. Securing Your Organization's Future: A Complete Guide to Fundraising Strategies. rev. ed. Foundation Center. 2001. 514p. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-87954-900-9 [ISBN 978-0-87954-900-8]. pap. $34.95.

Addressing fundraising for nonprofits of all sizes, the text is evenly split between techniques for raising money from individuals and from institutions such as foundations, corporations, and government agencies.

Wendroff, Alan L. Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising. 2d ed. Wiley. 2003. 272p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-471-46235-7 [ISBN 978-0-471-46235-4]. $48 with CD-ROM.

Nonprofits often use special events to put themselves in the public eye as well as raise money, Wendroff discusses how an organization should first consider the effort and expense of an event, what event might best move them toward their fundraising and P.R. goals, and how to meticulously plan the event. The CD-ROM features forms and worksheets.

Management

Barbeito, Carol L. Human Resource Policies and Procedures for Nonprofit Organizations. Wiley. 2006. 208p. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-471-78861-9 [ISBN 978-0-471-78861-4]. pap. $40 with CD-ROM.

Here are sample HR policies and procedures, with the rationale behind each one clearly explained, and up-to-date references to health and labor laws as relevant.

Dropkin, Murray & James Halpin. Bookkeeping for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide to Nonprofit Accounting. Jossey-Bass. 2005. 272p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 0-7879-7540-0 [ISBN 978-0-7879-7540-1]. pap. $32.

This accounting primer for nonprofits discusses the treatment of various types of income and expenses, payroll, cash flow forecasting, and the operating budget.

Philanthropy & Nonprofits

Goldberg, Alllison & others. Creating Change Through Family Philanthropy: The Next Generation. Soft Skull. 2007. 192p. ISBN 1-933368-09-8 [ISBN 978-1-933368-09-2]. pap. $24.95.

It is estimated that that over $41 trillion in family wealth will change hands in the next 50 years. This guide aims to advise the next generation of philanthropists in how and where to direct these resource.

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, South End Pr. 2007.256p. ed. by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. ISBN 0-89608-766-2 [ISBN 978-0-89608-766-8]. pap. $18.

A trillion-dollar industry, the U.S. non-profit sector is the world's seventh largest economy. This collection of essayss examine how the nonprofit model has forced some social activist organizations to compromise, or soften, their political aims in order to obtain government and foundation funding.