Alexis Alm Says, Major-Gift Ramp-Up is a Gift to Fundraisers Everywhere is one nonprofit veteran’s take on one of the greatest book on fundraising every written. Here’s what Alexis thinks about Joanne Oppelt and Jimmy LaRose’s new tome.
I’ve been a fundraiser for several decades, a successful major gift and planned giving officer, and I serve as the CEO of nonprofit organizations. With a master’s in nonprofit administration and graduate certificates in fundraising, leadership, ethics, and nonprofit governance, I’ve read more than my share of fundraising books. Additionally, after serving on the board as Chair, Vice Chair, and member of the exam committee at CFRE, I keep up with the trends and success practices in fundraising, particularly for small and medium-sized organizations.
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Major Gift Ramp-Up is, quite frankly, one of the most comprehensive, straightforward, fact-based major gift fundraising programs that I have seen in the last thirty years. The authors, Joanne Oppelt and Jimmy LaRose, take you on a step-by-step, exciting journey to help you and your organization raise millions of dollars. Because these authors have worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations over the years and trained other leading consultants in using the Major Gift Ramp-Up methodology, they have refined and polished this program so that nothing is left to guesswork.
Every step has been tested, researched, and evaluated to maximize every aspect of their thirteen-step program.
Each chapter in the book takes a deep dive into each component of the model. Throughout the book, the authors describe the Major Gift Ramp-Up philosophy as “permission-based fundraising.” This philosophy shows the highest respect for donors and their role in the fundraising process. The philosophy keeps the donor and their interests front and center.
Alexis Alm Says, “Major-Gift Ramp-Up is a Gift to Fundraisers Everywhere!”
I met Jimmy and Joanne a year ago when I attended my first Major Gift Ramp-Up two-day seminar. I had already achieved my first certification through the National Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives (NANOE) six months earlier. I was blown away by the number of resources available to NANOE members when I first learned about the Major Gift Ramp-Up Model. I was excited to receive a scholarship to attend the Major-Gift Ramp-Up two-day event.
I have never been one to sit still for any length of time, but the seminar was so compelling that I never noticed the time until the first day was over! There is so much information packed in a single day! I was intrigued by the program and excited about the countless case studies of organizations facing many challenges that still benefited from the Major Gift Ramp-Up Program and raised millions for their organizations.
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Major Gifts Ramp-Up the book complements Major Gifts Ramp-Up the conference. I am glad to have experienced both. Whereas the conference was like being in the way of a fire hose, I was able to digest the book over time. The book reinforced what I heard during the workshop and serves a desk reference for it. I appreciate receiving information in both verbal and written form.
As a current doctoral student, I also appreciate good academic writing. This book captures the clarity of academic writing with its research and documentation in a personal and friendly style that identifies with the reader’s probable challenges, fears, and concerns. Successful fundraising combines communications, psychology, business, strategy, ethics, and respect. The authors use an almost magical mix of those skills in a way that grabs attention and literally speaks to the reader and answers their concerns.
Most people today are extremely busy and don’t have time to review much information before getting to the “gold.” Major Gift Ramp-Up gives you gold nuggets and a step-by-step platinum plan to achieve, or even exceed, your campaign goals from the start.
This book differentiates itself from others in two important ways. First, the MGRU program incorporates and is built around efficiency. Efficiency in using time and resources is critical in nonprofit organizations. Time and money are two resources that must be used wisely. Businesses always look at return on investment (ROI). Successful nonprofits look at maximizing their ROI in every aspect of their organization. Major Gift Ramp-Up addresses ROI every step of the way by always answering the question: “What is the most efficient and effective way to accomplish this task?”
The second component that separates this book and the Major Gift Ramp-Up program from everything else is the “three-part ask.” Quite frankly, in my thirty-plus years in fundraising, I never came across a strategy to ask a donor for three types of gifts at one time. The “three-part ask” is simply beautiful. It is an approach that ultimately asks and gains permission to ask donors for an annual gift, a capital or special project gift, and a planned gift. The whole process is explained in detail, along with the timing, approach, wording, and donor’s permission. This right here is platinum.
This book will be helpful to fundraisers of any size organization but addresses the needs, limited resources, and limited experience of many small and medium-sized nonprofits. There isn’t much information or research on proven fundraising methods specifically designed for and based on the experiences of small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations.
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I highly recommend this book to fundraisers, C-suite executives like the CEO and CFO, and every nonprofit board member worldwide. This book doesn’t just show you the mountaintop; it provides directions to reach it for every step of the way.
FIVE STARS!
Alexis Alm Says, “Major-Gift Ramp-Up is a Gift to Fundraisers Everywhere!” was first posted at JimmyLaRose.com
ABOUT ALEXIS ALM:
Alexis Alm is a Major Gifts Ramp-Up Counselor with Development Systems International. She is a woman who is passionate about community, giving back, and paying it forward. Her passion for raising awareness and helping others started when she was 16 and her prom date, who used a wheelchair, could not get into the venue from the front door so they had to use the loading dock and come into the restaurant through the kitchen. That was in 1976 and she came home that night and wrote letters to the Governor, the mayor, and the local newspaper about the rights of people with disabilities to access public spaces and to be treated with respect. From there, the fire was lit, and it has not gone out! She went on to advocate, march and raise money to promote the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and hasn’t stopped raising awareness and funds for nonprofits with impactful missions for over 5 decades.
