The relentlessly practical guide to raising serious money: Proven strategies for nonprofit organizations

Why of all the hundreds of fundraising books available did AmeriCorps Vista, with offices throughout the U.S., single out The Relentlessly Practical Guide to Fundraising as the premier book on the subject and provide a copy to thousands of its staff?

Read David Lansdowne’s acclaimed work and you’ll quickly understand why.

No other writer in the field is as succinct, yet comprehensive. Nor do others have Lansdowne’s trademark gift of extracting the essence of a technique and illuminating it in unfailingly clear prose.

Lansdowne plumbs every major aspect of fundraising: from annual campaigns to capital campaigns, from major gifts to Internet fundraising, from planned giving to direct mail to prospect research.

Each chapter is delivered with heat-seeking precision. For example, do you want to know how to establish a gift club for donors? Turn to that chapter and chances are you'll learn more in the nine pages than you would from reading an entire book on the subject.

The same goes for attracting corporate support. Yes, you could spend hours boning up on the topic. But there's no need, as Lansdowne discusses everything you should know in a mere 11 pages.

There are other standout chapters that lift this book above others.

• "The 16 Best Pieces of Fundraising Advice" may be the best rendering of its kind put to pen. • "Fundraising's 20 Biggest Mistakes" is a masterful discussion that alerts you to each and every red flag. • "Fundraising Myths" explores more than a dozen pernicious myths that many still labor under. • And, "What Every Board Member Must Know to Succeed," should be required reading for any trustee serving a gift-supported organization.

Here's ‘real world’ guidance you can put into practice literally today.