Despite what Mal himself says (see Mal Warwick in his own words), great and good, not ornery, are just two of the words we at SOFII would use to describe the fundraising legend that is Mal Warwick. He holds his place in fundraising’s hall of fame for his strategic, detailed and highly effective approach to nonprofit direct marketing, as well as his passion for sharing his vast knowledge with thousands of fundraisers around the world.

Mal is a brilliant fundraising strategist and a long-term advocate of socially responsible business. But he’s probably best known as the nonprofit sector’s doyen of direct marketing. He has worked with some of the world’s most prominent nonprofits and causes, including six US Democratic presidential candidates, as well as with dozens of local and regional organisations. Mal and his colleagues have directly raised more than half-a-billion dollars for nonprofit causes – mostly in the form of small gifts from individuals.

Most recently, Mal has served as Chair of the Resource Alliance (2007-8), organisers of the annual International Fundraising Congress in The Netherlands. He is an active member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Nonprofit Federation, Washington, DC, which, in 2009, gave him a prestigious award in recognition of his ‘career characterised by innovation and leadership within the direct marketing community’. This is one of many awards Mal has received. In 2006, he was named as ‘Berkeley’s most useful citizen’ in recognition of his lifetime contributions to his local community in San Francisco.

Many of Mal’s 19 books (yes 19!) are required reading for fundraisers, not just his favourite book, How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters, but also The Mercifully Brief, Real-World Guide to Raising $1,000 Gifts by Mail and Revolution in the Mailbox. SOFII will be reviewing the latter soon.

Mal’s latest book, Fundraising When Money is Tight, is filled with pragmatic information on what nonprofits should be doing about their fundraising during these tough economic times.

You can catch Mal speaking at most major, and many smaller, fundraising conferences and workshops from Kenya to Kuala Lumpur to Kansas. Mal, on behalf of all fundraisers, we at SOFII thank you for so willingly passing on your fundraising wisdom to fundraisers around the world.

Now read Mal Warwick in his own words and, if you want to, you can find more about Mal on his easy-to-use website. While you’re there, make sure you sign up to his e-news – more than 11,000 people from 69 countries already have.

To order Mal’s books direct from his publisher, Jossey-Bass/Wiley, click on the covers, above.