Verity eight: you delight in the premise that fundraising provides fulfilment to deeds not words.

by Jerold Panas

Raising funds forces us to believe in the promise of the future. But it pays great tribute for what we achieve today.

Storm ad that ignores humanity

by Jeff Brooks

If you want to unlock people’s philanthropy, says Jeff Brooks, don’t take the humanity out of your fundraising. Make sure your donors see who needs their help and what they can do.

A letter that parades fine thoughts with fine language

by George Smith

You’ll see a letter here that George Smith thought one of the best he’d ever read. No, he didn’t write it. But he wished he had.

Oxfam: Marks and Spencer’s ‘schwopping’ partnership

by SOFII

This partnership between Oxfam UK and retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) fulfilled the needs of people in the UK and developing countries. The planet was a winner too.

Verity seven: you have decisive resolve.

by Jerold Panas

Nothing significant has ever been accomplished unless some man or woman dreamed it should be done.

Verity six: great fundraisers are winners

by Jerold Panas

They have a lust and a zest for winning. Their attitude is that if you want to be in second place nobody is going to fight you for it!

Verity five: this one is obvious: you ask for the order

by Jerold Panas

It’s amazing what you don’t get when you don’t ask.

Infantile musings: on the relationship between children and their grandparents

by George Smith

You’ll see a softer side of ace-curmudgeon George Smith when he announces he is about to become a grandfather. Though that doesn’t stop him from wondering why charities don’t make more of such joyous events. He says you should look at the greeting-cards industry, which rarely feels the cold wind of recession.

Verity four: you are high-touch, low-tech

by Jerold Panas

If we lose the personal touch fundraising becomes just a business, not a ministry.

Could this be the sea change that fundraising really needs?

by Penelope Burk

Game-changing books don’t come along often, so this could be the most important book about fundraising that you’ll buy in what, as Penelope Burk comprehensively illustrates, is likely to be your all-too-short and under-fulfilled career.

Reviewed for SOFII by Ken Burnett.

Verity three: you are a communicator

by Jerold Panas

Your first task is to be the trumpet that sounds a clear and dramatic sound.

Verity two: success is always coupled with perseverance

by Jerold Panas

The highest level of success depends on the courage to pursue the chase with diligence.