Profit The Books

This book covers a lot of topics relevant to operating a typical nonprofit organization. None of the topics are covered in much depth, but they are identified and discussed adquately. Just about all the topics covered are what a nonprofit Executive Director really should become expert in BEFORE she tries to found and run a nonprofit of her own. Unfortunately far too many nonprofit leaders try to become Executive Directors, Development Directors, or the like before they are ready. They probably haven't read this book when they should have.

This book is split into 5 sections:

I. Understanding nonprofit agencies (1-2)
II. Guiding a nonprofit to success (3-6)
III. Fundraising 101 (7-13)
IV. Marketing, public relations, and the Internet (14-17)
V. Appendices (18-21)

And the five sections are split into 21 chapters:

1. What is a nonprofit agency?
2. Crafting a mission statement
3. Building a nonprofit team
4. Working with a board of directors
5. Improving your day-to-day management skills
6. Paperwork: corporate bylaws and financial statements
7. Making fundraising your best friend
8. Special events
9. Corporate donations: learn the rules & reap the benefits
10. Direct mail
11. Understanding foundations and endowments
12. Obtaining grants
13. The Board's role in fundraising
14. Why market your nonprofit?
15. Using advertising
16. Public relations
17. Making the most of the Internet
18. Nonprofit Board assessement tools
19. Sample bylaws
20. Sample grant proposal
21. Government grants

The real beauty of this book is that it identifies topics relevant to managing a nonprofit. After you read the cursory explanations for each, then I highly recommend you do some Google searching on the terms in order to find more in depth coverage. Treat this book like an outline for a research project on how to run a nonprofit and you will be really happy you got this book.

I think the book would have been better if it had a chapter on Capital Campaigns and the feasibility studies necessary to have a good capital campaign. And I would have liked to see a chapter on major gift fundraising. And the book would have been more special if it had a resource chapter that listed great books on nonprofit management and fundraising. But none was included.

I would have liked the book better if the section on fundraising had been organized a little differently. I think of fundraising as being about (1) annual campaigns, (2) grants, (3) special events, (4) major gift programs, (5) endowment campaigns, and (6) capital campaigns. Direct mail, advertising, public relations and the Internet all relate to annual campaigns. Those chapters probably should have been consolidated. Obtaining corporate donations and grants are close cousins. They probably should have been consolidated in a chapter entitled "grants." I'm going to rate this book high besides its shortcomings because it is still a pretty good book. 5 stars!

This book is a very good primer for getting one's feet wet in the world of non-profit organizations. While it is by no means exhaustive, it is certainly broad and deep enough for anyone to run their non-profit more efficiently and more ethically. It covers excellent project, team and board building strategies, as well as nearly every type of fundraising and solicitation. Additionally, there is good information on employing the internet for communication, engagement and fundraising -- STILL a fairly new field for many.

Appendices A-C cover some very good tools and examples. Though the listed government grant sources in appendix D focus mainly upon the Humanities and the Arts, valuable web sources are given for finding grants in other areas.

This book is an overview of productivity and how to effectively manage the cornerstone of HR. It's an excellent read for those readers wanting a broad overview, but may be a disappointment for readers searching for canned metrics on productivity and quantitative measures of human resources.

This is a great book. It very nicely ties together all phases of the employment process focusing on making data-driven decisions and linking HR and I/O Psychology functions to the bottom line. Throughout the text it provides 'capsules' on case studies to illustrate the points in each section. A must have for the scientist / practitioner and management generalist!

I just opened a business and this is the third book I've bought on how to market my business. The other two had a few good ideas, but nothing like this one. This book has a wide range of ideas on how to market your business and some of them you can even make money while you're doing it. I'm recommending this book to a couple of friend who are going into business together after the first of the year.

I have reviewed a lot of books over the last several years and considering that I also own a small business, I am always interested in new marketing books that come out and promise new strategies. Most of them just make me yawn. They usually rehash old material from other books and don't have any thing new. This book promises unique ideas and it delivers!

The stories at the beginning of each chapter are very entertaining and I could relate to several of them, but what really impressed me is the amount of material about ideas I have never heard of or read about any where before.

Who would have thought that you can get free yellow page ads, or get paid to promote a business on TV or radio, get free ads in national magazines, license a celebrity to promote a business, get labor unions to send their members to a business, start a 3rd party association that will refer business or send out direct mail for free. These are all ideas I have never seen in any other marketing book.

Then to top it off, the Bishop's are giving away a free small business. WOW!! Do they know how to promote or what? They get my vote for marketers of the year.

This is a very practical, common-sense book. It is very obvious that the author has a lot of experience with what works (and doesn't work!) in the real world. If you serve on a nonprofit board, or are considering doing so, I very strongly urge you to read it.

Since the publication of John Carver's "Boards that Make a Difference" in 1990, much of the literature about nonprofit boards has been directed to supporting or debunking Carver's presentation of a universal governance model. The subtitle of Maureen Robinson's recent book (the end of one-size-fits-all governance) advises the reader of this author's point of view that whatever their similarities, nonprofits differ dramatically in terms of scale and structure, organizational history and cultural traditions. "A million nonprofits will arrive at almost as many variations in strategies for achieving good governance" she writes. "Each Board must fit its performance to the needs of the organization it serves and be willing to change as the organization changes."
Particularly useful in this context is Robinson's differentiation of the board's role into three "dimensions:" legal, functional, and symbolic. The legal dimension represents the board's fiduciary role and its stewardship duties. The functional dimension is the board's role in managing and delivering the organization's programs and services. The third dimension is the board's symbolic role as an exemplar of the values and culture of the organization.

Thankfully, the author also sets out to correct any misapprehensions that governing a nonprofit organization is easy. While the theory of governance may be simple to grasp, implementation is difficult no matter what the size of the organization. Although the board is referred to as a unit, she explains, it is actually a collection of individuals with their own unique reasons for being on the board and their own individual strengths and limitations. Quoting Cyril Houle, she concludes that "a good board is a victory, not a gift."

In the early chapters, the author discusses the value and roles of the board, and suggests strategies for managing meetings and structuring committees so that the board can focus on what she considers essential elements of the job of all boards: financial oversight, planning, evaluation, and fundraising.

Later chapters address the interpersonal dimensions of board-building: the role of the chairperson, the nature of the relationship with the executive director, recruitment, training and evaluating board members.

The author writes in an engaging and personal style with insight and examples from her experience at the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, the Smithsonian Institution, and the American Association of Museums. Interspersed with examples are many suggestions, mostly directed towards chairpersons and executive directors. Addressed to a relatively unsophisticated reader, there is no trivialization of issues, nor condescension. In 176 pages, the book covers its subject quite well. Not to be seen as a manual, it would be useful to anyone in a leadership role in nonprofit organizations. In nonprofit management classrooms, this book would also make an excellent text, presenting an alternative perspective to that of John Carver.

I bought that book and was dismayed at the lack of help in starting my own internet business....he just threw around some techinical mumbo jumbo and called it a book, I hope he tries to write another book that is easier for normal people to read.

THIS BOOK IS GOOD IF YOU'RE LOOKING AN INTRODUCTION ABOUT ALL THE TERMS AND MODELS FOR E-BUSSINES

Very fine investigative reporting on the two main themes: (1) the machinations of Genentech in bringing its products to market, sometimes with inadequate testing and plenty of political pressure, and (2) the fraud at the NCI in claiming first isolation of HIV and the pressure used to obtain a patent for a detection method for it in competition with the Pasteur Insititute, which was really first doing both.

The use of federal tax dollars and university labs to fund drug research that would benfit an individual corporation was exposed along with the resulting secrecy and aggression so alien on campuses in the past.

Some history was not so hot. The origin of theý modern age of medicineý did not occur in 1928 when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, a drug. One could date it from 1897 when Felix Hoffman at Bayer A. G. was searching for new products and recognized that acetylsalicylic acid would ease arthritis pain, leading to aspirin. The modern method of mass screening of compounds as potential drugs began in 1899 when Paul Ehrlich was appointed Director of The Institute for Experimental Therapy in Frankfurt. By 1910 the first treatment for syphilis, Salvarsan, 606, the 606th compound, was launched.
I have read opposite views of the relative merits of the Salk and Sabin vaccines for polio, and of the characters of each. My late wife claimed that Sabin had sexually assaulted her at a medical meeting!

This book is timely, well written, thoroughly researched and extremely disquieting. The usual human limitations including greed, dishonesty, arrogance and hubris are documented in a convincing fashion as they relate to scientists, government and commerce and there is little, if any reason, to be sceptical of the events which are described in considerable detail.

The importance of the book, in my opinion, is that it bears the same relationship to a vital area of molecular biology that Rachel Carson's Silent Sping did to critical issues of environmental pollution. Poisioning the environment and poisoning the manner in which we process scientific information are both extremely destructive activities. The hallmark of the scientific method has always been the free exchange of information between its practioners. This book shows quite clearly that we as a nation have embarked upon the dangerous path of treating scientific information as a commodity rather than as a freely available, continuous source of ideas for some of our best minds to consider and further develop. In the long run this is of no benefit to society. This book suggests, that in the short run, it is also of little if any benefit.

I believe, there is much benefit in reviewing the history of the development of the transistor by Bell Laboratories and the manner in which that organization made this device available to a large number of competitors. No one can argue that the process employed did not lead to benefits for society which exceeded even the most extravagant predictions. A major review of the processes by which scientific information, gathered in large part at a cost to the tax payers, and then utilized to develop commercial ventures is long overdo. It is however doubtful that such will be the case unless the importance of this issue is recognized. The author has performed an important service in this regard.

I really enjoyed the book for the following two reasons.

1. The book was simple and fairly easy to follow.
2. The book contained plenty of information about insider purchases.


You can get this information freely, but you would have to spend lots of time searching and hoping it was correct as well. This book is a gem for those who use fundamental and technical analysis. I have personally used this information to buy "ETRADE", because of the information presented here in this book.

Good book all around. Enjoy!

This book is a must if you want to get a jump on insider trades and profit from it.

There is also a real time insider trading site that display all insider transactions in real time

This book has taught me so much about the basics of investing in tax deeds. You still have to do all of the work yourself but this book gives you the background that you need to get started in this interesting area of real estate investing

Excellent resource for learning the in's and out's of the tax lien investing game. Very well researched by the author who traveled around the country, visiting county courthouses! The only limitation is the it is focused exclusively on land - the author does not explore the technique with respect to developed property i.e. houses or income property.

The upside of working for a non-profit is getting to act on your beliefs for the public good while still getting paid. The downside is that working for the public good necessitates tight budgets. Changing the world IS expensive, but can be done with thoughtful planning.

Sharply at odds with a 'fat cat' image of politics, the non profit MUST know how to make the most use of their organization's resources in order to remain relevant to their service area and organization mission statements. Reading this book reminded me of an organization I had worked with because they started out with noble intentions, but ultimately folded only because the other staff did not understand the necessity of budgeting or how non-profits differ from private-sector corporate charity initiatives.

I'm sure that Dabel has his own horror stories of an organization which forgot to balance idealism with fiscal prudence, but such reminiscing is not the focus of this book. Instead, Dabel provides simple, ready-to-do steps which most non-profits can and should easily undertake. The best organization committed to the best cause in the world will be ineffective when it does not have money for campaign supplies or even an organizing space.

Although he does mention the role which volunteers and interns can play in advancing an organization's goals while lowering the economic overhead, Dabel did not appear to fully appreciate their potential range of contributions in an organization. Having both been an intern and then worked at numerous non-profit organizations where paid staff topped out around 4 people, I ardently believe that unpaid work cannot be underestimated as being one of those practical solutions.

Overall however, this was a good book. I would feel comfortable recommending it to both the non-profit co-worker/colleague and people (such as my family) who need a jargon-free book on the economic/social work environments of non-profits.

The author does deliver on the promise to shave 15% off a nonprofit's budget. All of the 100+ tips (across a broad range of expense areas) for shaving costs are practical and require limited time or money to implement. Though any nonprofit organization will benefit from many of these tested ideas, organizations under $10 million in budget should especially be able to adopt many of the suggestions due to flatter heirarchies and quicker decisions by senior staff. I know of no other text that comes close to being so extensive or so practical.

My mother, the wonderful mother she is, being of great kindness had Dan Thiessen sign the copy she bought me. As a very young child, one of my first restaurant memories was eating out at the Space Needle restaurant. Since then, I took my nieces there for a girl's day out lunch and am still fascinated by the rotating restaurant.

Seattle has so many great restaurants. Palisade is also featured and we have had family parties there in the past. John Howie is an expert on Plank cooking and you might also enjoy his Cedar Plank Cookbook.

Recently we had dinner right next to the fireplace at Ray's Boathouse where Charles Ramseyer is standing! That is the best spot in the whole restaurant, right next to the fireplace.

Then, there is the Metropolitan Grill, Canlis, Painted Table, Herbfarm (really in Woodinville and look for the amazing Herb Farm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld), Flying Fish and so many other familiar restaurants that are all connected to my family memories.

So, if you live in Seattle you will want a copy of this cookbook for sure. If you are wondering what all the talk is about and why the restaurants are so famous, this cookbook will give you a small taste of the bounty of the Northwest.

Some of the great recipes:

Chicken in Lettuce Cups
Grilled King Salmon
Pumpkin Soup
Cajun BBQ Prawns
Eggplant Roulades
Thai Curry Sea Scallops
Winter Squash Gnocchi
Apples Baked in Pastry
Layered Goat Cheese & Vegetable Salad
Prosciutto, Spinach & Mind Wrapped Lamb
Wicked Shrimp
Huckleberry Galettes
Black Rice Cakes

If you love the recipes or are just taking a vacation in Seattle, there is a restaurant directory in the back of the book.

When purchasing this book, you are also helping to support ACCESS. Their mission is to alleviate homelessness and poverty through developing community leadership. They have a list of resources in the back of the book that also include recommended reading like: The Way Home, the Cathedral Within and Revolution of the Heart.

Your generosity and compassion
may be the turning point in someone's life. ~Access

Enjoy!

~The Rebecca Review

This is a gorgeous cookbook that does more than just serve up some of the best recipes the most talented chef's in Seattle have to offer but also includes wonderful stories about the chefs and about the FareStart program that trains homeless men and women in job skills and life skills and gives them their life back. The incredible success of the program is the result of great community support and this cookbook is another example of that.