Philanthropy Books

Most of us give money to charity. This book will help you think about how to link your giving to your personal values, making sure you support causes that are most important to you. It will also help you organize your giving.

When I organized my giving and linked it to my own values, I found that I was willing and able to increase my giving, and to get more joy and satisfaction out of my gifts. That's a great result!

This book is a "workbook" with exercises that help draw out your most deeply held beliefs and links them to your giving. It does not espouse any particular set of beliefs, so it is good for everyone.

I found it a great help in thinking about what I hoped my gifts could accomplish. I also evaluated my existing giving, adding certain charities and dropping others when I focused on those that were more important to me.

A great book for givers at every dollar level from modest to substantial!

I have given to charities for years, but always felt that I'd be able to give better with a solid plan. Inspired Philanthropy is a very comprehensive guide to creating a plan, funding it and managing it. It's a quick read too!

Cnaan has done a brilliant job, bringing his research to lay people. In writing my dissertation on externally focused churches, I found this book indespensible in my literature review.

Written by Terry Axelrod, The Joy of Fundraising: How to Stop Suffering and Start Enjoying Asking for Money for Your Favorite Cause is a guide to transforming one's focus and tap into the natural desire to give. Both a cathartic source to kindle zest for fundraising work in the reader, and a practical advice guide for rationally and emotionally connecting with potential donors, The Joy of Fundraising divides itself into three main sections respectively devoted on shifting one's thinking, focus, and actions toward cultivating a more positive and successful fundraising environment. A valuable tool and personal testimony, especially recommended for employees of charities or anyone seeking to renew the drive to seek donations for a cause.

I have to agree with Peter Frumkin in his review of Just Money in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Notable Books section, Winter 2004. "A meditation on the difficult art of giving...the book covers a lot of ground. The overall approach is one of sober reflection, thoughtful inquiry and public self-criticism." I highly recommend it. So does Bernard Mercer in PhilanthropyUK in June 2005. He writes (for his British audience)about the importance of the views of 11 veterans of U.S. philanthropy-- "from the perspective of British philanthropy, this is a book that repays careful reading, for the challenges that preoccupy these 'retiring philanthropy professionals' have either already crossed the Atlantic, or are in mid-passage.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The text was accurate yet lively, the details fascinating. This book was a wonderful insight into the life of a couragous woman who braved great danger to help others. Clara Barton should be a role model to all. She braved Civil War battlefields to nurse the wounded and then fought for an American chapter of the Red Cross. I highly reccomend this book to all!

This book really hit to the heart on what knidness means in today;s society. The author makes a point to remind us that we must reteach ourselves ways to care as adults because they are different from when we were kids. Also he explains that part of volunteering is reflecting on what you just did to understand it.

I love this book, I am going to buy it for my mom for her birthday. I read it in three hours because it was split up into small chapters and because Jerry's life is so interesting. I would recommend this book to everyone. Jerry is an amazing person and he has inspired millions, including me, to become better people and to live more CareFully.

An excellent compilation of the necessary and relevant texts on the concept of the gift, texts which would be difficult to acquire anywhere else without considerable expense. Seminal American, German and French texts are included. If you are working on the theme of the gift in any discipline, this book is a must have. For continental philosopy, it also makes an excellent companion to J. Derrida's Given Time, a book that frequently refers to many of the texts included in Schrift's volume. Superb choices and editing. The only lack here is G. Bataille, but it is nearly impossible to excerpt from his work - The Accursed Share, vols 1-3, as well as his book on Religion, are highly recommended reading in addition to Schrift's handy compendium.

For civic activists, students of nonprofitdom, and practitioners, David Hammack's reader is an essential reading. He uniquely combines deep historical insight with a sensitivity to the concerns and interests of contemporary managers, citizens, and advocates.