Philanthropy Books

Jim Wallis is a brilliant and compassionate man who preaches his faith like nobody else. He is level-headed and not at all inflammatory, which is beautiful and so rare these days. I am not a particularly religious person, so when he speaks of 'faith' I think of it as 'faith' in humanity and the substitution works just fine. This book is for people who are done hating and being angry about the current state of our country (no matter your political persuasion) and who are truly looking for some way to help bring about change. For someone to have that strong a reaction against a man like Jim Wallis is, who unlike everyone these days has no hidden political agenda, is very bizarre. He is a TRUE Christian (yes, some still exist) and his priority is practicing and teaching the lessons of Christ, which don't include starting wars, sentencing people to death, degrading the poor, quieting dissenting voices, etc. FYI, those who read that last sentence as a poltiical statement rather than an honest recitation of the teachings of Christ are not ready for Jim Wallis's message (like, I suspect, the man who gave this one star).

I really liked the preview of this book. Jim says many things we have all heard before but says it so well! I too believe we need to look beyond our backdoor or comfort zones and really open our eyes to what's going on around us. By that I mean nationally and internationally. There are many things wrong in this world and unless we as Christians are willing to take up the cross of Jesus in mission and doing for the least of them, things will remain as they are. Mr. Wallis has written a book previously entitled Who Speaks For God? It is excellent and explains the Sojourners magazine he is the editor of. I would encourage all readers to explore his work.

Gee, we have to have "Faith Based" organizations to change lives and neighborhoods across America. What a load of BS. From the day this country was formed there were people taking care of people whether faith was involved or not. Walls just loves to get preachy on the platform of righteousness. People who care about others are religious or not. They just have a basic need to get outside of EGO and place the welfare of others equal to their own. To place Religion doctrine (which is NOT necessarily "Christian") before the feeding of the hungry is as anti-Christian as it gets.

The book does some have some good tips to follow; specifically if you are new to the leadership aspect of chairing the auction. I was disappointed with the absence of the CD that the book itself says is included, also, it advertises on the back cover a lot of "top 10" type lists, but the book really isn't formatted that way so that's a bit confusing.

Had a lot of useful practical suggestions. The chapter on "Getting Donations" was very helpful for me. Definitely worth buying for a beginner and maybe even for an experienced auction organizer.

This book was fairly helpful. It was missing the CD that was supposed to be included.

After reading "Strategic Giving" by Peter Frumkin (ISBN: 0226266265) last night, this book was a bit of a letdown. I read both books last night at Barnes and Noble. Although this book was well written, easy to follow, short and to the point, and pleasing to the eye, its text fonts were larger and the line spacing was bigger than used in Frumkin's book. The larger fonts and line spacing made the book feel less credible. But that's just me.

I can't fairly knock this book, though. In fact, it is a wonderful book. It will provide much help to an engaged philanthropist when creating his or her giving plan. My recommendation is that if you are interested in being an informed and strategic major donor, then get a copy of both books because they really compliment each other very well. Gary's book provides the framework of a guide to putting a giving plan together, and Frumkin's book gives the necessary background information that will help you better use Gary's "guide."

The first eight chapters of this book are the meat of the guide. They will lead you step by step in creating a sound giving plan. And the last four chapters are an attempt to cover what Frumkin covers in his book.

I would have liked the book better if the diagram of the Giving Plan Model at page 198 included in Appendix A had been included up at the front of the book and fully explained in what should have been the first chapter. Then the author could have proceeded to more fully explain the model in the next eight chapters.

And I'm not sure Appendix B was necessary. To me the book was about "how to plan to give" to charity in a meaningful way. Not "how to give." I would liked to have seen more content in this book like the content included in Frumkin's book. And if that had been done, then Appendix B would have clearly appeared to be out of place.

All in all, this is a 5 star book and one that major donors should definitely read.

This book could be helpful to people who donate little bits here and there when the doorbell rings, and feel they aren't spending where they mean too. Really, though,it just finds several ways to tell you to stop and think about what you believe in and act accordingly. I recommend thinking about that on your own, and then donating the money you might have reserved for this book to that good cause.

For donors with over $25,000 to give there is only one chapter. The primary advice to large donors is to get an advisor. Then it offers pearls of wisdom like, "If you're thinking of making a substantial gift to an organization you will want to have some detailed knowledge about he group's financial situation. One way to do this is to review their budget and balance sheet." I wonder how many large donors really find such advice enlightening.

One last word of warning - if your politics are not left-leaning you may be offended by some of the assumptions which are put forth in this book as facts - such as that government is not doing as much as it should to help those in need.

Tracy's book is probably the most practical material you can get anywhere on engaged philanthropy. Whether you give a lot or a little, whether you give money or time, this book walks you through a process that will make your giving more informed, passionate, strategic, and effective. This book is based on many years of experience in which Tracy has given herself and worked with others who give. Tracy herself is a well-known progressive philanthropic and activist, but the worksheets in this book would work well regardless of a reader's philanthropic causes. Highly recommended.

I bought this without realizing that it was last years. But for what its worth it was useful anyway...

I have been using this book for the past 5 years. I purchase the new edition every year. If you itemize deductions and donate clothing/toys/books to charitable causes, this will help. One suggestion; order it from Amazon. I usually order it from the company and it takes them forever. Amazon got it to me in less than a week-I did use priority mail.

My tax preparer let me use her copy last year and it was a great help - I got over $1500 in donations from household and clothing items as a deduction.

I tried to order this year's version and it has been on back order for like....FOREVER! I keep getting e-mails from Amazon asking if I still want it since there will be a delay and finally I just canceled the order and used some of the information from last year (I wish I would have copied the book from last year).

My advice to Amazon - if you aren't going to be able to get it - don't offer it for sale!!!

This book was a gift for my daughter in law, a fundraiser for a huge national organization. She stated it was the BEST book she has ever read on the subject. I might add, she ia a very successfull fundraiser.

This book was first published in 1984 and quickly became a classic. Panas calls up the experiences of well-known philanthropists, volunteers, educators, religious leaders, fund-raising experts, and others to underscore a primary principle of successful fundraising: technique is no substitute for a committed heart. Having said that, be sure to check out his 65 Tenets for Success.

This book was almost like listening to a professional and highly experienced fund raiser give his unvarnished perspective on the motivations and realities of raising Mega Gifts. A nice peak into the human nature of those fortunate enough to be in a position to make large gifts to worthy and perhaps not so worthy causes. I found the book to be very helpful being new to the field of fund raising, though experienced in dealing with powerful and wealthy people in other professional settings. Not a "How To" book in the strictest sense, but more a what is and what motivates type of book. Worth the read.

ORDERED THE BOOK AND WAS TO BE SHIPPED AUGUST 13TH BY US POST OFFICE, THROUGH DVDLEGACY AND TO THIS DATE...THE 2ND OF SEPTEMBER STILL HAVE NOT RECIEVED IT. THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT KEEP SINGING YOU A SONG AND TAKE THEIR SWEET OLD TIME TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS, DON'T EVEN BOTHER ORDERING THE BOOK....YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER GET IT. OUR POSTAL SYSTEM ISN'T THE WORLDS BEST BUT IT DOES NOT TAKE 3 WEEKS TO SEND ANYTHING IN THE USA.

I recently took a job where one of my focuses is to seek out and write grants. I have had some experience but not to this magnitude. I was researching books to help make sure I met the criteria for the technical writing and ran across this book. It was great and gave me some ideas as to how to structure specific areas of my proposal. It was well worth the purchase price as far as I'm concerned and I know that I will use it again in the future.

This is another great book by Dr. Beverly. She makes everything so easy for those just starting out their grant writing journey or for those who have been at it for a while and just need a litle push. As always, the book was informative, relevant, and a must have for your grant writing tools collection.

Investing in Charity: A Donor's Guide to Charitable Giving
By Ron Jordan and Katelyn L. Quynn
John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2001

Reviewed by Norman Olshansky: President
NFP Consulting Resources, Inc.
Sarasota, Florida

If you are looking for a resource that explains the various methods of charitable giving and can be used to help donors (or beginning development professionals) determine which is the best approach or instrument for their personal use, "Investing in Charity" can be a most helpful addition to your library.

The authors promote the book by claiming it is written for modest as well as wealthy donors. Personally, I believe this book can best be used to help donors who are considering "major" gifts or who plan to make a large number of significant gifts. The book can help them determine how to maximize the impact of their giving for their favorite charities and themselves. Even though the introductory chapters on donor motivation, selecting a charity and how charities function are too simplistic for a major donor, the rest of the book can be very valuable as it relates to the various methods of giving.

I especially liked the way the authors go into detail on planned gifts, trusts, and annuities. They give excellent explanations of the variety, benefits and liabilities of each method, from the perspective of the charity and the donor. The sections on tax implications are also presented in clear and helpful terms.

Equally helpful, are their chapters on Private Foundations, Supporting Organizations and Donor-Advised Philanthropic Funds.

Planned giving, estate planning, trusts, gifts of closely held stock, gifts of non cash assets, insurance, etc. can be complicated and overwhelming. Helping a potential donor understand how they work and the benefits of these instruments could turn, what would have been a 5 figure gift, into a 6 or 7 figure gift.

Each chapter ends with a helpful checklist and series of questions which can help direct the donor to the sources contained therein. In addition, examples are given of specific language which can be used for those who want to deed property or make testamentary gifts. Helpful information is also given on the use of charitable giving as a tool to enhance retirement planning.

An extensive index at the end, adds to the usefulness of the book as a resource guide.

This book will get good use in my library. I give it 4 stars.

This book does enable donors to learn and accurately negotiate the technical details of sophisticated charitable giving, but it stops short of really guiding or "empowering" them. For one, it fails to celebrate and build upon the motivating excitement of why donors give and how the nonprofit sector is so vital and inspiring. Example: The words policy or advocacy are never mentioned as charitable options or types of programs. It's a dull read: donors must practice "due diligence." The message: giving money away is such hard, complicated, serious boring work you will wonder what happened to the joy of giving and the joy of charitable results. Second, the authors inexplainably ignore the option of using community foundations. Third, much valuable information is omitted: There isn't any mention of the many services of the Council of Foundations or similar helpful organizations. Are 501(c)(4) organizations eligible for gifts? We're not told. In the whole text I could find only two web sites mentioned! Nor does the book offer any referral section or recommended reading. Venture philanthropy - no mention! Fourth, instructing donors they "must" visit the charity's site, meet its executive team, AND examine all its core literature before deciding to give is extreme. Ugh.

For those seeking an inspired depiction of the merits of capitalism shared with the philanthropic views of one of the most chartable men in history, the Gospel of Wealth will garner your interest. It is not often the thoughts of great titans in history are readily available to the public. Whether you agree with Carnegie's views or oppose his very existence, you cannot argue the manner in which he articulates his views is both moving and rational.

The Gospel of Wealth is both brief and available free of charge on the internet; however I reject the notion that Carnegie's work is diminished as a result. This book is a short essay that will take less than thirty minutes to read, but the content is lasting. My review measures the content of the book and accordingly I recommend reading the Gospel of Wealth.

John D. Rockefeller said this book inspired him. A previous reviewer said he read that it inspired Bill Gates too. It is no coincidence that Rockefeller, Gates, and Carnegie were the three greatest philanthropists in American history. These men have contributed more to America than 10,000 average people could. The following are just some of the contributions of the above three men: Carnegie Mellon, U of Chicago, Spellman College, Rockefeller University, medical advancements, public libraries, medical aid, art donations to museums, etc. They could have been like J. Paul Getty and hoarded the money, but they chose (or choose) to be great men.

The book talks about the responsibilities of wealthy people. Wealthy people have the opportunity to help people who don't have much opportunity and Carnegie writes about the responsibility wealthy people have to them.

Carnegie gained his wealth by ruthlessly crushing the working man--crushing trade unions, cutting wages in the interest of profit. Yes, he built many libraries, etc. but he still died wealthy, with wealth obtained at the cost of the lives and health of tens of thousands of his employees. This is what American capitalism is built on, and we accept it as gospel truth now, without ever taking a real look at this man!

"the gospel of wealth, by Andrew Carnegie" - sounds interesting, but it wasn't. This is the text of a magazine article he wrote. The theme is transfering wealth to future generations by inheritance, foundations, or spending it yourself before you die.

If you buy this book, you will get a razor thin book that is just a few thousand words.

Just a quick note, the essay is interesting, but it is in the public domain, and a complete text of the essay can be found with a quick google search. Don't waste your money.

When considering creating a private foundation for my family I found it very useful to know what other people who created a foundation thought. The book is loaded with statistics on private foundations gathered from national research. It was very comforting to know that my concerns were also the same concerns that others had. I feel very strongly about my charitable activities and this book was considerable help in deciding to create my own foundation.

If you want any specifics about setting up foundations, this book is NOT for you. It is so short on any specifics, that anyone could have written it, whether or not they had any real knowledge in the subject. It was a big filibuster. It took me all of 30 minutes to read it.

The reader would be better of looking up definitions in a dictionary. For FREE.

Please, Please do not waste your money on this book, unlesss you have NO clue as to what a foundation is and are so wealthy that you just have to have someone spoon feed you insipid advice.

On the bright side, the author sure has profited from a great title!

The subtitle of this book, "How to Establish Your Own Private Foundation," should be subtitled "Why to Establish Your Own Private Foundation." The book is long on generalities, and the so called "conversations" that the authors call "case studies" are insulting. An example: "Cool," said Danny. "Can I smoke a big fat cigar?" "Get Serious," said Debbie. "The foundation will take some time and effort." "Anything's easy after a two-year-old, then twins," said Danny. Please note that there are also factual errors in the book, not the least of which is computing the IRS 1-2% excise tax on a foundation's earnings instead as 1-2% tax on assets owned by the foundation (an error of a factor of 10). Don't waste your time or money on this book.

If you want to understand why people set up private foundations and if you're thinking about setting one up yourself, then this book is an excellent source of information. After reading the book you know what it takes to establish and manage a private foundation.

It took a long time for me to find a book that both educated me on private foundations and addressed my concerns about setting one up for my family. This book is exactly what I have been looking for. If you are considering setting up a private foundation yourself, I highly recommend reading this book.

It's not just that Ben and Jerry's ideas are stupid; it's that these guys don't practice what they preach. There is an article that some naïve reviewers on this board should read. It's called "The Evil Empire" in the New Republic (hardly the voice of capitalism or the political right). Amazingly the New Republic finds Ben and Jerry's arrogance just too hard to swallow.

What does the article have to say?

On Ben and Jerry's success:

"With the publicity came the inevitable backlash: that Ben and Jerry are nothing more than New Age scam artists, feeding social consciousness to gullible yuppies and pocketing the cash. The scarier truth may be that they've scammed themselves. Like their fortysomething followers, they believe the most flattering image of themselves: that, despite their millions, they haven't sold out."

How Ben and Jerry discovered why CEOs get paid big salaries:

This doesn't mean the company is built on scandalous lies--just little white lies, mutual delusions that keep everyone happy. For example, one tenet of caring capitalism is to be "real," to "connect with the customer." This spirit is what drove the company's offbeat search for a new CEO. Early last summer, Ben and Jerry held a press conference to announce that Ben would step down as CEO. Profits had plummeted, the superpremium ice cream market was shrinking; in short, the company had grown too complicated for a "multi-college dropout and failed pottery teacher to run," Ben announced. What pained him most was the company's decision to give up the salary cap that had limited the top executive's salary to seven times that of the lowest-paid employee, the $8 an hour scooper (a sacrifice that had always obscured Ben's millions in stock shares).

And my favorite section of the Article when Ben and Jerry show their hypocracy for all the world to see:

"Then there are the inner-city initiatives that fail. If there are any doubts about B&J's bloodless business instincts, they can be dispelled by another holy man, the Reverend James Carter, who crossed the company's path in 1992. Back then, Carter ran a modest New Jersey bakery called LaSoul, where recovering addicts churned out pumpkin pies for the local groceries. A week after he saw Ben on ABC's "20/20," Carter packed up a trunk full of pies and drove to the company headquarters. Ben loved both the pies and "Reverend Carter's vision of building a sound business." In three weeks, Carter had a letter of intent to do business with the company, which he showed to the bank to borrow money for equipment. Ben flew down to New Jersey to tape a TV show of himself helping ex-addicts mix batches of the new Apple Pie frozen yogurt.

After two years, however, sales of the flavor were flagging. In May 1994, Ben and Jerry's drastically decreased its orders, leaving Carter with freezers full of pies. Frantic, Carter laid off all but two employees and called Ben. The next day, Ben flew to New Jersey, "sat down, looked them straight in the eye," and, recalls Carter, said, "Don't worry, we'll stick with you." But orders never picked up, and, this June, Carter received a letter from the company, by fax, that congratulated him on his "good works" and canceled all remaining orders. He was left half a million dollars in debt. "It's pretty cute, this social mission," Carter says bitterly. "But the bottom line is, Ben and Jerry's buried my company."

Ask Ben about the incident, and he sounds more like Gordon Gecko than Robin Hood: "We told Jim to find more customers. We gave him six months' notice." When the normally upbeat Alan Parker is reminded of a spreadsheet dated November 11, 1994, that projected $500,000 worth of orders from LaSoul in 1995, he replies: "That spreadsheet was given to him as a best-case scenario for volume expectations. Nothing about that memo could be construed as a firm commitment, and it's really disingenuous for him to cite it." Do they feel at all responsible? "Sure, we feel sad," says Parker. "But our sadness is tempered with `why are we being blamed?' We worked closely with him to make our demands on him easier, and that's not something many customers would do for their suppliers. In the end, LaSoul was just not a viable business enterprise."

Anyway for those who would rather read a true story than this useless book I suggest getting a hold of the whole article:

Source: New Republic, 9/11/95, Vol. 213 Issue 11, p22, 4p, 1 cartoon Author(s): Rosin, Hanna

great book for those who HATE big business and its "selfishness". Although the book, I think, is poorly written at times, it is always very interesting as it offers a perspective one NEVER hears about in the business section of the newspaper or in business/management books. More execs should read this and thing long and hard about their "social mission", as well as their strategies. The social effort seems to have worked well for B&J.

These two idealistic lefty entrepreneurs think that there should be a 100% tax on all income over $250,000... This offers a real incentive to work and build a business when the government takes away all the profit. This book should really be called "How to Run a Business While Supporting Anti-Business, Politically-Correct, Leftist Do-Gooder Causes." However, if your IQ is the same "temperature" as Ben-and-Jerry's ice cream, than this rag will certainly satisfy your appetite for mouth-watering politically correct jibberish.

Here is the story of how two guys built a company that 1) Makes money, and 2) has a social conscience. It details the dilemna's, decisions, and trade-offs that Ben and Jerry's had to make between the myriad of forces that regularly tug at the company because of its mission, and the realities of the marketplace. For example, it shows how B&J dealt with their brownie supplier in inner city New York when the supplier couldn't handle the capacity and quality that B&J required.

Very inspirational AND very pragmatic!

I listened to this book on audiotape. Ben and Jerry discuss how the idea of an Ice Cream Shop came about, how it almost didn't happen, then how it became a growing successful business. They tell the business side as well as the human side of their venture, with actual stories, from both points of view. They stressed the importance of running a company that was fun to work at, that cared about the employees, and gave back to the community. Together they explain what a values lead company is all about, and why employees want to be a part of their team. Then they discuss how they and other values lead companies work together to help charitable causes and why it is so important to them. I was fascinated with their sincere ongoing dedication to charitable causes and their devotion to employee satisfaction. This was a great book, very inspiring from the business point of view and heart warming as well.