We believe that the web is currently most useful in soliciting and acknowledging major gifts. Why? Because "that's where the money is" and that's where your Internet investment will begin to pay off. Every fundraiser who has been around the block a few times knows that major fundraising happens when you can find major donors. The ratio of time and energy spent to results gained is usually so dramatic that one wonders why so many fundraisers spend so much of their time on special events and small-gift appeals. It is a truism of fundraising: 80% of your gift income will come from 20% of your donors. This will be particularly true if your library is engaged in capital fundraising, that is, for large-scale renovation, building, or endowment purposes.

Recognition as Fundraising:

So what does this have to do with the web? Plenty.

The web is still so visual that it can capture the attention of almost anyone. We well recall a committee meeting that included a major donor whose spouse was visiting another building on campus. When she returned, the meeting was still in progress, and so we showed her the new site we had created with her husband's picture accompanying some beautiful illustrations from his collection. "Look, you're on the web!" she exclaimed when he came out of the meeting, and pulled him over to see the screen.

[Sorry! Our agreement with our publisher does not allow us to put the entire book online. If you would like to have the entire text, and the CD, there's an easy way to get it: Spend $50 (cheap for a book and a CD!) Just call ALA Editions at 1-800-545-2433 or order online (for a few dollars more) at http://www.amazon.com (search for "fundraising and friend-raising")]

Jump back to
"Chapters and Other Links"