November/December 1985 RAIN Page 25 they could get one fundraising strategy going that was absolutely certain, tried and true, their money worries would be over. Unfortunately, no fundrasing device is absolutely certain. Organizations should not receive more than thirty percent of their funding from any one source. Though it would be difficult, an organization can lose thirty percent of its funding and survive, but to lose more than that would put it in serious straights. An organization could have more than thirty percent of its funding coming from membership, but not from any one member. There is no set number of sources because so much depends on the size of your budget and the sources you choose. The best rule is: The more the better. Anyone Can Do It The final principle, which is most critical for small organizations, is that fundraising is easy to learn. The basic principles are simple common sense; anyone can learn some aspect of grassroots fundraising. Having a diversity of sources allows all the people involved in your organization to find one or more fundraising strategies suited to their tastes and abilities. As they learn more about fundraising and experience success, they will even begin to enjoy it. □ □ ACCESS: Organizational Development The Board Member's Book: Making a Difference in Voluntary Organizations, by Brian O'Connell, 1985, 208 pp., $16.95 from: The Foundation Center 79 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 This book is for board members, those who "want to make the very most out of their volunteer efforts." It covers a wide spectrum of topics of interest to board members: "Board and Staff: Who Does What," "Recruiting, Encouraging, and Evaluating the Executive Director," "Working with Committees," and "Budgeting and Financial Accountability." It handles two topics for board members better than I have seen elsewhere: Robert's Rules of Order (if you are going to use them, O'Connell will demystify them for you), and fundraising (practical insight on a difficult subject for board members). Perhaps the best feature of the volume is the distillation it provides of other books and articles relevant to the nonprofit board member. This attention to the literature is reflected in a superb nonprofit reading and reference list. If this book has a limitation, it is that in . covering the needs of board members in a wide range of voluntary organizations some nonprofit board members (especially those involved in smaller grassroots organizations) may have some difficulty in seeing their faces in this mirror. Brian O'Connell is president of Independent Sector, "a national coalition of voluntary organizations, foundations, and corporations, which seeks to preserve and enhance our American tradition of giving, volunteering, and not-for-profit initiative." —Stephen Schneider The Management Idea Book: A Planning Director Looks Back and Helps You Look Forward, by Paul C. Zucker, 1983,112 pp., inquire for price from: West Coast Books 3424 Jarvis Street San Diego, CA 92106 Some of the best resources for nonprofits are books written for other audiences. While principally written for government planners who have become managers, this cookbook of ideas has many suggestions that can be adapted to the private, nonprofit environment. It contains the distilled wisdom of a skilled practioner and is written in a how-to style. The book presents a positive view of change. Drawing from the disarmingly simple maxim of Harold Hook, "Unless things change, they stay the same," Zucker writes: Almost everyone wants either more or less ofsomething, but unless things change, they stay the same. The manager's job then becomes one ofa change agent. Changes are essential for improvement. They must not only be instituted, but once instituted must be managed. I found the chapters on "Getting Yourself Organized" (time management) and "Management Reports" filled with many useful ideas. If you are involved with a medium-sized or larger nonprofit and are willing to creatively use a book written for another audience, this volume can have value for you. (And if you are a government planner or manager, you'll find this book an unqualified delight!) —Stephen Schneider Stephen Schneider is the director of the Centerfor Urban Education.
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