How to Raise Money: A Classic Guide for the Modern Fundraiser
About this book
What if the most innovative fundraising strategies weren't new at all?
In the early 1900s, fundraising pioneer Lyman Pierce and his colleagues developed sophisticated campaign methods that generated millions for colleges, hospitals, and social causes. He understood how to turn donor psychology and proven methods into fundraising success.
In 1932, Lyman Pierce wrote the original version of How to Raise Money. Much of its wisdom still holds up. but would be difficult to read through a modern lens. This new version has been completely reimagined for today’s reader. It’s been disassembled, rewritten, reorganized, restored, and reassembled — keeping the timeless ideas while making them practical, accessible, and relevant now.
What if the breakthrough insights nonprofits need aren't in the latest tech trends — but in century-old wisdom we've forgotten?
Most fundraising books offer trendy tactics that become obsolete in 5 years. This book reveals principles that have proven themselves across a century — from handwritten donor cards to sophisticated CRM systems, from telegraph updates to real-time dashboards, from the Roaring Twenties to the AI Revolution.
How to Raise Money reveals these foundational insights — fully modernized for the digital age —and shows how technology amplifies (rather than replaces) relationship-based fundraising. The organizations that understand how to combine proven principles with modern technology will dominate fundraising's future.
How to Raise Money is a classic guide for the modern fundraiser including:
Nonprofit leaders tired of chasing fads and seeking proven fundamentals
Executive directors and board members planning major campaigns
Development directors building sustainable fundraising programs
Nonprofit professionals who need to learn fundraising fundamentals
Fundraising consultants seeking historical perspective and validated methods
The Bottom Line
How to Raise Money is the only fundraising book that proves its methods have worked for 100+ years — not just the last hype cycle.The fundraising principles that worked in 1920s still work in 2020s — they just scale better.This groundbreaking book reveals what pioneering 1920s fundraising pioneers discovered about donor psychology, campaign organization, and donor cultivation.
The modernized content covers fundraising fundamentals, campaign structure, portfolio management, development operations, donor stewardship, planned giving, and fundamentals you must master before adopting sophisticated tools.