This course presents the fundamentals of fundraising for non-profit organizations (NPOs) dependent on donated revenue. It focuses on five areas: the ethics of fundraising, annual giving campaigns (including the use of direct mail and special events), major gifts, planned giving, and capital campaigns.

The need for NPOs to engage in ongoing planning and evaluation of their fundraising techniques is emphasized. Be prepared to share your knowledge of nonprofit fundraising. Many of us volunteer for nonprofits and help with a variety of resource development tasks. We are all targets of fundraising campaigns. Raising money for nonprofit organizations might appear to be a straightforward task of simply figuring out the right person to ask, and then asking them. In reality, fundraising is socially complex and financially competitive. An NPO’s fundraising strategy (or lack thereof) directly affects everyone connected with the NPO: board members, employees, clients, volunteers, donors, allies, and competitors.

Through readings, class discussions, guest lectures, and first-hand research on resource development techniques and applications, students will learn the core fundraising skills and vocabulary that are necessary to effectively assist a nonprofit organization to grow and thrive in our ever-changing environment.

Because of the availability of other courses that focus on grant writing and nonprofit financial management, these topics will not be covered in detail in this course. And although many NPOs obtain revenue from selling private goods or from governmental contracts, this course will not concentrate on such topics.

There are no prerequisites for taking the class, except graduate standing to receive graduate credit and undergraduate standing to receive undergraduate credit. Students will be expected to use the internet and present their homework assignments in a professional (typed) format. But students are not required to own or bring a laptop computer to class.