by Radha Friedman

Fundraising for your nonprofit can feel never-ending and stressful, causing many fundraisers to burn out and quit.

You believe in the mission, and you do whatever it takes to reach your fundraising goals. However, somewhere along the way, you’ve inadvertently run over your boundaries and confused your priorities. You are overworked, overstressed, and starting to understand how Sisyphus must have felt pushing that boulder up the hill in vain.

In Fundraising Without Burnout, Radha Friedman, a philanthropic advisor with decades of experience funding nonprofits around the world, offers a frank and witty critique of how the “best practices” we’ve been taught are actually sabotaging our fundraising efforts. By debunking the myths that keep inequitable practices in place, Radha provides solutions that help nonprofit leaders redefine their purpose, prevent burnout, and meet their fundraising goals while reclaiming their peace.

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

[Learn more about the book and order your copy at Goodreads]

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

By Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Many of the defining moments in our lives are the result of accident or luck—but why would we leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them?

What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember twenty years later? What if a doctor or nurse knew how to orchestrate moments that would bring more comfort to patients? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children?

The Power of Moments features captivating stories of people who have created standout moments. Filled with remarkable stories and practical insights, The Power of Moments proves we all have the power to transform ordinary experiences into unforgettable ones.

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

[Learn more about the book and order your copy at Goodreads]

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

by adrienne marie brown

by Kristen Corning Bedford

Discovering your philanthropic purpose, and honing the tools and resources to act on that purpose, takes consideration and contemplation. Done properly, this work is a gift to yourself and to the world.

Feminist philanthropy operates on the principles of solidarity, agency, and reciprocity. It has arisen from a movement of people who demand to be a voice at the table, to recognize nature as a guide, and to treat each other as one. Using feminism to develop our philanthropy engages a systems perspective, one that shifts our narrative from one of extraction to one of co-creation, and centers our giving on achieving wholeness and equity. When you approach your giving with this mindset, you're better able to align your privilege with your purpose.

A Generous Heart guides you on a journey to examine your intent and your passion, in order to create joyful change in the world and in yourself. You are a philanthropist—and you have everything you need to make a difference.

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

[Learn more about the book and order your copy at Goodreads]

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?

Originals addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions.

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Originals explores:

• how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt

• how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children

• how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent

The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.

Join us at this month’s (free, virtual) book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Note: This will be an interactive small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

How do solo nonprofit fundraisers find their focus, lose the overwhelm, create a strategy, and—most importantly—fund the mission?

Discover how to create the donor-focused fundraising systems that move your organization forward—even in a crisis:

• nonprofit storytelling

• foundation grants

• fundraising planning

• multichannel fundraising appeals

• donor newsletters

• nonprofit annual reports

• starting your monthly giving program

• selecting Your CRM

Loaded with tools, templates, and even recorded webinars, Simple Development Systems will get you off the fundraising hamster wheel once and for all. You’ll learn how to systematize your fundraising and grow an individual donor base upon which your nonprofit can rely through any crisis.

Join us at this month’s (free, virtual) book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Note: This will be an interactive small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

This month’s book: Did That Just Happen?! Beyond “Diversity”— Creating Sustainable and Inclusive Organizations

By Lauren Wadsworth and Stephanie Pinder-Amaker

We know that diverse teams are stronger, smarter, and more profitable, and many companies are attempting to hire more diverse teams, but most struggle to create a real culture of inclusivity in which people from all backgrounds feel comfortable. 

As clinical psychologists, as well as individuals with marginalized identities, Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker and Dr. Lauren Wadsworth show the emotional and physical impact of marginalization and how that leads to a decrease in employee engagement and, often, increased job turnover

Did That Just Happen?! will be invaluable for employees who come from underrepresented communities and identities (identities discussed include race, age, disability, sexual orientation, citizenship status, and gender expression). But the book is essential for leaders of companies, supervisors, HR departments, and for anyone who wants to understand and support diversity/equity/inclusion practices. The book will also make readers feel more confident in their navigating of friendships/interactions with people who hold different identities.

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors are Revolutionizing Giving

By Sharna Goldseker

Meet the next generation of big donors—the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. 

As "next gen donors" step into their philanthropic roles, they have not only unprecedented financial resources, but also big ideas for how to wield their financial power. They want to disrupt the traditional world of charitable giving, and they want to do so now, not after they retire to a life of philanthropic leisure.

Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving pulls back the curtain on these rising donors and the "Impact Revolution" they seek. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Madam C. J. Walker's Gospel of Giving

By Tyrone McKinley Freeman

Founder of a beauty empire, Madam C. J. Walker was celebrated as America's first self-made female millionaire in the early 1900s. Known as a leading African American entrepreneur, Walker was also devoted to an activist philanthropy aimed at empowering African Americans and challenging the injustices inflicted by Jim Crow. 

Tyrone McKinley Freeman's biography highlights how giving shaped Walker's life before and after she became wealthy. Poor and widowed when she arrived in St. Louis in her twenties, Walker found mentorship among black churchgoers and working black women. Her adoption of faith, racial uplift, education, and self-help soon informed her dedication to assisting black women's entrepreneurship, financial independence, and activism. Walker embedded her philanthropy in how she grew her business, forged alliances with groups like the National Association of Colored Women, funded schools and social service agencies led by African American women, and enlisted her company's sales agents in local charity and advocacy work. 

Illuminating and dramatic, Madam C. J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving broadens our understanding of black women’s charitable giving and establishes Walker as a foremother of African American philanthropy. 

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Effortless

By Greg McKeown

From the author of the million-copy-selling Essentialism comes an empowering guide to achieving your goals. It all starts with a simple principle: Not everything has to be so hard. 

Do you ever feel like: 

• You’re teetering right on the edge of burnout? 

• You want to make a higher contribution, but lack the energy?   

• You’re running faster but not moving closer to your goals?  

• Everything is so much harder than it used to be?  

Getting ahead doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. No matter what challenges or obstacles we face, there is a better way: Instead of pushing ourselves harder, we can find an easier path. Effortless offers actionable advice for making the most essential activities the easiest ones, so you can achieve the results you want, without burning out.   

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Collecting Courage

Edited by Nneka Allen, Camila Vital Nunes Pereira, and Nicole Salmon

Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love is a collection of stories documenting racism and survival by 14 accomplished Black fundraisers working in charities across North America. With searing and intimate detail, they write about their experiences with anti-Black racism—about coping with being last hired, first fired, overlooked for promotion to outright hostility in toxic workplaces. Their testimony chips away at the idea of the inherent goodness of the charitable sector. 

“First and foremost, this book is the start of a process to systematically document our experiences, so our voices are the ones that shape the narrative,” say the editors. “Secondly, for those whom our stories resonate, we hope they give you the courage to voice your own experience. 

“Finally, for those committed to being allies and accomplices in dismantling barriers and championing a sector culture of belonging and reciprocity, we hope the book illuminates a path to action.” 

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: No More Duct Tape Fundraising

by Rachel Ramjattan

As the executive director of a nonprofit, the reality of being responsible for raising money to keep your programs operating is overwhelming. You keep it together, but often you just want a fundraising coach and a team to help, so you don’t have to worry about turning people away or running out of money. 

Rachel Ramjattan, a national fundraiser with decades of experience fundraising, understands how you feel. In No More Duct Tape Fundraising, Rachel walks you through the eight-step process she uses to raise money efficiently and build a fundraising team. You’ll learn how to: 

• Create a fundraising plan to manage fundraising 

• Inspire people to give 

• Upgrade existing donors 

• Generate predictable revenue to sustain your programs 

• Get your board (and staff) on board with fundraising  

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Ask Without Fear

by Marc A. Pitman 

Is fundraising fun for you? Are your board members beating down your door with new donors ready to make a gift? If that's not your reality yet, international fundraising trainer Marc A. Pitman's Ask Without Fear is for you! 
 
In this fun, easy-to-read book, he: 

• Explains in a step-by-step, easy to remember process how to build authentic relationships with your donors—and help them connect with your cause in the way that matters most to them 

• Identifies time-tested research tools to help you plan your fundraising campaign 

• Exposes the 7 most common fundraising mistakes—and how to avoid them 

• Shows how to become skilled at identifying a person's personality traits and tailoring your message to fit their personality—even on the fly 

Perfect for nonprofit employees and board members, Ask Without Fear helps you move your fundraising from a static, one-way, organization-centered monologue to a dynamic, donor-centered, two-way dialogue. This book gives you the tools to raise serious money for your favorite cause. 

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Inclusify

by Stephanie K. Johnson 

Humans have two basic desires: to stand out and to fit in. Companies respond by creating groups that tend to the extreme—where everyone fits in and no one stands out, or where everyone stands out and no one fits in. How do we find that happy medium where workers can demonstrate their individuality while also feeling they belong? 

The answer, according to Stefanie Johnson, is to ‘inclusify.’ Unlike ‘diversifying’ or ‘including,’ inclusifying implies a continuous, sustained effort towards helping diverse teams feel engaged, empowered, accepted, and valued. In this essential handbook, she explains what it means to inclusify and how it can be used to strengthen any business.  

Join us at this month’s book club for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives. 

Here's a link to order the book. 

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others. 

Join the Aperio book club.

Join the Aperio book club to meet and share ideas with other nonprofit leaders and fundraisers! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Decolonizing Wealth

As fundraisers, we have seen the transformative power of philanthropy. We have also seen its foundation in—and perpetuation of—systems of oppression.

How is philanthropy linked to colonial structures? Is it ultimately doing more harm than good? How can we shift our industry toward healing?

In Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar Villanueva diagnoses the fatal flaws in philanthropy and provides thoughtful solutions to these systemic imbalances. Decolonizing Wealth is a timely and critical book that preaches for mutually assured liberation in which we are all inter-connected.

With great compassion—because the Native way is to bring the oppressor into the circle of healing—Villanueva is able to both diagnose the fatal flaws in philanthropy and provide thoughtful solutions to these systemic imbalances. Decolonizing Wealth is a timely and critical book that preaches for mutually assured liberation in which we are all inter-connected.

Join us for a lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: The Likability Trap

Alicia Menedez has observed that women are stuck in an impossible bind: Be nice, but not too nice. Be successful, but not too successful. Just be likable—whatever that means?

At work, strong women are criticized for being cold, and warm women are seen as pushovers. In The Likability Trap, Menendez examines this fundamental paradox and empowers readers to let go of old rules and reimagine leadership rather than reinventing themselves.

What cultural patterns are holding us back? How can we value our unique talents and styles instead of muting them?

Join us for a fun, lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Good to Great

For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins...

Are there companies and organizations that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company or organization to go from good to great?

Join us for a fun, lively conversation about his findings outlined in Good to Great. We'll discuss what we've learned from the book and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Connect

Connect was written by a team of marketing experts serving Fortune 500 brands to outlines the massive paradigm shift currently taking place within the marketing industry--and provide us the insight we need to stay on board.

How can we stay relevant? How can we connect with our audiences? How can we drive toward our organizations' strategic objectives?

Join us for a fun, lively conversation with nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. We'll discuss what we've learned from Connect and how we're applying it to our day-to-day lives.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: This will be an interactive, small-group event. Don't have time to read the book? No worries! Join us anyway to share your experiences and learn from others.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

This month’s book: Dare to Lead

In her #1 NYT bestsellers, Brené Brown taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.

How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders? And, how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?

Dare to Lead answers these questions and gives us actionable strategies and real examples from her new research-based, courage-building program.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: RSVP to the event to add it to you calendar. Prior to the book club, you will receive an email from our team confirming the access information for your small group.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

Note: RSVP to the event to add it to you calendar. Prior to the book club, you will receive an email from our team confirming the access information for your small group.

This month’s book: What Your Donors Want and Why

The New York Times has called Tom Ahern "one of the country's most sought-after creators of fundraising messages." He's also a wildly popular trainer, introducing fundraisers around the world to the secrets of persuasion and donor-centricity.

What Your Donors Want...and Why! is his latest and most impassioned book. In its chapters, nonprofits learn how to treat donors as customers (and why that matters so much to income),how to organize communications around the prime metric of Lifetime Value (LTV), and how to answer the Big Three questions required in a high-performance case for support.

Here's a link to order the book.

Note: RSVP to the event to add it to you calendar. Prior to the book club, you will receive an email from our team confirming the access information for your small group.

Join the Aperio book club.

Have books piling up on your nightstand? Join the Aperio book club to start reading through them! Each month, we’ll meet (virtually) to discuss our book of the month and takeaways for our work and lives.

Note: RSVP to the event to add it to you calendar. Prior to the book club, you will receive an email from our team confirming the access information for your small group.

This Month’s Book: Uncharitable

Dan Pallotta is one of the boldest writers on the role of nonprofits in our society, arguing that the paradigm of how we think about charity is constraining revenue-generative and impact for nonprofits. His iconic 2013 TED Talk introduced his assessment of unequal economic rights for charities and their impact. 

In Uncharitable, he explains his how we got here, what it means, and what we can do about it. In our discussion, we’ll talk about how we see the effects of these trends in our organizations, how it constrains our own fundraising, and how we can lead a paradigm-shift from the ground up.