Press Release – Major Gifts Ramp-Up THE BOOK Goes On Sale January 1, 2025

PRESS RELEASE – WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 17, 2024 – Nonprofit fundraising veterans Joanne Oppelt and Jimmy LaRose will release their new groundbreaking work Major Gifts Ramp-Up: Money Is Oxygen—Without It Charities Can’t Breathe on January 1, 2025. The authors are pressing for new charitable sector traditions, not only during the holidays but throughout the year. “Money is more important than mission. Donors are more important than clients,” they state.

Oppelt and LaRose are considered mavericks in the industry. Oppelt, a former professor, has written twenty-three books on nonprofit leadership and development. She has raised more than $30 million during her tenure as a fundraiser. Oppelt has worked across multiple areas including the arts, child welfare, disabilities, early childhood education, maternal and child health, mental health, public health, at-risk youth, and more. She has trained thousands of fundraisers.

“The industry, as a whole, has failed to achieve the significant impact to which it has been called. For years the sector has captured no more than 5 percent of GDP. What kind of success is that?” she asks.

VISIT HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF MAJOR GIFTS RAMP-UP THE BOOK ON AMAZON

LaRose, the architect of the Major Gifts Ramp-Up, built the thirteen-step model to bring major gifts fundraising out of the hallowed halls of large institutions into the rooms of small and midsized nonprofits, even startups. The model was created out of a moral crisis.

As a new consultant, LaRose sold feasibility studies in preparation for major gifts campaigns. After he sold a study to a small agency who had no money to spare, conducted the study, and found out what he already knew—that they were not ready for such a campaign, he knew he knew he was doing his clients no favors. As a result, he developed a fundraising model, based on clinical research, that did away with feasibility studies while still raising millions.

“Feasibility studies are a scam,” he asserts. “There is a better way.”

Major Gifts Ramp-Up gives you an evidence-based system proven to work. Clemson University conducted a multi-year clinical study evaluating charitable outcomes related to capacity building. Four hundred and seventy nonprofit leaders completed a ninety-item, online survey examining their capacity building initiatives. The survey was designed to determine the factors that lead to organizational and missional success. The Major Gifts Ramp-Up model is an outgrowth of those findings.

Press Release – Major Gifts Ramp-Up THE BOOK Goes On Sale January 1, 2025

Contrary to how most charitable organizations raise money through special events and grants, Oppelt and LaRose put the donor at the center of their efforts. Without the donor, there are no services for the client. The system revolves around meeting the need of the donor to invest in a compelling project that forever changes their community. The authors postulate that most charitable agencies engage in transactional fundraising instead of building the transformational relationships their cause demands. They make the distinction between technique-driven fundraising (get the process right), institutional fundraising (support our institution because…), and donor-focused fundraising (the needs of my donors are…).

They argue the role of the strong CEO is to meet the philanthropic desires of their primary clients, their donors, not oversee programs. Administering programs is the purview of a COO or program director. If you have no staff, it is even more imperative that you put donors first. The strongest predictor of nonprofit success is its ability to hire staff. That takes money.

VISIT HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF MAJOR GIFTS RAMP-UP THE BOOK ON AMAZON

“In a nutshell, Oppelt and LaRose showed that the main impediment to a thriving nonprofit organization is the CEO’s focus on the organization’s programs rather than on developing resources to enable those programs. The authors do not neglect programs but insist that the COO oversee them in consultation with the CEO, unleashing the CEO to focus primarily on fundraising. Let me say that again: the CEO’s primary focus should be, according to Oppelt and LaRose, on fundraising,” says Stephen Nill, CEO of CharityChannel.

Major Gifts Ramp-Up speaks to more than resource development. It talks about missional success. It demands that a nonprofit achieve significant impact. The purpose is not to raise money for fundraising’s sake. It is so that nonprofit leaders can scale their efforts.

“What sets Major Gifts Ramp-Up apart is its holistic approach. This isn’t just a fundraising playbook; it’s a guide to reshaping your entire organizational mindset. The authors emphasize that successful fundraising is built on a foundation of organizational development, strategic leadership, and a commitment to growth. The book meticulously outlines how every part of an organization—from the board and CEO to frontline staff—plays a role in securing transformational gifts,” says Jacque Daley-Perrin, former Ohio Medical Association Foundation Executive Director.

“I found the Major-Gifts Ramp-Up a refreshing read that is energized by the synergy of two authors who love what they do, agree on why old fundraising methodologies must change, and leave you invigorated by their passion and clarity,” says Denise McMahan of DKM Media.

“Major Gifts Ramp-Up: Money is Oxygen—Without It Charity Can’t is easy to digest. You can read at your own pace. It presents an excellent overview of a complete system, not just one aspect of fundraising, yet it is not overwhelming,” says Linda Lysakowski, America’s Fundraiser.

You can meet Oppelt in person as co-leader of a Major Gifts Ramp-Up conference taking place on January 29-30, 2025, in Rockledge, Florida. LaRose will be joining via Zoom. For more information, go to https://nonprofitconferences.org/major-gifts-ramp-up-melbourne-fl

Hard copies of Major Gifts Ramp-Up are available on Amazon – VISIT HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF MAJOR GIFTS RAMP-UP THE BOOK ON AMAZON

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This PRESS RELEASE and Major Gifts Ramp-Up THE BOOK has been published by the National Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Executives (NANOE). NANOE is a nationwide network of donors, volunteers, and charitable leaders whose relentless commitment to significant and sustainable impact transforms the communities we serve. NANOE changes the way philanthropic leaders think. We do this, in part, using the spoken and written word. We employ modern-day truth-tellers to pierce hearts. NANOE is the fastest-growing nonprofit membership network in the United States. It is a fellowship of individuals who believe that innovation never fears a challenge and that the greatest contribution donors, volunteers, and practitioners can make to philanthropy is to become the creative, thinking enterprise leaders the nonprofit sector so desperately needs.

For media inquiries regarding this PRESS RELEASE please contact Lisa Van Zyll at:

NANOE
712 H Street NE Suite 1149
Washington, DC 20002
(800) 257-6670
[email protected]

Press Release – Major Gifts Ramp-Up THE BOOK Goes On Sale January 1, 2025 was first posted at INSIDE CHARITY

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