Collaboratively written by professional non-profit organization fundraiser Harry A. Freedman and Florida-based journalist Karen Feldman, The Business Of Special Events: Fundraising Strategies For Changing Times is a step-by-step guidebook that effectively instructs the reader in every step of organizing a successful fundraising effort in today's technological era. Individual chapters specifically address how to create a balanced budget; secure corporate sponsorship; maintain accurate records; get serviceable publicity; provide food, beverages, and entertainment at fundraising gatherings; and more. A wealth of practical tips, tricks, and techniques make The Business Of Special Events a top-notch and highly recommended resource.

I purchased this book several years ago and I still refer to it whenever I am planning a special event. Freedman & Feldman provide a guide that literally lays the groundwork for conducting a successful special event (I hope that is not a Kent Dove title). Every subject from selecting the right event to post-event evaluation is covered in this resource.

Great pains are taken to illustrate the areas discussed and tips abound throught the book. I found the samples of event materials particularly useful in gaining an understanding of some of the principles that are illustrated.

The Business of Special Events is a must have edition to your library. A great resource for volunteers, chairpersons, staff and Board. I completly agree with George R. Reis, Editor, Fundraising Management when he says "When other writers discuss special events, they often quote Harry Freedman. This book is the final word on the subject."

Book Review:

Capital Campaigns: Strategies That Work
By: Andrea Kihlstedt and Catherine P. Schwartz
Edited by: James P. Gelatt
Aspen Publishers, Inc. Gaithersburg, Maryland 1997

Reviewed by: Norman Olshansky: President
NFP Consulting Resources, Inc.
...

What a surprise! With over 30 years of non profit fundraising, leadership and capital campaign consulting experience, I expected to gain little from this "how to" book which I was given to review. Boy, was I wrong.

Step by step, the authors outline and expand upon the key elements of a capital campaign; from determining whether or not your organization is ready for a campaign, to the best ways to celebrate and evaluate its conclusion.

I appreciated the amount of detail the authors included and their emphasis on organization, planning, leadership involvement and communications. They explore the basic process and then give in depth coverage of each step. In addition to sharing their own personal knowledge and expertise, they gathered much of their material by interviewing friends and clients who also had extensive capital campaign experience. They made the book more interesting, and dramatized the points they wanted to make, by the inclusion of short vignettes and quotes by volunteer and professionals, from actual campaign experiences.

Among the important subjects covered by the book are: how to select and use consultants, building the case for support, conducting a feasibility study, creating a campaign management plan, prospecting and prospect research, team building and leadership development, techniques of solicitation, campaign materials and public relations, events, thank yous, recognition, and much more. They even have a trouble shooting guide which focuses on what to do when things go wrong.

I highly recommend this handbook for volunteer leadership and staff alike (whatever their level of previous experience) who are considering a capital campaign. It is a book that should also be part of the libraries of campaign consultants. I have to admit that I picked up several great new ideas and techniques from reading the book.

Keep in mind that this is a "how to" book and will continue to be of value as a reference tool. The table of contents and index are complete and excellent in their detail.

I felt the authors could have put more emphasis on and expand the section on feasibility studies, or as I like to call them, pre-campaign assessments. Too many organizations try to avoid this important process thinking that they already know they need to know. They feel the pre-campaign study will take unnecessary time and resources. A good study not only sets the stage for a successful capital campaign and determines a realistic goal, but also provides invaluable information about the way the organization is perceived in the community, potential for major support, and extent to which leadership and staff are ready or capable to do what is necessary for success.

Organizational culture, leadership styles, personality management and what is often referred to as organizational politics are other areas which I felt deserved expanded coverage by the authors. Human factors, organizational history, and communication styles are all addressed in the book but are not given as extensive or in depth presentation as is warranted.

In summary, this book not only meets, but exceeds its very appropriate title: Capital Campaigns-Strategies that Work.

What a surprise! With over 30 years of non profit fundraising, leadership and capital campaign consulting experience, I expected to gain little from this how to book which I was given to review. Boy, was I wrong.

Step by step, the authors outline and expand upon the key elements of a capital campaign; from determining whether or not your organization is ready for a campaign, to the best ways to celebrate and evaluate its conclusion.

I appreciated the amount of detail the authors included and their emphasis on organization, planning, leadership involvement and communications. They explore the basic process and then give in depth coverage of each step. In addition to sharing their own personal knowledge and expertise, they gathered much of their material by interviewing friends and clients who also had extensive capital campaign experience. They made the book more interesting, and dramatized the points they wanted to make, by the inclusion of short vignettes and quotes by volunteer and professionals, from actual campaign experiences.

Among the important subjects covered by the book are: how to select and use consultants, building the case for support, conducting a feasibility study, creating a campaign management plan, prospecting and prospect research, team building and leadership development, techniques of solicitation, campaign materials and public relations, events, thank yous, recognition, and much more. They even have a trouble shooting guide which focuses on what to do when things go wrong.

I highly recommend this handbook for volunteer leadership and staff alike (whatever their level of previous experience) who are considering a capital campaign. It is a book that should also be part of the libraries of campaign consultants. I have to admit that I picked up several great new ideas and techniques from reading the book.

Keep in mind that this is a how to book and will continue to be of value as a reference tool. The table of contents and index are complete and excellent in their detail.

I felt the authors could have put more emphasis on and expand the section on feasibility studies, or as I like to call them, pre-campaign assessments. Too many organizations try to avoid this important process thinking that they already know they need to know. They feel the pre-campaign study will take unnecessary time and resources. A good study not only sets the stage for a successful capital campaign and determines a realistic goal, but also provides invaluable information about the way the organization is perceived in the community, potential for major support, and extent to which leadership and staff are ready or capable to do what is necessary for success.

Organizational culture, leadership styles, personality management and what is often referred to as organizational politics are other areas which I felt deserved expanded coverage by the authors. Human factors, organizational history, and communication styles are all addressed in the book but are not given as extensive or in depth presentation as is warranted.

In summary, this book not only meets, but exceeds its very appropriate title: Capital Campaigns-Strategies that Work.

Funny. Intelligent. Provocative. Exciting. Fresh.
A breath-taking achievement for a first-time author. I can't wait to see what the author will write next. I'm a fan, and it really made me think about the world around us.

This book is like nothing I have ever read before. Interesting, challenging and entertaining. Author has your attention from page one.

The reviewers might consider it didactic, but my kids loved the story! I also enjoyed reading it to them. And I think they took an important lesson from it!

A picture is worth thousand words. Reading the story can choke up the maturest of woman. But when you see the pictures next to the paragraphs, you could just stare at the images and truly feel you were there even if you never had an experience like this

I already have the Chicken Soup for Little Souls Gift Collection. I bought several gift collections and gave them as Christmas Gifts last year and plan to do the same this year! The entire Chicken Soup for the Soul series is so uplifting and heartwarming. Each story touches your heart like no other. Whenever I'm feeling down, I pick up a Chicken Soup for the Soul book and start reading. I recommend it for all ages, young and for the young-at-heart!

All of the books that I have read are very good. I am just a mother and a student, but every book has gave me the courage and strenght to deal with everyday situations differently. When you stop to realize that someone out there has life problems just the same as you do, your day seem not as lonley. I have only read CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOULS, and CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE WOMANS SOUL. But they have really inspired me a greatly.

In this book, the astute historical mind of Michael Grant focuses on 37 of the most pivotal and influential Greeks of the classical age. The book starts with the heroes of the Persian War (Miltiades, Themosticles, Pausanias, etc) and ends at the very border of the rise of Macedon and the beginning of the Hellenic age (Aristotle, Demosthenes).

In between, Grant offers us a comprehensive look at personages who filled in all of the occupations that were of the utmost importance to the ancient Greeks. These include military leaders (Miltiades, Themostocles, Cimon, Epaminondas, Pausanias, Lysander, etc), orators / politicians (Pericles, Pindar, Dionysius I, Archytas, Demosthenes, etc), philosophers (Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), playwrights (AEschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes), historians (Herodotus, Thucydides) and architects / artisians (Polygnotus, Polyclitus, Ictinus, Phidias, etc).

In all of these mini-biographies, Grant maintains his usual standard of excellence in pointing out the most salient aspects of their historical importance and sundry accomplishments. Grant is spectacular in demonstrating his immense erudition and knowledge of the ancient world.

One of the nice features of this books is its format: it is composed of 37 seperate essays, + a number of appendices on various topics. Therefore, you can read an essay & then let the book sit for weeks or months w/out sacrificing anything. So, that makes it a great book to have "at the ready" in places where you may need to kill some time by having a book in-hand.

I would highly recommend this book for people who have an interest in ancient Greece, but do not @ present know too much about it. This book is an excellent introduction to that epoch. For the classical scholar / student, this book is an absolutely indispensable reference.

Through focusing on 37 historical personages who have largely defined classical Greek civilization, Michael Grant has created an ideal introduction on the subject for the uninitiated. The book is informative, easy to absorb and extremely readable. If you harbor any interest regarding Ancient Greece and don't know where to begin, this is an ideal spot.

What if you died, went to "Heaven" and wound up working a job proofing copy for an office product that made no sense, had a distant and uncommunicative roommate, noticed that half the population were dead ringers for Abraham Lincoln, and spent most of your "free" time drinking beer while watching your family back on earth on television as your wife remarried and your father grew old? That is the basic premise of Cloud 8, a wonderfully subtle novel by Grant Bailie. His life after death is unlike any you have ever experienced, one not filled with angels, trumpets and an omniscient God, but moments of quiet and slow revelation (Revelation into what remains a mystery even at the end.)

Bailie's writing is an intriguing mix of humor and pathos, and I found myself thinking about this book long after I finished it. It is one of those rare novels that makes you think and think, and even after you are all thought out, you still aren't sure you know the answer, or if there is even an answer at all.

One of the best books I have read so far in 2003.

A rather frightening look at where we go when we leave this place...In Bailie's work, we are forced to examine our deepest fears, not necessarily what IS in the afterlife, whether heaven or purgatory, but more startlingly, what ISN'T. No fluffy clouds, no long lost loved ones waiting in a bright, warm tunnel (though, a tunnel could perhaps exist later). Though lacking a linear plot, it is a well-written and introspective tale of self-discovery, and ultimately acceptance.

This publication provides a pictorial history of African Americans in Columbus, Georgia. It is one of the first publications of its kind, pertaining to African Americans in Columbus, Georgia. It is comprised of photographs depicting the history of a people and the places where historical events occurred. This document places emphapsis on a racial group that had not been depicted as an intregal part of the history of Columbus nor the history of Georgia.
The information contained in this publication can be used as a supplement to the study of Georgia History, African American History, Social Studies and or Cultural Studies.

The Black American Series- Columbus Ga. is an excellent source of information regarding life for the African American in the rural south.I am from Columbus,Ga. and thought that I knew a lot regarding the African Americans history in this city.Judith Grants book makes you cry,laugh and at the same time do alot of soul searching about a people who's history is so rich but yet still ignored.It challenges you to examine futher the lives of people like Dr.Thomas Brewer and Elizabeth Lunsford who were champions in the struggle for their people but unknown to many today.I highly recomend this work to all people but especially to young African Americans who need to see how their ancestor struggled and still suceeded despite all the odds stacked against them.

I grew up in the area, my dad died of a brain tumor associated with nuclear fallout in Nevada, Classmates and friends in school died of a Leukemia rate 500% higher than national averages. This book also gives relevant dates and times concerning the deaths by eventual cancer of almost everyone involved in the making of "The Conquerors" Staring John Wayne, Agnes Moorehead etc. which was shot on location in So. Utah shortly after the blast and fallout. I read this book in college in Salt Lake in the 70's and it was WIDELY available then. I find it quite odd that it is impossible to find a copy of it in any library or any booksearch I have repeatedly attempted over the course of the last two years. The book also details and suggests fallout patterns from weather anomalies that affected Los Angeles and Las Vegas, that resulted in "smog" advisories for LA way ahead of its truly smoggier years. We used to be notified of blast times and would go upstairs to watch the blast wave spill water out the end of the pool and all the swag lamps swing. Fun Hunh?

VERY spooky book and its unavailability spookier.

Read the book years after my own experiences with fall-out in both northern and Southern Utah. Fuller tackles his subject with depth and emotion, caring for the subjects he interviews and writes about. This book was a thin wedge which finally opened the US Government's files on Atomic Testing and the low-level and high-level fall-out we all live with. Particularly liked the way the book begins with an ordinary day or what had become an ordinary event --- the explosion of a nuclear bomb in Nevada. His focus on the little people working in mines, ranches, and local farms. He makes us feel that they are important and that what happened to them is just as important as the election or assasination of a president. I found it quite moving the way the ranchers and sheepmen held out hope that this was an accident and that their government would, of course, do the right thing. Fuller follows these people from the original event (a bomb called Dirty Harry) to the interviews with the Department of Energy, the reports back and forth and the subsequent lawsuits. This is a MUST book because it is this case which led to a ruling by Judge Jenkins that there had been a gross mis-carriage of justice in the original trials because crucial information had been deliberately with-held from the defendants. His ruling in turn led to the Compensation Act which grants some money to surviving victims of a few couties in Utah if they have the right kind of cancer and can prove they were in the area at the time Dirty Harry.

Karla Williams has introduced an extremely practical and well written book for those of us who seek to raise the bar in the arena of Annual Funds and Donor Development. I have many, many books in my library that focus on fund-raising strategies, and this is the primary one that I will be using to train my staff and volunteers. Why? Ms. Williams not only presents a world-view that is compatible with our organization but then presents very practical, step by step strategies to implement this vision of donor development. She begins with a fairly in depth and clear presentation of the history of fund-raising (which helps to put things into perspective) and then moves on to what she believes is the most effective and responsible paradigm for funding non-profits: one that honors and respects the donor constituency in addition to raising the needed funds for our various causes. The book features numerous case illustrations, easy to interpret graphs, and an integrated annual develoment strategy that can be fine tuned for any organization. Bottom line: Yes it may seem expensive but it is simply one of *the* best resources for annual funds on the market today.

I highly recommend this book. The author has a very accessible, clear writing style. She lays out the pros and cons of various options very well. It has really helped me plan and improve my annual campaign.