Fundraising for the Nonprofit & Public Sectors
This course teaches students how to raise money from public (federal, state and local governments) and private sector (from for-profits or non-profit organizations and philanthropic institutions) donors through the use of appropriate development methods, including grants, contracts, gifts, planned giving, in-kind gifts and swaps, capital campaigns, on-line or digital fundraising, benefit events, annual or renewable giving, in-person solicitation of gifts, and political fundraising. The content of the class will focus on direct fundraising skills and grant-writing, including the managing donations and acknowledging donors. Each student’s course deliverable is expected to be her or his own project to raise funds or in-kind donations in a topic area of personal interest with a client; self-clients are acceptable. If a student is not interested in raising money, she or he ought not take this class. This course covers all of the topics that person preparing for a career as a fundraising professional would be expected to know. The class includes participation by speakers from diverse institutions involved in the process of raising and managing funds. Topics include: presentation of self and organizations; project development; the proposal process; project assessment; and project financial management. Other subjects include: diversity of grant and contract targets of opportunity, sources of information for fundraising, strategic fundraising plans, and processes for raising and spending money through philanthropy.
The course is directed at three sets of participants: persons interested in preparing for a career as a development professional; employees of organizations that seek to raise money (local/state governments, non-profit organizations, or political parties), and graduate students interested in fundraising/development as a marketable skill area, or who wish to fund their own research and/or fieldwork. Students with dissertation or thesis research ideas can use the course to prepare funding requests. This is a graduate level course, so a person who enrolls either ought to have completed an undergraduate degree or have practical experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree.