The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast

Episode 100: Top 5 Fundraising Books Every Nonprofit Leader Should Read [Development 101]
Hosts: Jason Galasinski (A), Jim Dempsey (B)
Release Date: September 3, 2025

Episode Overview

To celebrate their 100th episode, Jason and Jim kick off a new "Development 101" series by sharing their top five most influential fundraising books for nonprofit leaders. With decades of experience and insights from working with over 5,000 organizations, they emphasize timeless relationship-driven strategies for long-term development success. Whether you're a new or seasoned leader, this guide to essential reading offers practical and biblically grounded principles—plus a downloadable PDF resource for further study and team training.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Development 101” Series Kickoff

• This episode is the first in a recurring "back to basics" resource for nonprofit leaders.
• Purpose: Equip listeners with time-tested, foundational principles in nonprofit development.

“Whenever we do a topic like that, we’re going to kind of start building a playlist for you guys so that hopefully over time, we’ll have a little bit of a Development 101 resource built up.” (A, 00:59)

2. Top 5 Fundraising Books

Book #1: Donors are People Too by Tim Smith

Theme: Overcoming intimidation by and building authentic relationships with major donors

• Key Insight: Major donors are approachable and motivated by the same things as everyone else—results, impact, change.
• Takeaway: Relational connection and investing time is as essential as strategy.
• Memorable Analogy: Dating and marriage used to illustrate friendship versus transactional fundraising.
• Quote:

  “Donors are people too. They're not a different breed… We tend to put them on a pedestal… It is not as intimidating as we like to make it seem.” (B, 02:50)
  “You're losing out if you neglect that relationship with people. You're losing out if you don't have that connection with them. They miss that, and you miss that.” (B, 00:10 and repeated at 06:47)

Book #2: Mega Gifts by Jerry (Gerald) Panas

Theme: Understanding the motivations behind major and mega gifts

• Key Insight: Panas interviewed major donors to learn why they gave significant gifts, providing practical steps for fundraisers.

• Takeaway: Listening and the right approach matter more than pitch skills. Major donors respond to leaders and decision-makers who listen.

• Quotes:

  “Donors care deeply about who is asking and how they're approached.” (A, 09:46)
  “Listening is actually more important than having a lengthy sales pitch.” (A, 10:54)
  “You’ve got to listen twice as much as you speak because your Meg[adonors] are going to give you feedback… It’s amazing how much they will reveal to you by simply asking the right questions and then listening.” (B, 11:08)

  Notable Moment: The “Internet is of Satan” story demonstrates the risks of not listening to donor concerns. (B, 12:23)

Book #3: Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn

Theme: Biblical foundations of stewardship and generosity

• Key Insight: God owns everything; we are mere stewards. Our attitude toward possessions impacts both our lives and our fundraising mindset.
• Takeaway: Understanding and communicating biblical stewardship helps donors see giving as an opportunity for eternal impact, not merely an obligation.
• Quotes:

  “God owns it all and that we are just stewards of those resources.” (B, 16:14)
  “We tend to think, okay, we own 90% and we give 10% of it away… [Randy] tries to flip that—to say, can we essentially live on 10% and give 90% away?” (B, 16:26)
  “You’re not owners, you’re stewards… looking for ways to give it back to the Lord through His people and His ministry.” (B, 17:11)

• Practical Application: Share stewardship principles humbly when educating donors, not with arrogance.
• Story: Jim’s encounter with a donor about investing in ministry instead of a race car illustrates the impact of relational, humble education. (B, 21:53-23:39)
• Memorable Analogy:

  “You’ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul.” (B, 25:24)

Book #4: It’s Not (Just) About the Money by Jeffrey Schoenfeld and Richard Perry

Theme: Discovering and engaging major donors already in your network

• Key Insight: Most organizations have untapped major giving potential within existing supporters.
• Takeaway: Use practical tools to identify latent major donors and follow actionable steps to engage them.
• Quotes:

  “Chances are you probably have a lot of major donors, or at least more than you think you do, sitting in your mailing list right now.” (B, 27:10)
  “What I love about this book is that it’s so practical… step by step by step.” (B, 27:46)

Book #5: Development 101 by John Frank & Scott Rodin

Theme: The essential, biblically based basics of building sustainable development programs

• Key Insight: Foundational strategies trump clever tactics; review and practice the basics regularly.
• Takeaway: This book is required reading for staff and critical for new or experienced leaders.
• Quotes:

  “It’s a comprehensive, biblically grounded roadmap for building healthy, sustainable development programs.” (A, 28:56)
  “People always want to skip 101 and 201 and immediately go to 301… But it’s so important that we go back to basics and that you understand the solid, the basics…” (B, 29:09)
  “If your house is not built on rock, if it’s built on sand, it’s going to sink. But these principles are going to get you back to that.” (B, 30:19)

3. Application: Using the Book List as a Tool

• Encourage listeners to download the provided PDF with summaries and links.
• Suggest making the book list a reading plan for boards or staff (e.g., "one book a month over the next five months").
• Use for board development—especially boards that need practical, strategic, or mindset shifts.
• "We put together a PDF that you can download … bring it to your next board meeting. This would be a great thing for board members, especially if you've got a board that's unengaged …" (A, 31:40)

4. Honorable Mentions

Jim’s Additional Recommended Reads (34:00):

• Giving Yourself Away by Larry Onan
• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
• Money for Ministry by Wes Wilmer

Notable Quotes & Moments (by Timestamp)

• “They're motivated by results. They're motivated by changed lives. They're motivated by the impact that's going to happen.” (B on donor motives, 04:31)
• “You can't just send anyone in to have a major donor appointment ... it should be a leader, if not the top leader of the organization, because that really impacts those individuals.” (B, 09:57)
• "[Fundraising is] about building partners and giving people opportunities to invest in the kingdom, work to invest in the long term of what you're doing. And just so often the way that you frame things changes, you know, everything." (A, 31:20)
• “You don’t take those things with you, that’s for sure.” (B, 25:24)

Resource/Timestamp Index

| Timestamp | Segment | Details | |-----------|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | 00:59 | Development 101 Introduction | Purpose, new series | | 02:50 | Book #1 Summary | Donors Are People Too | | 07:36 | Book #2 Summary | Mega Gifts | | 13:35 | Book #3 Summary | Money, Possessions and Eternity | | 25:56 | Book #4 Summary | It’s Not (Just) About the Money | | 28:04 | Book #5 Summary | Development 101 | | 31:39 | Using the Book List | PDF, practical team strategies | | 34:00 | Honorable Mentions | Additional recommended books |

Final Thoughts/Call to Action

• Download the PDF of the top books and use it for staff or board development.
• Consider instituting group reading and discussion to build effective fundraising culture.
• Share additional impactful development books in the comments.

“If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and also be sure to pick up the PDF … If you feel like there were other development books that you’ve read along the way … put the book in the comment section below and let us know.” (A, 32:30)

[End of Episode]