Why Are We Working Harder But Raising Less?

Stop Spinning Your Wheels. Start Raising Real Money.

If working harder actually raised more money, most nonprofits would be Fortune 500 companies by now. Instead, fundraisers are buried in gala committees, social media likes, and email campaigns that go nowhere. This brutally honest guide exposes the nonsense, challenges the sacred cows, and offers a smarter path to bigger gifts—with fewer headaches.

Written by three insiders who’ve seen it all (and survived), this book is your permission slip to stop doing what doesn’t work—and start doing what actually moves the needle. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve another bake sale. Or working harder in your comfort zone, hoping the money will come to you. That’s not a growth strategy—that’s wishful thinking in a nicer outfit.

Inside you’ll learn:

• Why most fundraising “metrics” are just activity theater in disguise
• The donor pyramid myth (great for theory, useless for deposits)
• How to land major gifts without groveling or guilt-tripping
• The one mindset shift that separates real fundraisers from amateurs
• How to introduce planned giving without sounding like a funeral director
• What to say (and more importantly, what not to say) when making the ask
• Why raising more often requires doing less—strategically

Whether you’re a veteran gift officer or a nonprofit warrior stuck in a hamster wheel, this is your roadmap to working less, raising more, and finally getting results that don’t require caffeine and prayer.