"Major gifts are at the heart of any coordinated, successful fundraising effort. Julie Walker shows you how to do it all-- find the prospects, staff the program, and ask for the money. The sidebar stories and real-world examples sprinkled throughout the book are entertaining, yet still make a point. I would buy it for the advice and keep it for the anecdotes."
--Duris Holmes, Chairman of the Board Benjamin Franklin High School New Orleans, Louisiana

Part of the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, Nonprofit Essentials: Major Gifts is a professional guide to major gift fundraising, concisely presented in a format that is accessible, lively, and easy-to-read. With in-depth advice from experienced fundraiser Julia Walker, this book takes the reader from the early stages of establishing a program through the core elements of all major gift programs: identifying and rating prospects; preparing the case; training volunteers; cultivating donors; making the ask; and providing recognition and stewardship for the gift. Its nuts-and-bolts presentation focuses on how to create a prospect-centered program that develops the capacity to engage and solicit donors, effectively based on their unique interests and needs.

Finance is the study of value and how it is determined. Individuals, small businesses and corporations regularly make use of value determinations for making strategic decisions that affect the future outcomes of their endeavors. The importance of accurate valuations cannot be overestimated; valuing assets too highly will lead to investing in assets whose costs are greater than their returns, while undervaluing assets will lead to missed opportunities for growth. In some situations (such as a merger or an acquisition), the outcome of the decision can make or break the investor. The need for solid financial skills has never been more pressing than in today's global economy. The Fundamental Principles of Finance offers a new and innovative approach to financial theory. The book introduces three fundamental principles of finance that flow throughout the theoretical material covered in most corporate finance textbooks. These fundamental principles are developed in their own chapter of the book, then referred to in each chapter introducing financial theory. In this way, the theory is able to be mastered at a fundamental level. The interactions among the principles are introduced through the three precepts, which help show the impact of the three principles on financial decision-making. This fresh and original approach to finance will be key reading for undergraduate students of introduction to finance, corporate finance, capital markets, financial management and related courses, as well as managers undertaking MBAs.

This new edition of Risk Management: Concepts and Guidance supplies a look at risk in light of current information, yet remains grounded in the history of risk practice. Taking a holistic approach, it examines risk as a blend of environmental, programmatic, and situational concerns. Supplying comprehensive coverage of risk management tools, practices, and protocols, the book presents powerful techniques that can enhance organizational risk identification, assessment, and management-all within the project and program environments. Updated to reflect the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK (R) Guide), Fifth Edition, this edition is an ideal resource for those seeking Project Management Professional and Risk Management Professional certification. Emphasizing greater clarity on risk practice, this edition maintains a focus on the ability to apply "planned clairvoyance" to peer into the future. The book begins by analyzing the various systems that can be used to apply risk management. It provides a fundamental introduction to the basics associated with particular techniques, clarifying the essential concepts of risk and how they apply in projects. The second part of the book presents the specific techniques necessary to successfully implement the systems described in Part I. The text addresses project risk management from the project manager's perspective. It adopts PMI's perspective that risk is both a threat and an opportunity, and it acknowledges that any effective risk management practice must look at the potential positive events that may befall a project, as well as the negatives.Providing coverage of the concepts that many project management texts ignore, such as the risk response matrix and risk models, the book includes appendices filled with additional reference materials and supporting details that simplifying some of the most complex aspects of risk management.

Many small business owners don't understand the importance of maintaining a healthy cash flow. More than anything else, cash flow determines the success or failure of a small business. "Small Business Cash Flow" covers all the basics of cash flow, from selecting a great accountant, to keeping money flowing in and out of the business, to budgeting and record-keeping.

Most entrepreneurs interested in buying a business naturally assume they need large amounts of cash to work a deal. In fact, there are other ways to fund an entrepreneurial venture, particularly through seller financing. This simple, straightforward guide covers every possible source of financing available for wannabe business owners, how to deal with sellers, and how to use asset financing, selling equity, and asset protection. "Buy Your Own Business with Other People's Money" shows that you don't have to be rich to buy a business; you just need to be creative in financing your new business. For everyone who dreams of owning a business one day, this book has the answers.

According to industry experts, a typical one billion dollar company spends approximately $27 million on unnecessary working capital and inefficient processing functions because they lack visibility into the financial supply chain. "Optimizing Back Office Operations: Best Practices to Maximize Profitability" uses examples and case studies to show how cost optimization--and not cost reduction--in the core back office operations is the right approach to maximizing profitability and enterprise value. Implementation guidance is provided for Executives, CFOs, and Controllers on transitioning from outdated processes to a fully-optimized financial supply chain.

The key to any successful business is the effective management of revenue, costs and of course profitability. This book provides golf course superintendents with the necessary tools to manage their daily financial operations by explaining basic accounting principles such as pricing, budgeting, cost control, payroll and cash flow. With chapters on financial statements, golf course operation schedules, breakeven analysis and operating budgets this is an invaluable tool for all owners, operators and managers of golf courses.
* The first edition has become the standard industry tool for understanding and making sound financial decisions (1575040395, Ann Arbour Publishing, 1996)
* Schmidgall is the industry's leading authority of financial practices for golf-course superintendents

The management of cash within a corporation has a direct impact on both the profitability and the shareholder value of that company. Active and efficient management of cash resources will significantly improve both the profitability and the shareholder value of every corporation, whereas passive and inefficient management will have a directly negative impact.

In European Cash Management Marie Dolfe and Anna Koritz, two leading experts in cash management, draw on their considerable international experience of working with banks and major multinational corporations to explain the various techniques for effective cash management and outline best practice within the area. The book shows managers the effect of poor management of cash on their company and offers clear practical guidance on how to formulate an effective strategy that will enable companies to release capital employed that may be put to more effective use.

High-velocity change is the fundamental challenge facing companies today. Few companies, however, are prepared to continuously innovate-because they focus on the short-term and do not emphasize the wisdom needed to make sure that their interests are aligned with those of society. Practical wisdom is the bases of continuous innovation, where companies ceaselessly and repeatedly creating new knowledge, disseminating it throughout the organization, and converting knowledge to action over time. In The Wise Company, legendary management experts Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi highlight how various companies have confronted the challenge of rapid change to create new products and new ways of doing business that benefit employees, consumers, and society. The key: a relentless self-renewal process where companies realize the future they envisions, rather than only responding to changes in the environment. Nonaka and Takeuchi argue that while knowledge-creating companies focusing on tacit and explicit knowledge can generate innovation, they cannot create it on a continuous and ongoing basis without having wisdom about human interactions and how they influence organizational structures and practices. Companies that have resilience, longevity, and sustainability share a number of characteristics, Nonaka and Takeuchi show. Strategies are based on alignment of organizational and societal benefits. Leaders grasp the core of any situation or problem quickly, and intuitively comprehend the nature and meaning of people, things, and events. But wise leadership is not enough: wisdom must infuse the organization through informal as well as formal shared interactions and communications that focus on metaphors and stories that convey the essence and meaning of strategies and actions. In short, Nonaka and Takeuchi demonstrate how continuous innovation results from companies ceaselessly and repeatedly creating new knowledge, disseminating knowledge throughout the organization, and converting that knowledge to action. The Wise Company presents a new model of knowledge-creation and practice for the twenty-first century.

Reducing variables and negotiating risk in lucrative emerging markets

"A timely book on the critical subject of valuation in emerging markets. Academics and practitioners have provided over the last few years many pieces of the puzzle, and Pereiro successfully puts them all together. With a broad overview of the underlying theory and many examples in which the theory is put to work, this book is bound to become one of the must-read references on the topic."
––Javier Estrada, IESE Business School (Barcelona, Spain), Editor-in-Chief, Emerging Markets Review

"Valuation is a key factor for success in the business of private equity. This is a fundamental book to be read by all professionals involved in private equity in emerging markets. Valuation of Companies in Emerging Markets: A Practical Approach contains a comprehensive set of valuation tools, and the book provides a very focused and pragmatic approach to the techniques that are applied in practice by private equity investors in nontraditional markets."
–– Carlos Wagener, HSBC Private Equity Latin America

"Two mistakes are common in the valuation of companies in emerging markets: inappropriate application of models originally developed for mature economies, and the use of black boxes–– displaying numbers without explaining the rationale behind them. Valuation of Companies in Emerging Markets: A Practical Approach adds value to the theory and practice of company valuation and helps to avoid these mistakes."
–– Ernesto Gaba, Chief Economist, BBVA Banco Franc`es

"A required reading for practitioners and everybody who deals with investment in emerging markets. This book contains a comprehensive set of tools and examples for tackling practical problems of valuation. Pereiro’s balanced exposition of theory and practice as it applies to the changing conditions of emerging markets fills an important gap in the literature."
–– Enrique R. Arzac, Professor of Finance and Economics, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University

"...a well-structured analysis of valuation in emerging countries. I find the conceptual framework attractive and the empirical applications excellent."
–– Bruno Solnik, Professor of Finance, HEC-School of Management (France)

"What I like about the book is that it delivers what it promises–– it is practical. Better yet, it achieves this without descending to the mere cookbook-recipe level. The user gets a good review of the defensible alternatives, with pros and cons; and where judgment is required, the recommendations reveal a great deal of common sense."
–– Piet Sercu, Professor of International Finance, PwC Chair "Value and Risk", DTEW, University of Leuven (Belgium)

Statistical techniques can be used to address new situations. This is important in a rapidly evolving risk management and financial world. Analysts with a strong statistical background understand that a large data set can represent a treasure trove of information to be mined and can yield a strong competitive advantage. This book provides budding actuaries and financial analysts with a foundation in multiple regression and time series. Readers will learn about these statistical techniques using data on the demand for insurance, lottery sales, foreign exchange rates, and other applications. Although no specific knowledge of risk management or finance is presumed, the approach introduces applications in which statistical techniques can be used to analyze real data of interest. In addition to the fundamentals, this book describes several advanced statistical topics that are particularly relevant to actuarial and financial practice, including the analysis of longitudinal, two-part (frequency/severity), and fat-tailed data. Datasets with detailed descriptions, sample statistical software scripts in "R" and "SAS," and tips on writing a statistical report, including sample projects, can be found on the book s Web site: http: //research.bus.wisc.edu/RegActuaries.

Now fully revised and updated, the "Third Edition" of "How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404: Assessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control" is the perfect starting point for companies with no previous SOX experience. Packed with practice aids including forms, checklists, illustrations, diagrams, and tables, the new edition leads auditing professionals through every step of the audit processes associated with Section 404 compliance.

Praise for
"Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management: Aligning Investment Proposals with Organizational Strategy"

"Companies today spend more and more time micro-optimizing individual investments while broad portfolio trade-offs go neglected. Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management attacks this intractable problem, providing solutions for companies interested in breaking down organizational barriers to unleash growth."
--Jeffrey Merrihue, CEO, Accenture Marketing Sciences

"Anand Sanwal has brilliantly articulated the essence of corporate portfolio optimization and skillfully spelled out the pitfalls and difficulties in achieving it. But his greatest achievement is in leading the charge to a rare state of conscious portfolio management competence on an enterprise-wide basis in a large, complex, and highly successful multinational organization, American Express. A must-read for CEOs and CFOs who truly want to create shareholder value on a sustained basis."
--Michael Menke, Chief Portfolio Advocate and Business Strategist, Hewlett-Packard

"Portfolio management is the 'holy grail' of resource allocation but very few companies have been able to reach it. Anand Sanwal has done a superb job of creating a practical, step-by-step guide for implementing portfolio management techniques in all resource allocation decisions, including operating expenses. Most compelling is the book's focus on changing managers' behavior, not just changing processes."
--Eisha Tierney Armstrong, Managing Director, CFO Executive Board

"What is more important to an organization than effective resource allocation? The trick is to remove the emotion and focus on what can be measured . .. not easy to do, but this book shows you how."
--Alan Gallo, Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning & Analysis, American Express Company

"Of the Seven Deadly Sins described by Anand Sanwal, my favorite for derailing corporate portfolio management is 'Decibel vs. Data-Driven Decision Making.' Those who avoid the sins and who adopt the many virtues Anand explains will realize far greater benefits from their IT and other corporate investments."
--Matt Light, Research Director, Gartner Inc.

"Insightful and to the point, Sanwal clearly highlights one of the greatest challenges facing large businesses in today's dynamic market environment. Any company that struggles with allocating investment resources now has a viable prescription for bringing order to the potential chaos of portfolio management."
--Satya Patel, Senior Product Manager, Google, Inc.

Robert C. Merton's widely-used text provides an overview and synthesis of finance theory from the perspective of continuous-time analysis. It covers individual financial choice, corporate finance, financial intermediation, capital markets, and selected topics on the interface between private and public finance. For this revised edition a new section on managing university endowments has been added.

The book begins with a foreword by Paul Samuelson.

Keeping track of the finances is fundamental to the success of every business, but tackling the task yourself can be intimidating. Help is at hand, however, with this complete guide to small business money management. Packed with expert advice on all aspects of business finance, including basic bookkeeping and accounting, monitoring profit and performance, managing payroll, tackling tax, and forecasting for growth, Small Business Finance All-in-One For Dummies helps you to take control of your finances, stay on top of the paperwork, and keep the cash flowing.

Finance is a notoriously difficult core subject for business undergraduates, which many find difficult to understand. The area has been dominated by large and complex introductory texts - often from the US - which many lecturers find too detailed and unwieldy.
This carefully developed and researched text will fill this gap by providing a succinct, modular, UK-focused introduction to the subject of financial management. Quality controlled by an academic review panel, the content and approach has been rigorously developed to answer the needs of non-finance students.
The user-friendly features and design will be of great appeal to the many undergraduates who find finance a difficult subject. Examples, models, formulas, and exercises are lucidly and clearly presented, supported by strong pedagogical features - learning objectives, worked examples, key learning points, further reading, practical assignments, references, case studies and teacher's guide.
This ensures that Financial Management will prove the most accessible text for business and finance students.

An important roadmap for fundraising in today’s multicultural communities

Raising money in today’s diverse communities is a growing challenge for fundraisers and philanthropists, requiring thoughtful strategies, successful collaborations, and a respectful understanding of people’s differences.

In this groundbreaking new book, the author examines today’s four major ethnic groups–African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American–in terms of their diverse histories, traditions, and motivations, and then applies this information to the proven components of successful fundraising. The result is a timely and important look at how fundraisers can use an understanding of ethnic differences to create a vibrant and balanced nonprofit center through both individual and collective efforts.

In clear, easy-to-understand language, Cultivating Diversity in Fundraising answers the following critical questions:

• Who are diverse donors?
• What are their charitable traditions and interests?
• What fundraising methods will be successful in diverse communities?
• What can fundraisers do to include more diversity in fundraising efforts?

Designed as a guide to fundraising as well as a strategic update for existing fundraisers, this book should be required reading for anyone working in today’s nonprofit sector.

This title presents a fast track route to mastering the skills needed for evaluating return on investment. It covers the key areas of return on investment, from cost benefit analysis and risk analysis to accounting techniques and the balanced scorecard. It features examples and lessons from some of the world's most successful businesses, including oil and telecommunications giants, and ideas from the smartest thinkers, including Mack Hanan and Warren Buffet. It includes a glossary of key concepts and a comprehensive resources guide.

Thrive in a changing industry by putting your people first Advisory Leadership is a practical and highly executable guide for financial advisors and finance professionals looking to thrive in today's changing financial services industry. Written by a leading financial advisor with practice improvement expertise, this book shows you how to master the art of leadership while remaining agile and adaptable. You'll learn the seven steps you must take to keep pace and thrive amidst the industry's evolution, with clearly articulated explanations and motivational action items. The discussion covers patience, integrity, compassion, respect, consistency, encouragement, and courage the foundations of success and continued growth and shows you how to practice what you preach with real strategies for living the vision and being a true leader. The financial services industry is at a crossroads, between a generation on the cusp of retirement and the new generation stepping in to take its place. This transition has been called a crisis of culture, of values, and of communication, but it's really an opportunity. This book faces the changes head-on, and delivers practical solutions that start and end with your greatest resource your people. * Unlock the secrets to a people-first company * Speak openly, walk the walk, and promote personal growth * Reward firm-wide collaboration and a team mentality * Reshape your company's DNA to thrive in today's financial environment The industry's overarching question is one of differentiation: how can your firm stand out amid the rise of robo-solutions and an unpredictable future? Advisory Leadership shows you how a people-focused company culture can elevate a firm from surviving to thriving.

A collection of the best articles from past 20 years of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal offering nonprofit organizations a wealth of tips, strategies, and guidance on how to raise money.

Part of the new Kim Klein's Chardon Press Series from Jossey-Bass which focuses on providing fundraising and organizational development tools for community-based and social change organizations.

Cost control and cost planning are an integral part of quantity surveying and construction management courses.
This new book on building design uses programmed learning to demonstrate the ideas of cost control and cost planning, from first principles through practice. Worked examples are used throughout the concise and easily accessible text.

Step-by-step guidance, insider tips, and all the tools you need to create budgets and financial plans that win grants

Grants are a major source of funding in the nonprofit sector, and nonprofits invest considerable time, effort, and resources into obtaining them. A key aspect of any successful grant application initiative is budgeting and financial planning. A well-crafted budget, clearly delineating when, where, and how grant moneys will be applied, goes a long way toward selling a grantor on an applicant’s vision. Unfortunately, many nonprofit professionals lack the know-how required to create budgets that instill grantors with confidence. This book fills that much-needed gap. Authors James Aaron Quick and Cheryl Carter New walk you through the entire budgeting process, providing invaluable insider tips, guidelines, and rules of thumb. More importantly, they provide you with indispensable guidance including a complete, step-by-step budgeting system, with each step fully documented and accompanied by an arsenal of powerful tools, plus much more to help you transform your organization’s vision–and mission–into reality.

Part of a series which focuses on advances in futures and options research, this volume discusses a variety of topics in the field.

Featuring key topics within finance, small business management, and entrepreneurship to develop and maintain prosperous business ventures With a comprehensive and organized approach to fundamental financial theories, tools, and management techniques, Entrepreneurial Finance: Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Management for Small Business equips readers with the necessary fundamental knowledge and advanced skills to succeed in small firm and business settings. With a unique combination of topics from finance, small business management, and entrepreneurship, the book prepares readers for the challenges of today s economy. Entrepreneurial Finance: Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Management for Small Business begins with key concepts of small business management and entrepreneurship, including management tools and techniques needed to establish, run, and lead business ventures. The book then delves into how small businesses are operated, managed, and controlled. General finance skills and methods are integrated throughout, and the book also features: * Numerous practical examples and scenarios that provide a real-world perspective on entrepreneurship and small business management * A brief summary, list of key concepts, and ten discussion questions at the end of each chapter to prepare readers for the challenges of today's economy * A practical guide to the complete life of a small business, from establishing a new venture to training and developing young entrepreneurs tasked with maintaining and developing a prosperous economy * An in-depth discussion of the entire process of writing a successful business plan, including the rationale, significance, and requirements * Techniques needed to solidify the free enterprise tradition, develop entrepreneurial strategies, and grow small businesses Entrepreneurial Finance: Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Management for Small Business is an ideal textbook for upper-undergraduate and first-year graduate courses in entrepreneurial finance within business, economics, management science, and public administration departments. The book is also useful for MBA-level courses as well as for business and management PhD majors as a resource in methodology. The book is also an idea reference for entrepreneurs, business managers, market analysts, and decision makers who require information about the theoretical and quantitative aspects of entrepreneurial finance.

"Although nonprofits have adopted a team approach in program delivery and even management, many nonprofits have not used this same successful approach in fundraising. This friendly guide argues for creating a fundraising team that involves board members, executive staff, line staff, and volunteers and gives examples of how such teams can operate effectively. Along the way, the author makes fundraising seem less mysterious and intimidating, and lead the reader to feel confident and enthusiastic about creating a successful fundraising team--no small achievement."--Jan Masaoka, executive director, CompassPoint Services

Many nonprofits rely on a lone staff member or volunteer to raise the money they need to sustain or grow their programs. In this insightful resource, leading fundraiser Mim Carlson presents a practical approach to involving the entire organization in fundraising. In doing so, she helps board members, executive directors, and development directors turn their staff and volunteers into a cohesive team with clearly defined goals, specific roles, joint accountability, diverse talents and skills, and strong leadership.

In Team-Based Fundraising Step by Step, Carlson draws on popular team-building theory and successful techniques--as well as on her years of fundraising experience--to offer a fresh framework for helping teams become more unified in their fund development activities. She argues that individuals who act alone cannot make the most of fundraising strategies and instead advises readers to include the board of directors, the executive director, staff, and other volunteers in strategic planning and development.

This practical, step-by-step guide shows readers how to develop and implement a whole-organization approach. Providing both a rationale for this novel approach and illustrations of how it has produced successful results, Carlson offers important tools for effective collaboration:
• Detailed implementation strategies
• Sample forms
• Checklists
• Worksheets
• Summaries of roles and responsibilities

At last, nonprofit managers, board members, development professionals, and fundraisers at all levels of experience have a dynamic guide to making the most of fundraising opportunities through effective collaboration.