-This is one of the most coherent and comprehensive theories of evaluation yet formulated and one that makes a most valuable contribution. The authors are pioneering in important new directions.-
--Ernest R. House, author of Professional Evaluation and Evaluating with Validity

-This book is the best I've ever read detailing a practical theory of evaluation. It is comprehensive, beautifully written, and makes sense of the evaluation enterprise. It does so by emphasizing the major function of evaluation as sense-making about policies and programs.-
--Thomas D. Cook,...

Sponsored by The Management Center

At last, busy nonprofits can produce their own employee handbooks without the usual worries or frustrations. And employees can finally look to a single source for all the policies and procedures that bear on their day-to-day work. This unique book-and-disk set has everything you need to craft an employee handbook that is tailored to your organization's mission, culture, and goals. It is The Management Center's most comprehensive human resources toolkit for nonprofits across the country--filled with sample policies and examples of how to adapt...

The well-being of any nonprofit organization rests first with its volunteer board of directors. This book offers board members the guidance they need to successfully govern their organizations--no matter what type or size of nonprofit they may lead.

Written by Candace Widmer and Susan Houchin, The Art of Trusteeship shows you how to fulfill ten key trustee responsibilities and includes much-needed detail on defining mission, strategic planning, executive selection and evaluation, fundraising, financial oversight, and board self-assessment. This hands-on guide is filled with...

Unlike many formal professions, foundation grantmaking is a calling with no training programs and little definitive literature on the latest and best practices. Written for program officers and of considerable value to grantseekers, this volume is the first and only practical guide to making foundation grants and developing essential skills for effective and ethical grantmaking. Author Joel J. Orosz provides:

• The history, structure, and function of foundations in society.
• The complex role that program officers play in their day-to-day activities.
• Real-world advice...

In this innovative, practical guide, Alvin H. Reiss shows how dozens of organizations have developed creative strategies for tackling the real-life fundraising, marketing, and management challenges that nonprofits face every day.

In an easy-to-follow format, Reiss introduces a real Challenge faced by a nonprofit, guides readers through the steps the organization took in developing a Plan to meet the challenge, and then presents the Result of the organization's plan. The book offers accessible, adaptable strategies for dealing with a broad spectrum of nonprofit concerns, such as...

Using the same principles and methods that have proven so successful for other fund raising activities, James S. Armstrong takes you step by step through the four-phase process of managing fund raising events. This down-to-earth guide--part of the Excellence in Fund Raising Workbook Series from The Fund Raising School at Indiana University--will show how to produce events that will raise money cost effectively, expand your support base, and attract attention to your cause. Designed to be a well-thumbed reference, the workbook also includes answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Publishing the Nonprofit Annual Report offers your nonprofit organization hands-on guidance to help you create an annual report that goes beyond fulfilling your financial reporting responsibilities and instead becomes a valuable communications, marketing, and image-building tool. Written by Caroline Taylor--a consultant who has more than twenty years of experience producing award-winning annual reports--this essential guide takes you through the report-writing cycle from start to finish. Step by step, she shows you how to create a plan, fit the report process into the overall schedule, assign...

In Nonprofit Nation, the new edition of his classic work, O'Neill takes a fresh look at the nonprofit sector and the power it has to use its growing visibility and strength. Like the first edition, this new book is an up-to-date, comprehensive guide to understanding the nonprofit sector. Identifying and examining the major nonprofit subsectors-health care, arts, social service, and religious organizations, for example-and detailing their particular concerns and impact enable O'Neill to explore their influence on business, government and society. The new edition also features:

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In Building Your Direct Mail Program--part of Excellence in Fundraising Workbook Series--Gwyneth J. Lister provides the tools you need to make direct mail programs as effective and efficient as possible. With material tailored for volunteers and professionals who have little or no experience with direct mail, Lister walks you step-by-step through the process of creating a strong direct mail program. Filled with handy worksheets, checklists, and tips for avoiding the most common pitfalls, the book takes you through the process from start-to-finish--from knowing who should receive...

This groundbreaking book will help nonprofit managers think in new and creative ways about how they define and meet the challenges they face--and how to rise above standard practices to lift their organizations to greater performance levels. Using examples of best practices from innovative organizations in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds, Breakthrough Thinking for Nonprofit Organizations offers a mix of -how-to- advice and case studies that will guide readers on a new road to creativity. This book will fundamentally change the way nonprofit professionals think about how they do...