Hey, I read a museum-related book! Lookatme! (Yikes). I'm trying to make more of an effort to read museum- or nonprofit-related books again (Didn't I say that before, too?), and this year I've read five already! ... Okay, some of it has been because it's been painfully slow for me at work lately, and I've had to create projects to keep myself occupied. One of those was finally reading a bunch of books our old Executive Director gave my then-manager when she retired and cleared out her office. My then-manager gave the books to me to store for our department, and now that I've had NOTHING to do, I decided it was finally time to read them!
Book #1 was The AAA Way to Fundraising Success: Maximum Involvement, Maximum Results, which I really learned about in a webcast I watched (DonorPerfect Community Conference 2025, Robbe Healey "Stay the Course: Individual Giving Tactics for Changing Times"). The book sounded useful, and the cover the presenter showed started to seem really familiar... and then I realized it was because it was one of the books our Director had given us that I'd been wanting to read! So I dove into it.
Kay Sprinkel Grace says there are 3 types of people needed: Ambassadors and Advocates to talk up your cause, make connections, and lay the groundwork, then the Askers who do the actual asking for a donation. She describes the function of each of the roles and explains what personal traits make for a good fit for that role, and also gives ideas of how the different roles interact and work together.
This was such a fantastic way to show that fundraising isn't only about asking for money; it's about getting the word out and building relationships, too. And we can all play a part in that. Someone may not feel comfortable asking someone for $$$, but can talk up the cause they believe in.
Book #2 was Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift, by Jerold Panas. This was a quick, easy-to-read reference book, yet it felt like it was giving you everything you need to know. He lays out the cultivation and solicitation process step-by-step, from identifying potential donors to writing an introductory letter (I'm not sure how much of that is still relevant today) and making an introductory phone call to having a first conversation (but not asking for money yet) on through to the Ask and follow up. Panas gives great tips, makes it all seem really easy, and even gives advice for when the donor says no or when you only think they've said no. Like The AAA Way to Fundraising Success, this would make a great reference book to have handy to keep fundraisers on track and motivated.
I'll mention book #3 for the year quickly because while it wasn't exactly useful, it was fun to read: The Principles Of Museum Administration, George Brown Goode's 1895-ish treatise of the workings of museums (reprint purchased on Amazon). It was really interesting to read as a historical record of how early museums in the U.S. were perceived and run, and how much of what he wrote is still relevant today!
I originally hadn't planned on writing about The Principles of Museum Administration because it was so short, and hadn't even thought about writing about the fundraising ones, in part because I've been reading them at work (different environment, so I didn't make the mental connection between reading and blogging) and in part because they're not museum-related. However, museums obviously need to fundraise, so even though these books aren't about collections or exhibits or other museum-specific areas, they are relevant to museums.
So there you go! Museum- and nonprofit-related books I've been reading in 2026. I've got two more that I've finished reading recently, so stay tuned for those reviews!
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