S. R. Grover Getting Green: Fundraising Campaigns for Community Colleges. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 2009. 229 pp. $46.00.Getting Green is a comprehensive manual on fundraising campaigns specifically for community college sector. The 25 short chapters are organized into three sections: Before Campaign, the Campaign, and After Campaign. The first chapter is actually one of most important contributions of this work, outlining case for private support at community colleges and detailing similarities and differences of fundraising for community colleges versus other nonprofit organizations. Grover explains that rather than launch campaigns from well-established fundraising programs, community colleges often use campaigns to jump-start their fundraising efforts. Community colleges have advantage of close relationships with their local business communities. Even so, awareness of colleges' contributions is often limited, which becomes particularly challenging because everyone is a potential (p. vii).Grover asserts that targeted marketing and educational efforts, particularly by informed and engaged foundation board members, can help convey important message of community college mission to that broad, potentially contributing audience of nearly everyone. The book explicitly targets board members as its core audience because they are in positions of influence and power. These college insiders can also interact rather seamlessly with external groups as volunteers. The explanation of fundraising challenges and opportunities at community college can be an especially useful tool for these core constituents and can help avoid problematic ideas around fundraising.This book has potential for enlightening audiences well beyond board members, however. Although some of material is specific to campaigns, much of information is useful in explaining general fundraising practices and would be beneficial for other administrators (particularly presidents), faculty members, and key constituents such as trustees.In addition to understanding and articulating case for private support, foundation board members (and others involved in fundraising) often struggle with notion of asking people for money. Grover wisely addresses this concern in early chapters, demonstrating how fundraising constitutes a win-win situation for both donors and recipients, and explaining ethical principles that must govern all fundraising activities.In remaining chapters within precampaign section, Grover covers strategic planning, feasibility studies, marketing materials, and every facet of campaign structure and gift management systems. The text has helpful pullout quotes and check boxes that further book's usefulness as an enduring reference.Near conclusion of part one, Grover notes that recognizing is your real work as a board member (p. 100), which helps to justify message in first chapter of part two: Board gifts must form campaign's lead contributions. The succeeding chapters detail process of securing gifts from those closest to college - faculty, staff, retirees, and even students (indeed, one of book's strengths is its intentional focus throughout on internal concerns) - in addition to other leadership gifts from top donors board helps to solicit.As a whole, chapter on solicitation falls short. This is particularly troubling because information on making calls, or reaching out to potential donors, has application beyond campaigns. Whereas other aspects of fundraising process are treated in detail, Grover condenses ask into one rushed chapter that blurs process between cultivation and solicitation. Grover makes an early reference to fact that time between an initial call on a prospective donor and actual receipt of a gift from that donor can be considerable, but book's treatment of process of asking is so condensed that it lacks a sense of timing. …
Read full abstract
Sep 27, 2024
Joseph P Hester 
Open Access