Fundraising is really benefiting from the digital age.  There are amazing thought leaders and inspiring voices that are elevating the profession and making us all better through their contributions.  This list is by no means comprehensive, but includes some of the people I look to for inspiration, guidance and all-around awesomeness.

Amanda Palmer’s TED talk on “The Art of Asking” is one of the most inspirational videos I’ve seen on, well, the art of asking:

Rogare
“Rogare (Latin for “to ask”) is the the University of Plymouth Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy’s fundraising think tank and the home of Critical Fundraising – the discipline of critically evaluating what fundraisers know, or think they know, about their profession.”  I am a member of the Advisory Panel and appreciate the critical questioning and reports that Rogare produces.

You can also download a copy of the Fundraising Manifesto here.

Annual Fund Resources

The Annual Giving Network is a great resource for information, networking, conferences and peer-to-peer advice.  Primarily Higher-Ed focused, but Dan Allenby posts some very good, very helpful blogs.

CASE’s blog on annual giving is also a good resource.  Again, Higher-Ed focused.

SupportingAdvancement.com has a great round-up of Annual Fund resources.

Robert Burdenski is an annual fund consultant and also moderator of the FundList Listserv.

Brian Lacy and Associates offer comprehensive annual fund consulting, as well as resources in data management and wealth screening.

Blackbaud’s whitepaper “Taking Control of Your Annual Fund” is quite good.

While at WealthEngine, my colleagues and I published a series of workbooks called The Data-Driven Annual Fund that we’re still pretty proud of.

General Fundraising Blogs & Resources

One of the best blogs out there, particularly focused on Major Gifts, is from The Veritus Group:  the Passionate Giving Blog.  You can also follow them on Twitter @VeritusGroup.

Marketing guru Seth Godin’s blog is a constant source of great information.

The Agents of Good constantly push out great content.  On Twitter @agentsofgood

The Agitator is consistently thought-provoking and helpful.

Alice Ferris and Jim Anderson are GoalBusters Consulting and they’re wonderful.

Bloomerang is a CRM company and thought leader.  Steven Shattuck is one of the best presenters in the business.

Tom Ahern is my Spirit Animal.  Of course.  @thattomahern

For Cage-Rattling Questions, Simone Joyaux is incredible.

All-things nonprofit and thought-provoking fundraising topics, Claire Axelrad’s Clairification is right on the money.

Barbara O’Reilly is Windmill Hill Consulting and one of the finest minds working today.

Lynn Wester is The Donor Relations Guru and provides great information on donor relations and stewardship.

Marc Pitman at The Fundraising Coach is terrific.  @marcapitman

Jeff Brooks at Future Fundraising Now blog is a regular go-to.

For all things digital, Julia Campbell and her Twitter feed are amazing.

Kishshana Palmer is quite simply taking the world by storm on her site Kishshana & Co.

And Mary Cahalane frequently just nails it at Hands On Fundraising.

I’ve missed several, I’m sure, that I’ll regret leaving out. There are so many great resources and a ton of wonderful information online.  Here’s another list of great blogs:  100+ Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading.

Some of My Other Stuff:

“What’s in a name? Compounding Loss from Data Quality Issues” from the WealthEngine Blog, January 28, 2015.

What are “Predictive Modeling and Analytics“? from the WealthEngine Blog, April 2, 2014.

“Ask the Experts:  mGive Foundation” from the WealthEngine Blog, March 24, 2014

“This Blog Post is Being Written on a Mobile Device”, from the Guidestar blog, March 28, 2014.

But, really?  Blogs, books, videos and tweets are great for inspiration.  At the end of the day, it’s you and the donor (or you and the database, the word processor, the mailhouse, the phoneroom, the you-name-it) — you’ve GOT this!  Go get ’em!  Tell great stories.