Book: Ideas for Annual Giving

Ideas for Annual Giving: Pea Pods, Parachutes and Other Designs for Boosting Alumni Participation by Dan Allenby offers practical guidance and playful metaphors to provide readers with a modern (yet timeless) design for building an effective annual giving program. Through real-world techniques, examples and tips, this publication shows how to increase annual fund revenues and elevate the number of alumni who make charitable gifts every year. To order a copy please email [email protected].

Dan Allenby is an author, speaker, and consultant who has worked with educational institutions for over 25 years to improve their fundraising results. An internationally-recognized expert on annual giving, he is the recipient of CASE’s prestigious “Crystal Apple” award for teaching excellence. He is principal and founder of Annual Giving Network and previously led annual giving and membership programs at Boston University, Tufts University, Georgetown University, and the National Geographic Society. Connect with Dan on LinkedIn!


Here’s what people are saying:

“Ideas for Annual Giving is a terrific resource for understanding—and thriving in—annual giving in the 21st century. Dan Allenby captures the relevance, necessity and strategic importance of reimagining how we approach annual giving in an era of declining alumni participation and many competing philanthropic interests. This book is a must-read for newcomers to the advancement profession and is full of salient nuggets for even the most seasoned professional.”

Matthew T. Lambert, Vice President for University Advancement – College of William & Mary


“Dan Allenby is both a student of and a leader in the field of annual giving, and he has established himself as one of the true thinkers in the discipline. Ideas for Annual Giving is a terrific compilation of thoughts and tactics that reinforces the importance of the annual giving function in our comprehensive programs. Allenby provides strategy but also the philosophy that is the cornerstone of the annual giving enterprise.”

   – Fritz W. Schroeder, Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations – Johns Hopkins University


Dan Allenby is arguably the nation’s most highly regarded expert on the topic of annual giving. His network and accompanying programming is a sought-after resource for thousands of advancement professionals and volunteers. Ideas for Annual Giving is full of insights and how-to ideas for starting and enhancing an annual giving program. This book will become a standard reference on the bookshelves of advancement professionals nationwide.

   – Michael J. Morsberger, Vice President for Advancement – University of Central Florida


“Today’s advancement professionals are hungry for creative, innovative and provocative strategies to drive annual giving. Strategic prospect engagement and growth in alumni participation are essential for organizations cultivating the pipeline for sustainable growth in philanthropy. In Ideas for Annual Giving, Dan Allenby delivers across the board, providing clear, tangible and thought-provoking strategies to elevate annual giving in any organization. A must-read!”

Micki L. Kidder, Associate Vice President for Development – University of Notre Dame


“If fundraising is the noble process of creating philanthropists—and annual giving is college years—then Dan Allenby is the professor that we all wish we had. In this time of challenging alumni participation and giving uncertainty, Ideas for Annual Giving is the book we all need. No one is more connected to the pulse of 21st-century annual giving than Allenby.”

   – Joshua M. Birkholz, Principal – BWF


To learn how Dan Allenby and AGN can help your organization, contact [email protected] or 888.407.5064.