Syllabus for FDR-440
FUNDRAISING FOR NONPROFITS
This course actively engages students in mastering the concepts and tools needed to help nonprofit organizations achieve their mission and objectives through well-established fundraising techniques. Students will learn how to assess an organization’s fundraising capabilities, conduct prospect research, conduct an annual fund drive, solicit grants from corporations and foundations, cultivate and secure major gifts, design planned giving instruments to meet the needs of donors, carry out a capital campaign, and set up information technologies to track fundraising efforts and assist with the stewardship of gifts. The course emphasizes applications, and students will complete a fundraising plan during the semester for a specific organization of their choosing.
On successfully completing this course, you should be able to:
CO1 Demonstrate familiarity with the principles and techniques of fundraising as well as the current
fundraising climate.
CO2 Compose a written case statement and use it to build other documents such as a letter of
inquiry, a direct mail letter, and a grant proposal.
CO3 Assess the gift capability, interests, and networks of prospective donors through research.
CO4 Explain the various fundraising vehicles and evaluate when to use each.
CO5 Distinguish the roles played by board members, volunteers, and staff in fundraising.
CO6 Identify the necessary steps to prepare for a capital campaign.
CO7 Explain the impact of ethics on resource development.
CO8 Analyze the most effective methods for managing resources and information.
CO9 Apply fundraising planning and strategy tools to a particular nonprofit organization.
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN-13: 978-1119289326
Note: Access to Microsoft PowerPoint is needed to produce the final project.
Fundraising for Nonprofits is a three-credit, online course, consisting of four modules and a final project. Modules include an overview, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
Course objectives covered in this module: CO1, CO2, CO5, CO9
Course objectives covered in this module: CO3, CO4, CO8, CO9
Course objectives covered in this module: CO3, CO4, CO6, CO9
Course objectives covered in this module: CO7, CO8
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final project. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
Fundraising for Nonprofits requires you to participate in four graded discussion forums.
Communication and collaboration among fellow students and with the mentor is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.
You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, concepts, and practices as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.
Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder of the course website is the online discussion forum rubric used to aid in the grading of all online discussions.
You are required to complete fourteen organization assignments and three written assignments on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.
In the organization assignments, you will be analyzing the nonprofit organization that you selected for study in the first module of the course. You will also be applying course concepts to your chosen organization. Written assignments are additional assessments of your learning that are not specifically linked to the chosen nonprofit.
Prepare your assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.
Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.
When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor.
Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder of the course website are the rubrics used in the grading of organization assignments and written assignments.
Your final project is a fundraising plan (10 to 12 pages in length; approximately 2500 to 3300 words) that will allow you to demonstrate your synthesis of fundraising tactics, strategies, and processes. See the Final Project area of the course website for further details.
Your fundraising project may either provide fundraising strategies (options, tools) for your organization or it may present the actual development plan for your organization. If you choose the first option, you should explain why certain elements of a fundraising plan are not required or appropriate at this time. The final project has two parts:
The final project draws on concepts and knowledge gained from the entire course. To allow yourself sufficient time to complete an exemplary report, consider beginning the project soon after you start Module 3.
Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder of the course website are the rubrics for Final Project: PowerPoint and for Final Project: Paper, which will be used to aid in the grading of the final project.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
Copyright © 2018 by Thomas Edison State University. All rights reserved.
