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As a social leader, you are passionate about your cause. You love working with your community. Yet, you might feel uncomfortable with the more administrative aspects of social leadership. Here are my favorite practical non-profit books. They serve as quick reference guides for management, fundraising and accounting issues.

Non-Profit Management 101

This book covers everything non-profit management, from technology to human resources. It uses simple language and has links to other resources.

Non-Profit Fundraising 101

From the same series as my first recommendation, this book dives deep into fundraising. Social leaders know that their efforts can only survive when bolstered by a steady income stream.

Non-Profit Bookkeeping and Accounting for Dummies

Many of my social leader clients feel intimidated by accounting and financial reports. So, I always recommend this book. The “for Dummies” series is for everyone. I definitely use it as a refresher for the things I have studied and an introduction for those I haven’t. I love that it uses illustrations and a bullet-point approach.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

This is a denser read than the first three non-profit books I have recommended. But, it is worth it. This book provides specific tools to address complex social problems and create systemic change.

The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design

Ideo.org gifts us with this wonderful how-to for designing programs around our community’s needs and wants. This is an essential skill for all social leaders. You can get a free PDF of this book from Ideo.org directly.

I hope this list of my favorite non-profit books helps you in your journey to change the world. What are your go-to non-profit books?

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