Pssst … we reveal 13 of the sector’s deepest, darkest secrets to finding new major donors.

By Todd Baker

If you’re a locally based charity, join your Chamber of Com-merce and become an active speaker with the service clubs in your community, such as the Lions, Shriners, Masons, etc. If you’re a nationally based charity, pick your three top markets based on amount of income raised in relation to potential for growth. (So if your third-rated market is Baker, Calif., population 100, and your fourth-rated market is Chicago … go with Chicago.) There is one small music school I know of that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars a year this way.