In a world where the number of nonprofits has exploded and philanthropy has come to mean different things to different donors, it's no surprise that many nonprofit leaders feel like they're rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Don't despair. Yours, Mine, and Ours: Creating a Compelling Donor Experience is the lifeline you've been looking for.

Barry J. McLeish, a vice president of fundraising and marketing at management firm McConkey/Johnston Group and the author of three previous books about philanthropy, has written a fourth that does not disappoint. In it, McLeish explains how nonprofit organizations can succeed in a rapidly changing philanthropic environment by shifting to a more donor-centric approach and, at the same time, addressing five "macro" internal management issues: the future, strategies and tactics, integrating stakeholders, communication and feedback systems, and creating an organizational culture.

Focusing first on the history of American philanthropy and nonprofit sector trends in the context of societal changes, McLeish suggests that the traditional nonprofit operational style is ill suited to address many of the societal needs confronting us at the beginning of the twenty-first century. "Buried behind the stories of...need," he writes, "is a massive problem. At its core is the issue of philanthropic and organizational productivity and the need for many organizations to rethink their best practices in terms of operations." By forcing the question of how individual nonprofits currently operate and how their mistakes, in many cases, are directly related to managerial approach, he makes a convincing argument for nonprofits to practice in a more "externally focused" manner.

Next, he outlines the fundamentals of creating and maintaining a compelling donor experience. These include creating a mission and strategies that are easily understood by stakeholders; moving priorities from "organization first" to "values network first" ("the organization of the future must become an archipelago of related activities"); and making donors, customers, and volunteers central to the mission. He also delves into the mind-set of today's donors, stakeholders, and volunteers, and suggests how to maximize collaboration and individual relationships within and among these constituencies.

While McLeish lays these principles out in a simple, straightforward manner, he makes it clear that implementing them can be a large and formidable task. He also makes it clear that these ideas must be coupled with dedication to continual quality improvement and attention to organizational infrastructure.

Real-world examples illustrating each issue and principle are provided throughout the book, and the author's informal step-by-step style creates a flow that will be appreciated by novices and experts alike.

While the nonprofit sector may not look like it once did and nonprofit organizations exist in an increasingly unsure environment, McLeish offers hope that they can meet the operational challenges of the twenty-first century. But their efforts must begin with a laser-like focus on stakeholders. As he says, "Heightened competition and rapid communication have already begun to make obsolete many traditional paths to competitive strategy....Although there are many immediate actions an agency can take to become competitive, if being consumed with stakeholder behavior is not one of them, change efforts in the long run will matter very little." For any nonprofit executive that wants to keep his or her organization afloat in a changing world, Yours, Mine, and Ours is a must read.