If only there was a "not-for-dummies" book series for not-for-profits...

Introducing the Our Community library - a collection of titles written with the singular goal of helping you do the best you can, as quickly as possible.

Our Community knows the not-for-profit sector. We also know how time-poor community sector workers are and how often you come up against problems, both age-old and brand new, that leave you scratching your head.

Don't pay a fortune for the targeted advice you need. All of the titles below cost $36 (including GST and FREE postage within Australia.)



Complete Community Fundraising Handbook: How to make the most money ever for your community organisation

The Complete Community Fundraising Handbook offers advice aimed at improving your community organisation's fundraising efforts and will allow you to take control of your fundraising activities. Learn practical strategies, tools and next steps to gain more money for your community organisation.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Fire Up Your Fundraising Events: How to Make More Money While Having Fun

This book is designed to guide you through the process of running a special event, step by step. Drawing on the experience of professional event planners, teachers, parents and community fundraising experts, we've pulled together all the tools you'll need to pull off fantastic event.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Winning Grants Funding in Australia - The Step by Step Guide

This practical, step-by-step guide will take you through the grant seeking process assisting you to prepare and research a winning funding application.

Winning Grants Funding in Australia - The Step by Step Guide looks at:

  • Introduction to grantseeking in Australia
  • What funding bodies want and need from community groups
  • Finding a relevant grant for your group
  • Writing a successful proposal
  • Managing the relationship with the funding body

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


How To: Find Money Fast - 50 Ways to Raise up to $5000

Choose from the top 50 ways to raise up to $5000 quickly!

A guide to help schools, community and non-profit groups come up with innovative ideas to raise money in an increasingly tough market.

Includes plenty of tips and advice to boost your current fundraising initiatives as well as a chapter devoted to helping groups establish a balanced and integrated fundraising strategy and a valuable 101-point special events checklist.

The ideas in this Guide will take the time and worry out of fundraising!

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Great Fetes: Fundraising and fun - without the fuss

Choose from the top 50 ways to raise up to $5000 quickly!

This book is designed to help you run a successful fete with a minimum of fuss. Drawing on the experience of teachers, parents and fundraising experts, we've pulled together all of the tips and tools you'll need to pull off a fantastic event, including a fantastic set of templates on an included CD-ROM.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Complete Schools Fundraising Handbook - How to make the most money ever for your school, pre-school or kindergarten

Choose from the top 50 ways to raise up to $5000 quickly!

The Complete Schools Fundraising Handbook takes readers through the Six Pillars of Raising Funds - donations; grants; community-business partnerships; alumni; special events; and earned income - showing how each and every one of them can be used to bring in valuable funds.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


How to Stand Out from the Crowd - The Complete Marketing & Media Handbook for Community Organisations

Are you serious about attracting new members, volunteers, supporters or raising more funding for your community group?

Discover the importance of strategic marketing and brand development as well as how to effectively action daily marketing activities such as direct marketing, working with the media and using technology effectively to achieve organisational strategic goals.

Learn about database management, writing media releases and using email to spread the word about your organisation.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Simple secrets of successful community groups VOLUME 1: over 400 tips on running a successful community group.

Looking for the simple secrets to make your community organisation more effective and efficient? This book contains well over 400 separate tips and handy hints to assist community groups in the 21st century. The common-sense tips are contained in 50 practical columns and cover topics such as expanding funding and revenue streams, value-adding to maximise your special events, attracting, motivating and keeping volunteers, dealing with the media and marketing your organisation and establishing an effective corporate memory. It is an excellent resource for groups of all sizes.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Simple secrets of successful community groups VOLUME 2: another 400 tips on running a successful community group.

Looking for more simple secrets to make your community organisation more effective and efficient? This book contains well over 400 additional tips and handy hints to assist community groups in the 21st century. The common-sense tips are contained in 50 practical columns and cover topics such as keeping the volunteer army happy, finding the perfect venue for your event, communicating a clear message, going in search of in-kind support for your group and much more.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


How to Manage your Grant After Winning It!

Whoopee! Your grant application has been successful! The project's funded and you can sit back and relax, right?

Well, not quite. Now the real work begins. You now have to learn how to manage, review and acquit your grant (not to mention run the project).

This guide is designed to take you beyond the adrenalin of finding out that you've won the grant and help walk you through the process that you'll need to undertake from here on in.

The guide includes a bonus CD including all of the templates you will need to successfully manage your grant.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


More than Money: How to get money, resources and skills from Australian businesses

This book will help step you through the process of scoping possible partnership targets, approaching a business, working with them, evaluating the results of your partnership and - finally - winding up or reinventing your partnership. It's not an easy journey, but a very worthwhile one.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Effective Letters: 50 of the Best Model Letters to Help Community Organisations Fundraise, Connect, Lobby, Organise & Influence

Letter writing is an important instrument for a community organisation to have in its toolbox. With this book, that tool becomes sharper and multifaceted. Effective Letters provides 50 templates and a multitude of ideas that will assist you to improve your letter writing skills, marketing, and data storage and use. It provides tips on personalising your correspondence, increasing its impact and effectiveness. This is a 'must have' resource for any community group.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


The Glutton's Guide to Nourishing Your Not-for-Profit Organisation

This book aims to help your organisation to plan its annual activities.

But it's more than a dull roster of tasks you have to tick off to meet your bare minimum regulatory obligations.

It's a year's worth of ideas, tips and resources designed to help you get the most out of your meetings, your activities and your people, much of it presented as easy-to-digest lists.

For example, the March chapter brings a board review checklist; seven tips for grantseekers; seven free marketing methods; seven ways not to get robbed blind; and seven innovation drivers.

Ultimately, all the activities are all aimed at helping your organisation to do one thing: to fulfil its mission.

And the title? This is a book you can gorge yourself on. Bon appétit.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Recruiting for Your Not-for-profit

Recruitment: it's a minefield. In between updating position descriptions, conducting interviews, checking references and negotiating salaries, how's a time-strapped not-for-profiteer to get any other work done?

This book highlights the importance of taking a strategic, structured approach to recruitment, and walks readers through the process step by step, particularly as it applies to NFPs.

Co-written by Our Community and legal firm Moores, which has an inhouse team of lawyers dedicated to not-for-profits, the book explains how to undertake best-practice recruitment and avoid pitfalls such as discrimination claims.

Specialist subjects such as recruiting a CEO, and recruiting volunteers and interns, are covered in detail.

And sample policies and templates covering topics such as selection criteria, interviews, reference checking and induction are handy inclusions.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Step in, Step up: Everything a new community board director needs to know

Joining a community organisation is good for you and good for the world. And you've carried that to the next level - you've joined the board, where you can really make a difference. This book are about empowering community group board directors with the knowledge that will make their contribution even more effective. It's about being prepared - being able to recognise when issues arise, and having the tools to work your way through them.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Revitalise Your Community Board: A makeover for community groups that want to lift their game

As not-for-profit boards go, you're competent. You get the job done. Under your benign supervision the organisation jogs along from day to day and month to month and year to year without much fuss, and without much change. You're not breaking new ground, and you're not going out backwards. But... Shouldn't there be more to life? You do seem to spend a lot of time on unimportant items.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


The Board Doctor - Expert Diagnosis for Board & Committee Ills

If you're on a board or committee there will be times when you need advice from somebody who has experience in dealing with the wide range of issues that may arise. The Board Doctor provides tips, ideas and solutions from a range of experts.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Making Meetings Work - Conquering the challenges and getting great results

If the Board can be considered the mind of a community group, the meetings are the heart. This is where all major decisions are made and the Board comes together as a group to steer the organisation towards its mission.

Making Meetings Work is your guide to overcoming the challenges and complexities that arise in meetings and make them more effective and productive.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


The Minutes Handbook: A Complete Guide for Not-for-profit Boards

If the Board can be considered the mind of a community group, the meetings are the heart. This is where all major decisions are made and the Board comes together as a group to steer the organisation towards its mission. When it comes to recording these meetings though, what's what? What must be recorded and how? Who should manage the minutes and how should they go about it? The Minutes Handbook will guide you from minutes-madness to a better way of minuting in no time at all.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)


Get on a Board (Even better - Become the Chair) - Advancing Diversity & Women in Australia

Get on a Board is designed to inspire and empower more women to take the leap into the board arena. There are many insights for men as well, as well as for boards wanting to make their structures more welcoming to women.

$36 (inc GST) Includes FREE postage within Australia (Shipped Tuesdays and Thursdays)