If you have tried before to get solid help on how to raise money from the web, you will have found out a few things. Most sites dealing with fund raising are trying to sell you something: data bases on foundations or corporate donors, consulting services, software for tracking donors or prospects, products to sell, etc. Perhaps this is to be expected since fund raising is, after all, a business and a specialized occupation. The best of these services are noted under the various topic headings below and are worth checking out if you have the money to spend on them.

The other obvious feature of web-based material is that it mostly comes from the U.S. This does not mean that it is of no value to Canadians since many aspects of fund raising are similar between the two countries. However, specifically Canadian sites are noted and material in U.S. sites that is not relevant to Canada is mentioned as well.

Finally, remember that fund raising is still an art, not a science. Virtually all the web-based, and most of the print based, material is derived from the experiences of consultants and practitioners. Well designed impartial research that tests what really works and under what conditions is not to be found outside of a few academic publications. So, as with everything else in VSKN, we must present a disclaimer that we cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the material cited.