John Drummond from United Utilities says on the cover of this new book: "Richard Steckel is the international guru of bridge-building between business objectives and social action". I agree - and Richard's latest book should be on the bookshelf of any CCI professional.

It is a clear exposition of why and how companies should make strategic alliances with non-profits. It includes a lot of material on cause-related marketing - but extends well beyond CRM to cover a range of other forms of collaboration. The 29 chapters are in easy-to-read, bite-size chunks, littered with examples, familiar and new. Overall, it substantially updates Richard's first book, Filthy Rich and other non-profit fantasies.

After an overview of the big picture - including growing societal expectations of business - the book becomes a primer for how to create - and sustain - mutually beneficial partnerships. It goes logically through how to choose a cause, find a partner and design a campaign. I particularly liked the chapters on why and how to communicate what the business is doing and why/how to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic alliances with non-profits.

There is a good chapter on the range of assistance that business can provide - "More than Money" - which rightly includes 'clout' ("A corporation can't simply put its money where its mouth is. It's got to put its mouth in the corridors of local, state and federal government.") Businesses - in my experience - all too often underestimate the value of the clout they can bring on behalf of non-profit partners.

One gap which might be filled in a future edition is how businesses can generally develop the capacity of their non-profit partners, such as with management development. This is, I believe, one of the least explored, yet most beneficial forms of corporate assistance for civil society.

The book finishes with a hypothetical example of a small business - Bob's Basket - an upmarket grocery store which is expanding and decides to form a strategic alliance with a third world aid charity. The alliance fails, and Richard and fellow authors analyse why - and how, if Bob had followed the advice of the book, he would have done differently and been more successful.

At one stage, Richard et al, describe this book as a kind of "Zen and the art of corporate maintenance". Those remembering the Motorcycle Maintenance version will recall that book's search for quality. Making Money is a quality book which shows business people how to form quality partnerships with non-profits.

David Grayson

Published by High Tide Press, $14.95, ISBN 0-9653744-9-1