Cagney has more than 25 years of fundraising experience worldwide as principal of The Cagney Company, while Ross is co-director of the Management Centre, the UK's largest nonprofit management consultancy and training organization. The two compiled and edited contributions from 25 fundraisers into Global Fundraising, a practical and compelling collection of international fundraising information and experiences from around the world.

“The contributors to this book, with their willingness to share their fundraising expertise and their insights into the practice of our profession in respective parts of the globe, made this a successful endeavor,” said Cagney. “It was a privilege to work with this outstanding group of individuals.”

The book first reviews data and practices from many countries, including chapters for Latin America, Africa, the Middle East & North Africa, Asia, India, Japan, China, Central & Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Australia & New Zealand, and North America.  It then covers important universal topics affecting fundraising.

AFP’s Research Council, which reviews many volumes every year and awards the prize, wrote this about Global Fundraising: “By sharing data, practices, and results from around the world, this book is certain to deliver thought-provoking ideas to fundraisers regardless of where they may work.  In keeping with AFP's research prize qualifications and criteria,Global Fundraising is an outstanding contribution to the field.”

“The award is important in the wide message it send,” said Ross. “It signals AFP's commitment to promoting the international world of philanthropy and shows the Association’s willingness to learn from best practice from everywhere. If we are to change the world for the better then this willingness to share and learn is a vital foundation.”

Each year, the AFP Research Council awards the Skystone Partners Prize for Research to the author of a book that contributes substantially to the knowledge and understanding of fundraising or philanthropic behavior. The award is made possible by an endowment established by Skystone Partners, an international fundraising consulting firm, through the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy to encourage advanced research that extends the knowledge of fundraising and philanthropy.

“We are proud to partner with AFP to present the Skystone Partners Prize for Research again this year,” said Elizabeth Kohler Knuppel, managing partner for Skystone Partners. “Penelope Cagney and Bernard Ross are two of the premier thought leaders on philanthropy and fundraising, and their volume is a critical addition to the profession, especially as fundraising grows dramatically in countries around the world.”

AFP will present the Skystone Partners Prize for Research at its board meeting on March 28 in Baltimore, Md., before its 52^nd International Fundraising Conference. Global Fundraising: How the World is Changing the Rules of Philanthropy can be purchased at the AFP Bookstore.