Welcome to my new feature for Friday – “Books You Can Use.” This is a weekly segment highlighting the books I’m currently reading on nonprofit and church health. This week we start off with a bang! If you’re interested in the books, clicking on the image takes you to the Amazon.com page for that book. Now for the head-to-head showdown… Ahern vs. Morino.

In one corner we have Tom Ahern, and his most recent book – Making Money with Donor Newsletters. Tom is no slouch when it comes to raising money. His work with some of the biggest nonprofits in the world has paid off huge for those organizations.

Tom’s core message is… “it’s all about the donor.” Always. And he believes that nonprofit organizations need to tell their stories effectively, in a way that builds lasting connections with their donors. Story, story, story.

In the other corner, Mario Morino has a different take in Leap of Reason. “Public funders—and eventually private funders as well—will migrate away from organizations with stirring stories alone, toward well-managed organizations that can also demonstrate meaningful, lasting impact.”

Are these competing claims? On the one hand, donors respond to stories. On the other hand, stirring stories alone won’t cut the mustard anymore. So which is it? Or are they different perspectives of the same phenomenon?