There are thousands of caring and financially capable individuals across the United States who want to experience the joy and elation of donating to a worthy cause. Many of those individuals want to invest in causes that change people's lives, not just give their money away. There are few causes more worthy and life-altering than giving to the public schools. The task of a fundraiser is to help people understand that their gifts can change the lives of students for generations to come. Learning how to ask for such gifts will reap major rewards. Colleges, universities, and private schools have been doing this for years. Now it's time for the public schools to get their fair share of the fundraising pie. This article offers some suggestions and tips on how to successfully snare big grants and gifts from individual donors to bring about meaningful change. (Contains 7 resources.)