Author: jonathanpoisner
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Scary Nonprofit Quotes 2025
October 31, 2025 For the last few years (with one exception), I’ve taken time to compile some of the scariest nonprofit quotes I’ve heard in the last year and sharing…
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Needs versus budget fundraising
Another consultant recently reminded me of a concept that’s been implicit in fundraising materials I’ve generated for clients, but that I’ve never written about. The concept: the needs you present…
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After the ask
What happens following the ask during a donor meeting. Here’s a practical guide.
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Wingspan lessons for nonprofit leaders
Four years ago, I wrote about Ticket to Ride, a board game I had become “addicted to†during the pandemic. My article identified lessons from playing the game that could…
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Three quadrant tools for being strategic
About a decade ago, I posted a blog that suggested how to apply a matrix approach in organizational decision-making. The blog examined a time-management technique originally generated by Stephen Covey…
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16 tips for getting fundraising meetings – UPDATED
I originally created 12 Tips back in 2013. Here’s an expanded and updated set of 16 Tips. One of the biggest keys to successful fundraising is asking people in a…
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Selling without Overselling
I was recently talking with a former Executive Director whose organization thrived under their leadership. I’ve been thinking a lot about one of their comments. Their comment: “In promoting their…
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A Donor Prospect Identification Exercise
Don’t just take your board’s word for it when they say they don’t know potential major donors. Put them through an exercise.
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Five Lessons for Effective Staff Management
Business author Jim Collins, in his monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors identified getting the “right people on the bus†as a core attribute of highly functioning nonprofits.…
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On Fundraising Stories
I often talk about the importance of shifting fundraising language from a bullet-point approach to a story approach. I know that for some nonprofit leaders this is challenging because storytelling…