Author: jonathanpoisner
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Invest in professional development
A recent Huffington Post blog article focused on the importance of the nonprofit sector investing in professional development. As a whole, the sector has a poor track record in training…
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Building your donor prospect list
One of the biggest mistakes I see made by both nonprofit staff and board members (and political candidates) is to underestimate their own personal list for who to ask for…
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Don’t make this membership fundraising mistake
I recently was speaking with an organization that had gone to great lengths to identify different levels of membership benefits that would be received by their members based on the…
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Outcomes Schmoutcomes
I am a big believer in nonprofit organizations measuring the outcomes they achieve. It’s an essential tool for any staff/board to know they’re having the impact desired over time. And…
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Smashwords.Com interview
I recently completed a Smashwords.com interview about my E-Book, Why Organizations Thrive. Admittedly, it was an automated interview, so no human being actually asked the questions. But it was a…
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Tips for fundraising letters
Clients regularly ask me what goes into a good fundraising letter sent to previous donors. Here are some tips, in no particular order: Spend time thinking about the opening sentence…
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Making them move
Lesson 7 of Why Organizations Thrive is to become a very good public speaker. Here’s one public speaking tip that I’ve found useful over the years: make the audience physically…
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“I was waiting for . . .” is not a valid excuse
Pet peeve of mine: Using “I was waiting for” as an excuse. Too often somebody who’s not meeting a deadline responds that they’re failing because: “I was waiting for John…
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The point comes before the story
Readers of Why Organizations Thrive know that I’m a big believer in nonprofit leaders becoming excellent public speakers and organizations knowing and telling their stories. When giving a speech, which…
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Quick thoughts about e-newsletters
Because I try to stay in close touch with both current and former clients, I subscribe to a large volume of e-newsletters from nonprofit organizations. There are a lot of…