Helping Organizations Thrive
July 2015 Edition

Welcome to my July 2015 email newsletter.

The mission of Jonathan Poisner Strategic Consulting is to make the world a better place by helping mission-driven organizations thrive. I do that by assisting my clients with strategic planning, campaign planning, coalition building, fundraising, communications, and other organizational development challenges.

To keep people informed about my work, I set up this monthly (mostly) e-newsletter. If you want to unsubscribe, just look for the link at the bottom. My most recent edition can be read in my archive.

For a complete lists of the consulting services I offer, check out my website.

What Works

Most editions of this newsletter contain a section I call "What Works."

Some editions include one of my Tip Sheets, intended as a quick guide for those looking for bsaic best practices on a topic.

This tip sheet is on effective mail and email fundraising. Of course, people have written books on both topics.

Here's the 3 page primer for those looking to get started or refresh their thinking.

Read the tip sheet online.

Download the tip sheet as a PDF.

Recent Success Stories and New Clients

On July 1st, I facilitated a planning retreat for the VIsion Action Network of Washington County (Oregon).

On July 15th at noon, I led a workshop at the Hatch in Portland on building a fundraising board.

In early August, I'll be in Denver to facilitate a planning retreat for New Era Colorado as part of a strategic planning project.

As a near-final phase in my work with the Vancouver Waterrsheds Alliance, their board of directors recently adopted a new strategic plan. I'm now working with Alliance staff to generate a first-year work plan for implementation.

I am in the midst of six month project working with the National Wildlife Refuge Association to provide fundraising training and coaching for its member organizations. We recently fianlized an assessment tool to evaluate its Friends groups. In August, I'll be leading the fundraising portion of a workshop to be held at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, followed by three other workshops around the country in the subsequent3 months..

Earlier this month I completed an Assessment as part of a development consulting engagement with the Central Oregon Environmental Center. This week, I'm spending a day in Bend working with the Center's staff and board. We'll then pivot to a planning phase that should result in an updated case statemen and development plan.

Check out my website for a complete list of all my clients.

Recent Blog Entries

Note: I am actively looking for Guest Blog submissions. If you have some thoughts to share on any aspect of organizational development, shoot me an email and we can discuss length, timing, etc.

Your Organization is an Intermediary

Questions (from Joan Garry) to ask candidates for your fundraising job

Donor Meeting Locations

Science Fiction and my Call to Service

The Power of Asking Good Questions

The BIggest Barrier to Effective Major Donor Fundraising

Guest Blog: How to Become a Thought Leader

Guest Blog: How to Refresh your Brand

No Magic Words, but Themes Matter

A Goal is not an Activity

To Follow your Dreams, Learn to Say No

Looking for one of my past blog entries on a particular topic? I have now categorized my past blog entries. Just go to my website and hover over the "blog" link on the navigation bar and you can see the topics and choose from among them.

Contact Information
Jonathan Poisner Strategic Consulting
jonathan@poisner.com
phone: 503-490-1234
http://www.poisner.com