Helping Organizations Thrive
January 2016 Edition

Welcome to my January 2016 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.

Upcoming Sabbatical

I will be taking an extended trip to Patagonia for the month of February. If anyone wishes to discuss my services for March or April, please reach out to me no later than January 27th.

What Works

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

This edition contains some thoughts on how to generate a major donor plan.

I often find the following:

Staff is pretty good at asking people for major gifts.

And at identifying prospects and cultivating them.

But then things flounder. Everything happens on an ad hoc basis. Goals are set, but aren't reality-tested to see if they are realistic.

Sometimes it "all works out." But often it doesn't and lots of stress ensues.

I recently created a handy guide that organizations can use to answer some basic questions and then generate a major donor plan for a calendar year or a shorter campaign.

Check out the guide as a PDF.

Recent Success Stories and New Clients

I am facilitating a strategic planning process for Forward Montana and Forward Montana Foundation. On January 17, I was in Missoula to facilitate a strategic planning retreat.

I am continuing a six month consulting engagement with the Bus Federation to help with the creation and implementation of a strategic framework. I'm currently helping with editing the draft Framework and preparing to facilitate a convening of Bus Federation leaders in early March.

On December 6th, I facilitated a planning retreat for Creciendo Juntos, a collaborative aimed at reducing childhood poverty in the Latino Community of western Washington County.

On January 22nd and 23rd, I will be leading workshops on fundraising and strategic planning at the National Conservation Training Center as part of the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Moving Friends Forward training.

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

Recent Blog Entries and Tip Sheets

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.

What Makes Something a "Strategic" Plan?

Donor Stewardship Basics and Beyond

Preparing for an Executive Director transition

Your Organization is an Intermediary

Tips for Mail and Email Fundraising

Tips for Effective Board Meetings

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

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