Why the though of Governor Drazan scares me and should scare you 10/2/26 Friends, This is fairly long, but I hope you’ll read it. I’m really afraid for the future of our state if Christine Drazan b...

National Voter Registration Day is a holiday celebrated on the fourth Tuesday of every September. It's goal is to focus attention on the importance of registering to vote and voting in our democracy d...

They say curiosity killed the cat. But it feeds the fundraiser. I once had lunch with somebody who had recently moved to Portland to take over the Development Director role for a nonprofit after previ...

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Groups must evolve – or risk becoming legacy advocacy organizations like the legacy media before them

Seeing as a majority of my clients hire me to either help them with strategic planning or fundraising, I often think about the connection between the two topics. Strategic planning can require signifi...

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ABC News reported President Donald Trump could settle a lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.7 billion fund to compensate his allies.

When interactions with QR codes are difficult, customer satisfaction and loyalty can suffer, according to new research.

Causal evidence that AI assistance reduces persistence and impairs unassisted performance across math reasoning and reading comprehension tasks.

A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated a nationwide requirement that abortion pills be obtained in person, undermining access to the method of abortion that has only grown more widespread sinc...

Jonathan Poisner helps organizations thrive.  He works as a meeting facilitator and organizational development consultant, with a focus on fundraising, strategic planning, coalition building, and comm...

A new study claims to offer the first causal link between AI dependency and cognitive erosion. Researchers warn of long-term implications.

7 tips to address the challenge of spending too much time in meetings.

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Nine members of the “Prairieland 19,” anti-ICE protesters in Texas who the Trump administration is dubiously accusing of domestic terrorism, are going on trial this week. The case is a test for how ea...

Despite U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Minnesota, ICE arrests were down slightly in January compared to December, according to new data. Immigrant detention nationwide reached a n...

I’ve struggled with how to navigate the tension between doing my day job — meeting the needs of my clients who’re fighting to make the world a better place — and my reaction to the assaults on democra...

We will never forget, and we will not let the nation or the world forget.

This is a follow-up to an article I wrote more than a decade ago entitled: “Step Out of your Comfort Zone.” I was recently talking to a board member for a nonprofit and they used the exact phrase I wr...

Writing things down isn't so common in the digital age we live in, but science shows there are major advantages to doing so. If you like putting pen to paper, here are four rare traits you likely poss...

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It's simpler than you might think.

Why Organizations Go Off Course Lesson 11:  Focus on the Team March 2014 By Jonathan Poisner, www.poisner.com I’m in the process of writing a long article entitled: Why Organizations Go Off Course. The article details a series of lessons I learned while growing the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV), buttressed by my observations of […]

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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 these spooky statements with my a...

What happens following the ask during a donor meeting. Here's a practical guide.

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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 don...

Our language is packed with elite-sounding jargon. It is ineffective — and dangerous — amid today’s heightened distrust of institutions and growing hostility to the sector.

The SOFII collection aims to be the most comprehensive, best organised, and most inspiring collection of fundraising related content from around the world.

Florida will move to end all vaccine mandates in the state, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced Wednesday.

Why Organizations Go Off Course — Lesson 8: Don’t Pursue Magic Pots of Money July 2013 By Jonathan Poisner, www.poisner.com I’m in the process of writing a long article entitled: Why Organizations Go ...

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 be applied to nonprofit leade...

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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez has left the agency less than a month after being sworn in, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Wednesday, and three senior officials have resigned.

In doing their hiring processes, most boards focus on what skills they want their Executive Director to have. In my experience, it’s equally if not more important to identify the traits or personality...