JAMES PLOURDE

James is the principal and founder of JP Fundraising Solutions. His first experience of philanthropy happened when he was still in the womb. “When my dad died way too young of a heart attack, he left behind my mom, who was eight months pregnant with me, and my four siblings,” he says. “Relatives, the community, the church, our neighbors, all rallied around my family in that tragic time. I didn’t know it then, but philanthropy writ large would have a huge impact on my upbringing and my values.”

He carried that forward into his early career as a journalist, a grant writer, major gifts officer and development executive before entering the consulting field in 2011.

His approach to fund development is informed by his own experiences and his interviews with hundreds of donors who support virtually every nonprofit sector. One simple truth ties them together: Donors (both individuals and foundations) give money to solve problems. And the problem is never that your organization needs more money.

If you want to know what a donor is passionate about, ask for their life story. That story will most likely hold the key to their philanthropic priorities. Aligning your story with a community of like-minded supporters is the path toward building a strong and loyal donor base.

James believes in the transformative power of philanthropy, for nonprofits, for the people they serve and for the donors themselves, because he has witnessed it firsthand. He is a product of how a generous community can make a profound difference in a family’s life. See how he can put his knowledge and experience to work to help you maximize your philanthropic potential.