Workshops & Events 2026
Five Myths and Success Strategies around Using a Fundraising Consultant
As a founding member of the India Philanthropy Advisors Network (IPAN), Prasad Consulting & Research (PCR) is proud to share a new collaborative thought piece co-authored by our President, Poonam Prasad.
Fundraising is the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector, but it is often misunderstood as a simple transaction. In reality, it is the culmination of relationship-building, storytelling, and trust. While many organizations turn to consultants to navigate this complexity, several misconceptions can hinder these partnerships.
In this article, Poonam and her fellow IPAN founding members, Kris Cafaro, Vijay Chitnis, Alex Counts, Sharmila Rao Thakkar, and Gouri Sadhwani, debunk five prevalent myths to help nonprofits maximize their ROI when partnering with external experts.
Women in Development Webinar: The Giving Outlook
On October 3, 2025, Prasad Consulting & Research (PCR), in partnership with Women in Development (WID), hosted The Giving Outlook: Strategies for Fundraising Success in 2025–2026, a dynamic virtual event that brought together over 100 nonprofit professionals for an engaging discussion on the latest philanthropic trends and data from Giving USA 2025. The webinar also covered the current state of philanthropy, and provided actionable ideas for the future.
Moderated by Poonam Prasad, Founder and President of PCR, the session featured an expert panel including Jamila Baucom-Rosal, Vice President for Advancement, The Children’s Village; Karaugh Brown, Chief Advancement Officer, Whitney Museum of American Art; Melanie Buhrmaster, Vice President, Philanthropy, Food Bank For New York City; and Elaine Chu, Vice President, Philanthropic Strategies, Private Donor Groups, Fidelity Charitable. Together, they offered thoughtful analysis on donor behavior, high-net-worth giving, and practical strategies for sustaining fundraising success amid a rapidly evolving philanthropic landscape.
The conversation was both insightful and inspiring. Thank you to our speakers and all who joined us for making this event such a success!
Poonam Prasad is a former WID President and serves on the board of the Giving Institute and Editorial Review Board of Giving USA.
Our #TeamWater Campaign: $41 million raised in 31 days!!
Congratulations to our client WaterAid and #TeamWater for successfully raising $41 million in just 31 days through the month of August to provide 2 million people with life-changing access to clean water for decades!
Only the phenomenal media personalities Jimmy Donaldson AKA Mr. Beast and Mark Rober could have completed the biggest campaign for clean water in the world in such a short time frame by mobilizing a vast global network of creators and donors. Of course, the fundraising team, of which we were a part, planned and worked together on the project for over a year before it launched.
The work to provide the water will be carried out by WaterAid in partnership with local communities, governments, partners and a whole host of people critical to delivering a sustainable supply of clean water, with specific projects in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda, and by working with local partners to reach communities in Brazil, Kenya and the USA.