Fundraising Strategy for Nonprofits (2026)

If you want to become really good at fundraising strategy, I recommend following a mix of experienced investors, founders who have raised capital, and fundraising experts.

The key is to learn more than just how to pitch. You want to understand:

• How to build relationships with potential investors and donors.
• How to identify the right funding sources.
• How to create a compelling fundraising narrative.
• How to negotiate terms and manage a fundraising pipeline.
• How to build long-term relationships rather than just ask for money.

Here are some people I'd put on your radar.

1. Startup and venture capital fundraising

1. Elizabeth Yin

My top recommendation

• Practical early-stage fundraising tactics.
• How to approach investors and get meetings.
• Understanding what investors look for.

Website: Elizabeth Yin's fundraising resources. Tactical fundraising by Elizabeth Yin10 Best Venture Capital Influencers to Follow on Socials

2. Mark Suster

• Investor psychology.
• Negotiating term sheets.
• How to choose the right investors.

Blog: Both Sides of the Table. 10 Best Venture Capital Influencers to Follow on Socials10 Criteria To Use To Pick Your Lead VC. If You Have Options.

3. Jason Lemkin

• SaaS fundraising.
• Building investor relationships.
• Choosing investors and scaling businesses.

Website: SaaStr. How to Raise10 Criteria To Use To Pick Your Lead VC. If You Have Options.

4. Brad Feld

• Venture capital fundamentals.
• Building long-term investor relationships.
• Understanding the fundraising ecosystem.

5. Arlan Hamilton

• Raising capital as an underrepresented founder.

• Storytelling and positioning.

• Building investor confidence.

  🔥 Top fundraising LinkedIn voices worth following (US)5 Fundraising Voices Every Founder Should Follow on LinkedIn | Praveen Kumar Panjiar posted on the topic

2. Nonprofit and philanthropic fundraising

If you're interested in raising money for charities, foundations, NGOs, or social-impact projects, follow these people:

• Joan Garry – Nonprofit leadership, board engagement and fundraising strategy. Website. Joan Garry
• Beth Kanter – Digital fundraising, donor engagement and nonprofit innovation. Website. About Beth15 Nonprofit Experts to Follow on Twitter
• Vu Le – Philanthropy, nonprofit funding and sector-wide fundraising challenges. Nonprofit AF. 20+ Nonprofit Blogs and Thought Leaders You Need to Follow

3. My recommended learning resources

• Elizabeth Yin's tactical fundraising articles.
• SaaStr for startup fundraising.
• Joan Garry's resources for nonprofit fundraising.
• Paul Graham's essays for startup strategy.

One question so I can give you a much better shortlist

When you say fundraising, which type are you most interested in?

I can then narrow it down to the 10 best people to learn from, rather than giving you a generic list of influencers.

To master fundraising strategy, it helps to learn from a mix of venture capitalists, active angel investors, seasoned startup founders, and fundraising consultants who share real-world data, pitch deck teardowns, and tactical advice.

Here are top experts, creators, and investors you should follow across platforms like LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and newsletters:

1. Venture Capitalists & Investors (The Check-Writers)

• Alex Lazarow

• Focus: Venture capital, global innovation, and what institutional VCs actually look for in early-stage pitches.

• Where to follow: LinkedIn & Substack.

• Harry Stebbings (Founder of 20 VC)

• Focus: Interviews with top-tier founders and investors, deep dives into market dynamics, and valuation metrics.

• Where to follow: X, LinkedIn, and his podcast (20 VC).

• Jason Calacanis

• Focus: Angel investing, early-stage fundraising tactics, and pitch mechanics. He famously breaks down what makes founders fundable.

• Where to follow: X, YouTube (This Week in Startups), and his book Angel.

2. Fundraising Practitioners & Advisors

• Alexandre Mars

• Focus: Practical execution, scaling, and impact-driven fundraising strategies.

• Where to follow: LinkedIn.

• Peter Walker (Head of Insights at Carta)

• Focus: Data-driven fundraising. He shares incredible charts, benchmarks, and real equity data on dilution, valuations, seed rounds, and Series A milestones based on actual market data.

• Where to follow: LinkedIn and X (essential for quantitative data).

• Nathan Beckord (CEO of Foundersuite)

• Focus: Practical tools, CRM management for fundraising, and investor pipeline building.

• Where to follow: LinkedIn and the How I Raised It podcast.

3. Newsletters & Resource Hubs (Actionable Templates)

• Lenny Rachitsky (Lenny's Newsletter)

• Focus: While primarily product/growth, he frequently features tactical guides on how top startups cracked their fundraising milestones and metrics.

• Where to follow: Substack.

• Semil Shah

• Focus: Early-stage investing trends and the evolving relationship between founders and institutional seed funds.

• Where to follow: X and his blog (Haystack).

• Failory / OpenVC

• Focus: Real-world pitch decks that successfully raised capital, startup failure case studies, and investor databases.

• Where to follow: Newsletters and websites.

Recommended Starting Point

If you want hard data, follow Peter Walker on LinkedIn to understand what valuations and terms look like right now. If you want pitch narrative strategy, listen to episodes of 20 VC or look up public pitch decks on Failory to see how successful companies structured their stories.

Are you currently preparing to raise a specific round (like a Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A), or are you looking for help with a specific part of the process, like building a pitch deck or finding investors?

To learn fundraising strategy, the right experts to follow depend heavily on your specific sector - whether you are looking to raise capital for a tech startup/venture or secure funding for a nonprofit/philanthropic organization.

Top thought leaders and practitioners are organized below by focus area:

For Nonprofit & Philanthropic Fundraising

• ** Claire Axelrad** (Claire Axelrad on LinkedIn): A widely recognized development expert and lawyer who runs Clairification. She focuses on donor psychology, philosophy of philanthropy, and board engagement. 50+ Nonprofit Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn (2025)

• ** Vu Le** (Nonprofit AF): Known for his sharp, humorous, and deeply practical insights on philanthropy, equity in fundraising, and nonprofit operations via his platform Nonprofit AF. 10 Nonprofit Fundraising Leaders to Follow

• ** Cherian Koshy** (Cherian Koshy on LinkedIn): A behavioral economics and nonprofit strategy expert who shares modern frameworks on donor data, motivation, and fundraising innovation. 50+ Nonprofit Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn (2025)

• ** Sandy Rees** (Sandy Rees on LinkedIn): Specializes in helping smaller organizations build predictable, repeatable individual-giving and major-donor revenue streams. 50+ Nonprofit Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn (2025)

• ** Jim Shapiro** (The Better Fundraising Co.): Offers actionable, story-driven strategies for major donor pipelines and direct-response campaigns. 50+ Nonprofit Thought Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn (2025)

For Startup & Venture Capital (VC) Fundraising

• ** Aileen Lee** (Cowboy Ventures): Frequently shares data and foundational frameworks on seed-stage metrics, valuations, and what venture capitalists look for in early pitch decks.

• Sarah Guo (Conviction): Offers transparent perspectives on enterprise software trends, founder-investor dynamics, and navigating shifting venture markets.

• Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz (Andreessen Horowitz): Through their essays, podcasts, and social channels, they provide macro perspectives on building high-growth venture-backed companies and securing institutional capital.

To narrow this down, could you tell me:

• Are you focusing on nonprofit development or startup venture capital?
• What specific stage or channel (e.g., major gifts, grant writing, seed rounds, Series A) are you trying to master first?

My starting picks are Michael Seibel for startup fundraising and Amy Eisenstein for nonprofit fundraising. The right person to follow depends on which kind of fundraising you mean.(ycombinator)(keela.co)

For startup and venture-capital fundraising

I’d start with Seibel for fundamentals, then add Lemkin if you’re building a B2B software business. Seibel’s material connects pitching to the underlying business: customer progress, product–market fit, spending discipline, and whether you actually have the leverage to raise.(ycombinator)(saastr)

For nonprofit and charitable fundraising

For a balanced learning mix, I’d pair Eisenstein’s campaign and major-gift guidance with Waasdorp’s recurring-giving expertise and one communications specialist. For a broader professional foundation beyond individual voices, the Association of Fundraising Professionals covers strategy across annual funds, major gifts, planned giving, grants, and capital campaigns.(keela.co)(afpglobal)

Are you raising investment for a startup or donations for a nonprofit?

To learn fundraising strategy, follow leading nonprofit experts like Jeremy Reis, Andrew Olsen, Tammy Zonker, and Dan Pallotta - each offers unique insights into donor psychology, digital fundraising, and innovative approaches.

🌟 Key Fundraising Thought Leaders to Follow

📌 How to Use These Voices

• LinkedIn: Many of these experts (e.g., Jeremy Reis, Andrew Olsen, Jess Campbell) post daily strategies and case studies.

• Podcasts & Blogs: Tammy Zonker’s Fundraising Transformed and Dan Pallotta’s talks challenge conventional thinking.

• Books: Titles like Uncharitable (Pallotta) and Magnetic Nonprofit (Reis) provide structured frameworks.

• Workshops & Webinars: Experts like Dana Snyder and Aly Sterling regularly host sessions on digital fundraising and donor engagement.

⚠️ Risks & Considerations

• Conflicting philosophies: Pallotta’s push for higher nonprofit overhead may clash with Ken Berger’s emphasis on efficiency metrics 6 Nonprofit Thought Leaders You Need To Follow. Following diverse voices ensures balance.

• Trendy vs. timeless strategies: Digital-first approaches (social media, automation) are powerful but should be paired with long-term donor relationship building.

• Echo chambers: Many fundraising experts share overlapping advice. Seek out contrarian thinkers (like Pallotta or Vu Le) to challenge assumptions.

✅ Next Steps

1. Start with LinkedIn: Follow Jeremy Reis and Andrew Olsen for daily, actionable content.

2. Balance perspectives: Pair traditional donor psychology experts (Tammy Zonker, Claire Axelrad) with innovators (Dan Pallotta, Dana Snyder).

3. Engage actively: Comment on posts, join webinars, and test strategies in your own fundraising campaigns.

Would you like me to curate a “starter list” of 5 must-follow LinkedIn profiles with direct links so you can begin engaging right away?