John Donohue

Favorite inspirational quote:

"Merely looking at the world around us is immensely different from seeing it."
— Frederick Franck

Areas of expertise: grant writing, editing, project management, ideation, leadership, strategic planning, research

Causes I’m most passionate about: hunger relief, food security, arts education, social justice, youth development, the environment, non-violent communication, mental health

My fundraising story: Following a long career in publishing as an editor at The New Yorker and as the creator of a best selling anthology, “Man with a Pan,” I took my first foray into fundraising five years ago when I started selling prints of my restaurant drawings online in part to support nonprofit causes (hunger relief, initially, and restaurant workers and owners, presently). I’ve since raised millions of dollars writing grants and performing other development work for Brooklyn Community Services, a 150+ year old human-services organization in my home borough. 

Why I care about helping nonprofits grow: My mission in life is to create virtuous cycles. I am passionate about applying my skills and experience to strengthen nonprofits and create opportunities for everyone to do well by doing good.

Hobbies: cooking, running, reading, travel and playing cards (at least since the start of the pandemic)

Unusual talent: Once I drew cartoons for The New Yorker (more than six hundred submitted and five published)--now I draw my dish rack every night, and sometimes more often than that.