Company Profile

Prasad Consulting & Research (PCR) enables nonprofit organizations to maximize their income by raising major and capital gifts. A national fundraising consulting and prospect research firm based in New York City since 1989, the firm has counseled hundreds of charities throughout the country and around the world, with operating budgets ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 billion.

Our services include:

• advanced research and strategy development for major gift, capital, individual giving and special event campaigns

• research department and development office assessments

• board and staff training

• feasibility and capital campaign consulting

PCR is a pioneer in helping organizations craft major donor strategies for individuals and groups with differing cultural values and sensitivities. Projects have included campaigns targeted specifically to African-American, Chinese, Dutch-American, Hispanic, Korean, Scandinavian, South Asian, Sephardic, gay and lesbian, elderly, and female populations.

In conducting research, PCR uses a host of premium, fee-based, online databases as well as public records and the firm's proprietary archives. The firm is not affiliated with any database screening service and is truly independent in recommending research resources and products to clients.

PCR is the only consulting firm focused on prospect research to be invited to join the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-profits (formerly the American Association of Fundraising Counsel). An international association of leaders in the philanthropic consulting field since 1935, the Institute's mission is to advance the practice of philanthropy through research, education and best practices.

“Poonam Prasad and Prasad Consulting are truly the gold standard among research and fundraising consulting firms working with senior leaders responsible for closing very large gifts. For the past ten years of my career, first at The New York Women's Foundation and for the past three years at Paul Taylor Dance Foundation, I found its expertise and service invaluable and consider them a true partner in the search for those elusive but most important transformational gifts non-profits and institutions seek. I have also sent staff to Poonam's training courses and been most pleased with the results. I cannot recommend Poonam and her company highly enough.”

Carmel Owen
Senior Consultant
MCO Development Management, LLC
New York City

Our Mission:

› To serve every client as if they are our only client

› To give each client the benefit of our expertise and lessons learned through our work with more than 100 nonprofit organizations

› To see each client with a fresh perspective and without preconceived notions of what their needs are

› To get to know our client organizations in their entirety, to better enable us to guide them in setting and reaching their goals

› To build capacity that will increase an organization’s ability to attract funding and more effectively carry out its mission

› To develop and empower board members and development professionals, so they can make their own unique contributions to the organizational mission

› To make a difference in our world today by supporting and guiding the critical work of individuals and organizations in the nonprofit sector

“It is hard for me to put into words just how much you have given to our organization and how grateful we are – not only to be receiving your brilliant research summaries, but also to have you thinking continuously about possible new linkages to potential supporters all over the world, creative event ideas, and ways you make possibilities happen. You are so much more than a consultant to us, Poonam – you are a catalyst for ever-expanding opportunities.”

Eleanor T. Cicerchi
Former Development Director
The Corning Museum of Glass
Corning, NY

Founder and President

Poonam Prasad is Founder and President of Prasad Consulting & Research. In the face of drastic government funding cuts to nonprofits in the late 1980s, she established the firm in 1989 to help charities attract private philanthropic dollars to make up for the greatly reduced levels of public support. The firm has provided advanced research, audit, capital campaign, individual and major giving services as well as board and staff training to hundreds of local, national, and international nonprofits. Numerous clients have stayed with the firm for over a decade or are repeat clients or referrals.

Ms. Prasad is on the Executive Committee of the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Nonprofits (formerly the American Association of Fundraising Counsel) and on the Advisory Committee of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy. She has served on the Faculty of the Master of Science in Nonprofit Management program at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and was previously Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philanthropy and Fundraising at New York University's George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising for 15 years, training and mentoring a vast network of fundraisers, many of whom hold senior fundraising positions across the country today and of whom she is most proud. Ms. Prasad is also a sought-after trainer at workshops hosted by such nonprofit and professional organizations as the American Red Cross, the American Friends of the Louvre, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health, United Negro College Fund, Weill Cornell Medical College, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Alliance of Museums(AAM), and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Ms. Prasad is past President of Women in Development New York (WID-NY), a professional association with over 800 members. During her tenure, despite the recession, and contrary to results at other membership organizations, WID-NY reached its highest membership level in more than 25 years and a three-year strategic plan was put in place to position the organization for future growth and financial stability. In addition, a new higher-level President's Council membership was established, which reached its target membership within the first year and continues in place. Previously, while she was first Vice President of Programs and 25th Anniversary Chair, attendance at monthly luncheons doubled, the Women of Achievement Luncheon transformed from WID's least well-attended, loss-making luncheon to its signature event, and membership numbers jumped upwards by 20% in a single year.

Previously, she was co-chair of National Philanthropy Day in New York, during which time the net revenue from the event more than doubled. She also initiated the first Research Track at AFP's annual Fundraising Day New York Conference (the largest one-day conference on philanthropy in the country) and has coordinated it for several years. Ms. Prasad also served as a member of the international board of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA), during which time she launched its first Virtual Seminar series. She was also a Board member and Chair of the 25th Anniversary Committee of the New York Women’s Agenda where she launched its first individual giving campaign.

Ms. Prasad has served on and led the boards and committees of numerous nonprofits in this country and overseas. In January 2024, Poonam received the AFP-NYC Ralph E. Chamberlain Award, which honors an area fundraising professional for a lifetime of service to the fundraising profession. She was honored by the US Ambassador to Jamaica for “outstanding service, unrelenting dedication and resourcefulness” as President of the American Women's Group. That year, the organization quadrupled the funds raised and created an endowed educational scholarship fund from which funds are still being granted annually. She was also recognized by the Rotary Club of Calcutta Midwest in India for raising funds for a free cataract surgery project in rural Bengal.

Ms. Prasad began her career as an investigative reporter and worked in journalism, advertising and public relations in India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Jamaica and the U.S. before transitioning to fund-raising for nonprofits. Her prose and poetry have been published in numerous publications around the world.

“Poonam is a highly-regarded, seasoned and skilled leader in the non-profit space. I have had the pleasure of working with her over the years in different efforts and found her to be very knowledgeable and strategic, advising on specific major gift prospects, as well as incredibly helpful on consulting on research. Her work on a research audit resulted in practical and effective recommendations and empowered staff through hands on training to build capacity and advanced skills, thereby elevating the whole team. She is always up to date on fundraising trends, the latest research tools, and is direct, gracious, dedicated and lovely to work with. She lends true value to any project or initiative she has been involved in, and is not only an expert in her field, she is conscientious, caring and dedicated to helping non-profits exceed their goals.”

Valerie Kind
Vice President, Major Gifts
National Park Foundation