Tony Poderis

Tony was the founder of Raise-Funds.com. Though Tony died on October 17, 2017 he continues to be an inspiration to all who believe in the great value of nonprofit organizations to their communities.

For 20 years Tony was director of development for The Cleveland Orchestra and its summer home, Blossom Music Center. As such he was responsible for Cleveland’s largest annual institutional fund-raising campaign. In 1993, Tony became a fund-raising consultant serving the needs of all non-profit institutions to develop and to maximize their potential to raise annual, endowment, capital, sponsorship, and underwriting funds.

Tony’s experiences won him a wide audience at hundreds of workshops in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. He has addressed every facet of raising contributed income for social service, medical, educational, religious, and cultural institutions, and was a speaker/specialist consultant to the United States Information Agency and the Mexican Government.

He was the author of the widely used and praised book It’s a Great Day to Fund Raise, a step-by-step guide to help volunteers and professionals be as successful as possible as they carry out their fund-raising responsibilities.