About Sean Kosofsky, The Nonprofit Fixer™
I help nonprofit leaders develop the mindset, tool set, and skill set to increase funding and impact.
I am a strategic advisor offering coaching, consulting, and courses that transform your nonprofit’s capacity and performance.
I have worked in and led nonprofits for 30+ years and specialize in helping young and small nonprofits accelerate their results.
Every nonprofit is different. I customize our time together so you can raise money, build the board of your dreams, and have more impact.
- Sean Kosofsky | Mind the Gap Consulting™
>> As a kid I wanted to be a movie director. It was very appealing to take a whole lot of moving parts and turn it into something wonderful that would bring joy to others. Then, when I got older I really wanted to be a lawyer.
I knew I loved to argue and I was passionate about justice. Eventually, in a way, I split the difference because I ended up being a director of nonprofits. Every day, as a nonprofit leader and as a consultant, I get to solve puzzles. Every organization is driven by solving problems that have many complicated parts. >>
>> But the driving factor in my life of public services has been my passion for justice, for helping marginalized people, and empowering people feel like they dont’ have a voice.
Toward the end of high-school and then in college I tried my hand at theater. It was a blast. I got to perform in A Chorus Line, Antigone and Oklahoma. I knew I was a horrible actor but I could dance and carry a tune. Maybe I could make a career out of this, I thought. Once I was in college it was clear I couldn’t sing, dance or act well at all. Oh well, maybe on stage I was destined for the ensemble (a polite word for “extra”).
I ran my environmental club in high school and was involved in political campaigns, but my first real job was going door-to-door raising money to support clean water legislation in D.C. Halfway through college, I was offered a job at an LGBTQ civil rights organization, literally as an administrative assistant. Well, five months later the first pro-gay piece of legislation was introduced at the Michigan capitol and my boss said, “You’re studying political science…go pass that bill.”
That began my career in advocacy and social justice. Overnight, I was a lobbyist…but the good kind.
I have stayed in the nonprofit sector for 30 years. My focus has been causes, campaigns, and candidates. I am most proud that my career has been dedicated to those who most need an advocate: minorities, women, bullied youth, under-represented voters, and the environment.
Aside from pushing for change, very early on I learned I had a knack for fundraising. I love people, and love meeting new people, and I love to gab. I’m a super-extrovert (and I am a pretty funny guy if you spend any time with me). I’ve raised millions of dollars for charities, candidates, campaigns, and community organizations. I love raising money, and every organization I have been a part of has grown significantly while I was there. I may have been picked last for dodgeball, but you’ll want me on your team when it comes to social impact. (Dodgeball was horrible, but I was the captain of my swim team.)
From 1996-2008 I was the policy and political director for Triangle Foundation (TF) (now Equality Michigan). While there, I laid the groundwork for the eventual passage of anti-bullying legislation and played a direct role in many pro-LGBT victories through legislation, litigation, executive orders, corporate policy change, and electoral campaigns. Additionally, I co-chaired the largest coalition of LGBTQ activists in America at the Equality Federation and served on the board of a local chapter of the ACLU in suburban Detroit. (See me on Court TV as a hate-crime expert)
After working in LGBTQ rights, I got my first executive director job running NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, one of the leading pro-choice organizations in the Southeast. There I helped pass comprehensive sex-education legislation through the North Carolina General Assembly. I was a yankee, a man, and only 32. I was intimidated but so excited for the role.
Sean Kosofsky and Gloria Steinem (Credit Jenny Warburg)
I learned a lot in my first ED role. 1) Don’t expect an orientation, because your bosses are board volunteers who don’t even work there, and 2) ask lots of tough questions about the finances, because boards don’t always have the details. I walked into NARAL as the Great Recession was unfolding, AND we had debt I didn’t know about, AND our national office had just angered all of our donors. Topping it off, my board wasn’t really interested in fundraising. BAPTISM BY FIRE! By the time I left, we had helped pass two laws, paid all of our debt, had our most successful fundraiser ever with Gloria Steinem, and our organization was doing well.
I then ran Blueprint North Carolina, a powerful statewide collaboration comprised of more than 50 progressive policy and voter engagement organizations. My role was to eliminate duplication across the coalition while strengthening our democracy. Along the way, I was also asked to be the co-chair for the campaign to defeat the North Carolina anti-marriage-equality ballot measure in 2012.
I was born and raised in Detroit and I am VERY proud of my hometown, but working in the South taught me a lot about how to navigate the nuances of different cultures—and the proper use of “bless your heart.”
“My company hired Sean to give an onboarding session to new board members at our annual board retreat, and he did a fantastic job. Sean is reliable, easy to work with, and has a keen understanding of what nonprofit organizations need to do in order to operate successfully. Sean presented the slide deck with clear commentary, interspersed with amusing banter, and frequently gave participants opportunities to ask questions to clarify information if necessary. Everyone raved about how informative and helpful the session was, and several board members requested Sean's contact information afterward so they can use him for their own training needs. I wholeheartedly recommend him and will definitely be working with him again in the future.”
Anthony McMillan | CEO, Newark Downtown District
In 2014 I was invited to New York City to help a small startup nonprofit, The Tyler Clementi Foundation (TCF). Together the Clementi family and I transformed that organization into one of the leading bullying prevention organizations in the country. I created and launched their cutting-edge #Day1 Campaign on CBS Sunday Morning to five million viewers. #Day1 has been adopted by The Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and Rutgers University
In 2017 I fell in love and moved to San Francisco to be with my (now husband) Travis. I launched my consulting practice with a vision of helping hundreds of organizations around the world. I had so many tools, insights, and lessons I wanted to share. I began creating over 150 tools videos, blog posts, courses, podcasts and more. My business is a labor of love.
In 2019 I wrote a book, the Fundraising Power Pack: 25+ Practical and Pro Tools to Boost Your Fundraising Power. I’ve written for papers all over the country. I’ve been on local and national TV in some of my roles, and I have been honored by numerous organizations including the Detroit City Council, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
From 2018 to 2022 I ran the Climate Advocacy Lab, which helps climate advocates run smarter campaigns.
**Check out my interview on Court TV about the internationally notorious anti-gay murder on the Jenny Jones show in 1995. A big piece of my work for 12 years was fighting anti-LGBTQ hate violence.
Proud LGBTQ Owned Business & Certified LGBT Business Enterprise
Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker raising money for an organization I led
Patti LuPone raising money for a group I led
Neil Patrick Harris at a gala in NYC.
You deserve a board that has your back, stays engaged and in their lane. And you deserve good pay and life balance. Let’s get to it
“Most free consultations are "fluffy" and full of general and generic statements that one could simply find on the internet. But I genuinely felt supported by you - our 15 minutes together were jampacked with valuable, practical, and tailor-made advice that I took right away.”
Chukwuma Ekwelum | Co-Founder & Executive Director, Legacy of Excellence Academy