Lea has been an invaluable partner for Playworks Twin Cities in shaping and implementing our strategic plan with regard to Foundations and Corporate Philanthropy. She was able to quickly learn how to capture our mission and impact in her writing and helps to identify future funding opportunities where our mission intersects. She then provided concise steps for connecting our organization to those opportunities – whether through shaping and drafting proposals to developing long-range plans for cultivating wider support. Lea is a wonderful writing partner and has an ability to take broad ideas and synthesize them into more focused language that gets to the heart of the matter quickly. Above and beyond her skill working with Foundations, Corporations, and Boards, Lea understands the complexity of nonprofits and continually goes above and beyond to make sure our efforts are successful and rewarding.
–Tom Evers, Executive Director, Playworks Twin Cities

Lea has the unique perspective of previously working as a funder. Her knowledge of the culture of grant making inclines Lea to provide a thoughtful approach to writing proposals and coaching an organization in cultivating a new relationship or the next level of giving. Her proposals are of high quality and cognizant of the varying style required for different sized foundations or projects. I have enjoyed working with Lea and would highly recommend her work.
–Carol Gronfor, Director of Development, YouthLink

Lea is an experienced fundraiser with a high level of professionalism. She brought grace and enthusiasm to every meeting as we worked with teams of faculty members to build Case Statements for the College’s new Centers of Excellence. She is a fair and tactful facilitator of complex work groups–always committed to developing the best possible outcome.
–Melanie Figg, Grants Officer, The College of St. Catherine

Lea worked on the College’s most ambitious and successful capital campaign ever. Her ability to communicate the College’s vision—and it’s relevance to funders—made her resoundingly successful. Her positive energy and professionalism really strengthened our team.
–Marjorie Mathison-Hance, Vice President for External Relations, The College of St. Catherine (Now St. Catherine University)

“The Advanced Grant Writing class led by Lea Johnson at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits is fantastic. The class started out with pointers on how to write a cohesive and concise grant, but the best part was the opportunity to review and critique grants. This hands on experience allowed me to see how other grants are written and how to improve my own writing. I found this portion of the session the most valuable and would recommend others take the course. In addition, Lea is a great teacher and facilitator. And she is accessible! I was very pleased at how open she is and encourages questions and inquiries after taking the class. She is definitely part of my network and I solicit advice from her often!”
–Nausheena Hussain, Director, Fund Development & Marketing, CAIR-Minnesota