Most nonprofit events spend dollars to raise dimes. Here's what event-based fundraising actually requires — and why relationships beat revenue every time.

Full Episode Description:

Most nonprofit fundraising events fail. Not because the cause isn't worthy or the venue isn't beautiful — but because the organization treats the event as the destination instead of the beginning.

In this episode, we explore the core ideas behind Let's Throw a Party: The Insider's Guide to Events That Actually Raise Money by Jordan H. Poole, drawn from his years running high-stakes fundraising events at Paradise Garden Foundation in Summerville, Georgia and beyond. The lessons apply whether you're running a historic preservation nonprofit, a food bank, an animal shelter, or an arts organization.

We break down why people actually give money — and it's rarely what you think. We walk through the five donor types every organization needs to understand, why your venue is already telling a story before a single guest arrives, and how the post-event window of 24 to 72 hours is the most important fundraising moment most nonprofits completely waste.

If your organization has ever planned an event that felt like a lot of work for modest results, this episode will show you exactly where the strategy broke down — and how to fix it.

Topics covered:

• Why authenticity and bold vision matter more than polished execution
• The five primary donor types and how to appeal to all of them in a single event
• How to develop your organization's story so it connects emotionally rather than just informationally
• Strategic event portfolio management and avoiding donor fatigue
• Experiential event formats that show your mission rather than describe it
• Using venue limitations as part of your authentic narrative
• Budget management — why most events lose money without realizing it
• Building and managing the event team, including generational considerations
• Sponsorship as a business partnership, not a charity ask
• The post-event stewardship window and why it determines long-term donor loyalty

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Tags/Keywords: nonprofit fundraising, event fundraising, nonprofit events, donor relations, fundraising strategy, event planning, Paradise Garden, Howard Finster, Jordan Poole, nonprofit consulting, donor cultivation, sponsorship strategy, nonprofit leadership, stewardship, community building, Postmodern Gypsy, Let's Throw a Party

Episode Category: Primary: Business Secondary: Society & Culture

How do you save an 18th-century building without turning it into a theme park? A preservationist's hard-won lessons from Mount Vernon to rural Georgia.

What does it actually take to save a piece of history? Not the romanticized version — the real version, with crumbling budgets, paralyzed boards, and buildings that have to earn their own survival.

In this episode, we look at historic preservation through the lens of Jordan Harris Poole, whose career spans George Washington's Mount Vernon, Howard Finster's visionary folk art environment in Summerville, Georgia, a 1700s restoration project in Le Mans, France, and a Quaker rock house in rural Thompson, Georgia that nearly collapsed — not from weather, but from community paralysis.

We explore why the "frozen in time" approach to preservation almost always fails, how historic properties can generate revenue without losing their soul, and why fixing the human infrastructure of an organization is often more urgent than fixing the physical one.

If you've ever wondered what happens behind the velvet rope, this episode is for you.

Topics covered:

• Adaptive reuse and short-term rental strategies for historic properties
• The forensic reality of restoring a building like Mount Vernon
• UNESCO World Heritage nomination process
• Folk art preservation and vernacular architecture
• Grant funding, nonprofit structure, and the competitive preservation economy
• Leadership succession and institutional knowledge

Learn more: pooldesigns.com

75% of U.S. residential land is zoned for single-family homes only. Here's how a 1926 Supreme Court case is still making housing unaffordable today.

In most major American cities, it is illegal to build anything other than a detached single-family home on 75% of residential land. That includes the 400-square-foot backyard cottage you've been thinking about. That includes a tiny home on wheels. That includes a small unit for your aging parent.

Why? The answer traces back to a 1926 Supreme Court decision that called apartments a "parasite" on residential neighborhoods — and whose framework still governs land use across the country today.

In this episode, we break down the mechanics of the American housing blockade: Euclidean zoning, building codes, setback requirements, the tiny home classification nightmare, and the NIMBY political machine that keeps it all in place. We also examine what happens when states stop waiting for local governments to act.

California stripped municipalities of the power to ban ADUs — and saw permitted units jump from 1,336 per year in 2016 to nearly 27,000 in 2023. Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning citywide in 2018, and over the next five years average rents rose just 1% while other major cities saw double-digit spikes. In February 2026, a Georgia House committee advanced a bill to allow 400-square-foot tiny homes in most single-family backyards statewide.

The century-old rulebook is buckling. This episode explains why it took this long — and what comes next.

Topics covered:

• The 1926 Euclid v. Ambler Realty decision and the origins of single-family zoning
• How zoning was used as a tool of racial and economic segregation
• The difference between zoning ordinances and building codes — and why both block small housing
• Appendix Q of the International Residential Code and the tiny home legal pathway
• Why tiny homes on wheels fall into a classification no-man's-land
• The infrastructure paradox: why sprawl costs more than density
• California's ADU reform and the data behind its success
• The Minneapolis experiment and what a 1% rent increase over five years actually proves
• Georgia House Bill 1166 and the emerging state-level override movement
• The corporate buyout risk and owner-occupancy requirements as a potential safeguard

Learn more about housing consulting and strategy: pooldesigns.com

Tags/Keywords: tiny homes, ADU, accessory dwelling units, zoning laws, affordable housing, housing crisis, single family zoning, NIMBY, Euclidean zoning, housing reform, California ADU law, Minneapolis zoning, Georgia housing bill, tiny home laws, backyard cottage, missing middle housing, urban planning, housing policy, Postmodern Gypsy

Mount Vernon is one of the most visited historic homes in America. But what happens after the tour groups leave, when the preservationists are alone with the creaking floorboards, the mystery scents in Washington's study, and a phone that rings from the tomb?

In this episode, we explore Enchanted by Mount Vernon: Where America Found Its Home by Jordan H. Poole, who served as the manager of restoration at Mount Vernon from 2007 to 2009. This is not a textbook account of the founding fathers. It's a deeply personal, often funny, and surprisingly haunting journey through the layers of history embedded in a single piece of Virginia land.

We follow John Washington's fateful shipwreck on an uncharted sandbar, an enslaved boy named Marcus using a secret attic crawlspace as his private school, and an enslaved healer named Nell whose knowledge of African herbal traditions outlasted the building she worked in. We sit with the ghost of Washington's cologne, discovered decades later in a Manhattan shop. We crash a Luxembourg embassy reception by accident. And we meet the veterans whose tears in Washington's study become the most honest thing the building has ever witnessed.

Mount Vernon isn't a shrine frozen in amber. It's a living document, constantly annotated by everyone who has ever walked its grounds.

Topics covered:

• John Washington's origin story and the supernatural visions that grounded him in Virginia
• The 2008 economic crash and its impact on cultural preservation institutions
• Marcus, an enslaved boy's secret attic hideaway and his education in observation
• Nell, an enslaved healer whose African herbal knowledge defied the medical establishment
• Ghost encounters, including a phone call from the tomb with the caller ID reading "Tomb"
• The National Treasure 2 midnight filming and the Easter blood moon over the Potomac
• George Washington's cologne — Number Six by Caswell Massey — as a symbol of American identity
• The Kennedy dinner of 1961 and Jackie's mastery of soft power
• Union soldier graffiti hidden in the Lower Gardens icehouse

Housing costs, remote work, and GPS killed the fixed address. Meet the Americans who traded mortgages for miles — and why it makes total sense.

The American Dream used to mean a house, a yard, and a zip code you’d keep for decades. But what happens when median home prices outpace wages by 200%, rent consumes half your income, and your job can be done from anywhere with wifi?

For a growing number of Americans, the answer is simple: put the house on wheels.

In this episode, we explore the world of the Post-Modern Gypsy — a term coined by Jordan H. Poole in his book Defining the Post-Modern Gypsy: The Full-Time RVer’s Guide to Living Unconventionally Tethered in 21st Century America. This isn’t romanticized wanderlust. It’s a pragmatic, tech-enabled response to broken housing markets, vanishing pensions, and a gig economy that rewards geographic flexibility.

We dig into the real economics of nomadic living, the five markers of post-modern nomadism, the legal minefield of RV parking laws (Dallas’s outright ban is genuinely shocking), the collapse of the Walmart overnight parking myth, and why Dollar General might be the unsung backbone of the American nomadic movement.

If you’ve ever done the math on your rent and wondered if there’s another way — this episode is for you.

Topics Covered

• The housing crisis and retirement squeeze driving RV adoption
• How GPS and the smartphone made nomadic living viable
• The four socioeconomic strata of modern nomads
• Municipal RV parking laws and how to navigate them legally
• The truth about Walmart overnight parking
• Emergency food security and mobile pantry strategy
• Geographic arbitrage as a legitimate financial strategy

"The Spirit of Adventure" Hey fellow wanderers, welcome back to PostModern Gypsy. Today we're talking about something exciting - my new book "Cocktails from the Road." You know how our travels with Priscilla taught us about finding beauty in unexpected places? Well, this book captures that same spirit through the lens of mobile mixology. I'll share how living as a modern nomad inspired a whole new way of looking at cocktail crafting. From discovering local ingredients at roadside stands to mixing drinks under desert stars, every recipe tells a story of adventure.

Journey into the world of mobile mixology with PostModern Gypsy as we explore the essential tools, techniques, and creative solutions for mixing spectacular drinks wherever your adventures take you. From transforming coffee percolators into versatile cocktail tools to foraging local ingredients for unique garnishes, discover how to build and maintain a fully-functional mobile bar in even the most remote locations.

In this episode, we dive deep into the "Traveling Mixologist's Toolkit," sharing real-world stories and practical tips from the desert to the Pacific Northwest. Learn the secrets of ice management on the road, space-saving techniques, and how to turn limitations into opportunities for cocktail creativity. Join us for an adventure-filled exploration of how to create the perfect drinking experience anywhere your travels take you.

Want more mobile mixology insights? Grab your copy of "Cocktails from the Road" - available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

From Navy grog to desert campfire mezcal — how travel and cocktails have always gone together, and how to mix your own liquid memories anywhere.

Every great journey deserves a great drink. But the connection between travel and mixology runs deeper than a poolside margarita — it’s a tradition as old as exploration itself.

In this episode, we trace the surprisingly rich history of mobile mixology, from Roman soldiers carrying vinegar-herb tonics on campaign to Prohibition-era hip flasks to the craft cocktail renaissance happening in camper vans and festival fields today. Along the way, we explore the cocktail philosophy behind Cocktails From the Road — inspired by Jordan Poole’s cross-country travels in Priscilla, a 1979 Ford camper with a personality all her own.

You’ll learn how to build a capable mobile bar with whatever’s on hand, why a coffee percolator might be the most underrated cocktail tool ever made, and how to capture the spirit of a place — its flavors, its landscape, its mood — in a single glass.

Whether you’re a dedicated home bartender or someone who once improvised a cocktail with a Swiss Army knife and a gas station lime, this episode is your invitation to drink more adventurously.

Topics Covered

• The history of travel cocktails from ancient Rome to the Orient Express to glamping culture
• Mobile mixology gear that pulls double duty on the road
• Seasonal and regional cocktail philosophy across America
• Homemade syrups, bitters, and infusions as liquid souvenirs
• Mocktails and inclusive drinking culture on the road
• Signature recipes including the Desert Mirage, Tornado Chaser, and Painted Lady Priscilla