Jon Pratt has worked in nonprofit organizations as attorney/lobbyist for an environmental organization (Minnesota Public Interest Research Group), regional director for an alternative foundation (the Youth Project), and as director for a coalition formed by nonprofits to reform corporate and foundation philanthropy (the Philanthropy Project). In 1982 he was campaign manager for a candidate for Minnesota State Auditor, Paul Wellstone.

In 1987 he became director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, an association of 2,000 organizations that sponsors research, training, lobbying and negotiated discounts to strengthen Minnesota's nonprofit sector.

Pratt has consulted with nongovernmental organizations on the development of NGO associations and services in Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Turkey. Pratt has a law degree from Antioch School of Law, Washington, D.C., and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Books and Book Chapters

Nonprofits as Networks: Connecting Individuals, Organizations and Communities, published by University Press of New England-Dartmouth College/Tufts University Press (book in progress, publication date: 2009).

The Case of Minnesota, Institutionalizing the Public Spirit, in Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in a Changing America, published by Columbia University Press/Indiana University Press (1999).

Bowling Together: Fund Raising Practices and Civic Engagement, in Critical Issues in Fund Raising, published by John Wiley & Sons (1997).

Payroll Deduction Fundraising, in The Grass Roots Fundraising Book, published by Contemporary Books (1995).

State By State: An Organizing Manual for State Associations of Nonprofit Organizations; A Step-by-Step Organizing Manual for Creating an Association of Nonprofits, published by National Council of Nonprofit Associations (1994). Also translated and published in Warsaw, Poland and Budapest, Hungary.

What You Should Know About Today's Grantseekers, in Handbook on Corporate Grantmaking, published by Jossey-Bass Inc./Council on Foundations (1990).

Manna from Earth? Earned Income for Nonprofits, in The Grantseekers Guide, National Network of Grantmakers (1989).

Research Reports

Minnesota Nonprofit Economy Report; Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, with MCN research staff (comprehensive annual economic performance analyses, 1995 - present).

Minnesota Philanthropy: Grants and Beneficiaries, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits in cooperation with the Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector Research Fund; with Catherine Valesquez Eberhart (1993).

Minnesota Charitable Bequest Study, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits in cooperation with the University of Indiana Center on Philanthropy; with Catherine Velasquez Eberhart (1992).

Minnesota Philanthropy and Disadvantaged People, the Philanthropy Project, Minneapolis, MN; research reports with Rosangélica Aburto and Frederick Smith (1984, 1985, 1986, 1989).

Selected Articles From Nonprofit Quarterly

Dark and Light Matters in the Nonprofit Universe (Spring 2007)

Financial Independence: Six Approaches (Fall 2006)

Financial Strategy Tools: Cohort Analysis (Spring 2006)

Analyzing the Dynamics of Funding: Reliability and Autonomy (Winter 2005).

More Money for More Organizations (But Maybe Not for Yours) (Summer 2005).

How Did We Get Here: The Regulatory Framework 2005 (Regulatory Issue, 2005).

The Future of the Nonprofit Infrastructure (Infrastructure Issue, 2004).

Who Is Robert, and Why'd He Make the Rules? (Fall 2003).

The Nonprofit Sector's Downward Slope: How Steep and How Long? (Summer 2003).

Navigating PILOTs: Increased Pressure for "Voluntary" Nonprofit Tax Payments (with Abby Levine; Summer 2002).

Nonprofits as Network Organizations (Summer 2001).

Additional Articles

Dynamics of Corporate Philanthropy in Minnesota, Daedalus Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (with Edson Spencer, Summer 2000).

Underpaid and Easy Picking, Foundation News (with Sondra Reis, January 1999).

Changing Patterns of Grantmaking: The Philanthropy Project in Retrospect, CURA Reporter (March 1987).

When Corporate Philanthropy is not Charity, Foundation News (September/October 1986).

Selected Presentations

Applying Accountability Standards to Increase Governance Capacity, Nonprofit Accountability Dialogue, Community Services Council of New York State, Poughkeepsie, NY (November 2005).

Field Meetings, Recommendations of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, Helena, MT; Des Moines, IA; Philadelphia, PA; Minneapolis, MN; Duluth, MN, (April - May 2005).

Effective Roles for Funding Intermediaries, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, New York, (October 2004).

Becoming a Grantee Friendly Foundation, Council on Foundations, Family Foundations Conference, Dallas, TX (February 1999).

Rx for Financial Crisis: Developing Strategic Financial Skills, National Center for Nonprofit Boards, National Leadership Forum, Washington, D.C. (November 1996).

Devolution and Nonprofits: The Leadership Challenge, National Council of Nonprofit Associations Annual Conference, Boston, MA (April 1996).

Undue Influence: Finding the Ethical Line in Planned Giving, Independent Sector National Conference, Minneapolis, MN (October 1992).

Selling the Halo: Are Nonprofits Becoming Too Commercial?, Independent Sector Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA (October 1991).

Organizing Nonprofits at the State Level, keynote speech, National Society of Fundraising Executives, Seattle, WA (December 1989).

Redefining the Grants Relationship, keynote speech, Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations, Denver, C, (December 1989).