Paul Dana is a philanthropic advisor and fundraiser who has spent more than twenty years helping donors and institutions raise more money and give it away more effectively.

His career has centered on large, complex fundraising challenges. He spent a decade at the ACLU, where he personally raised more than $400 million and built a philanthropic advisory practice for the organization’s most significant donors. He has held senior fundraising roles at the City University of New York, Girl Scouts of the USA, and the Drug Policy Alliance.

Across his work, Paul has helped organizations secure the largest gifts in their history, often at pivotal moments when a single investment reshaped not just a budget, but what an institution was able to do next.

He is the founder of Dana Advisory, a focused independent practice where he works with a small number of clients on retainer. His approach emphasizes partnership with nonprofit leaders and philanthropists rather than transactional engagements. His clients include organizations tackling meaningful problems and donors who want their giving to have real impact.

His nonprofit clients include Co-Impact, Freedom of the Press Foundation, TED Fellows, More Perfect Union, Liberation Ventures, and Multitude Films, among others working across democracy, civil rights, the arts, and education. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Abundant Futures Fund.

Paul is based in Brooklyn, New York.