Get the board on board with fundraising

A common challenge faced by nonprofits is that board members are unaware of, or uncomfortable with, their responsibility to give and solicit gifts for the nonprofits they dedicatedly serve.

In order to ensure the viability of your nonprofit in today’s tough economic reality, it is imperative that the board be invested in fundraising. Board members are critical to the financial success of your organization, and ultimately, the sustainability of your mission.

The reasons people join boards are as varied as the board members themselves. While members may be familiar and comfortable with their role as ambassadors and advocates for your organization, often they are not aware that their role as fundraisers is an essential part of their function, and equally important.

Boards need to take ownership of the development function and partner with the development staff, if any, for it is the board that sets the collective fundraising objectives and strategies based on the business plan for the organization. As such, boards need to understand and view themselves as an extremely powerful fundraising asset.

A board member’s first instinct may be, “I can’t ask my contacts for money in today’s economic climate.” However, the numbers prove otherwise as foundations, individuals and businesses are still giving, even if levels have decreased. According to Giving USA 2009, charitable giving in the U.S. exceeded $300 billion for the second year in a row in 2008. Even for prospects that currently face financial barriers to supporting your organization, the time is now to plant the seeds and cultivate the relationships that will result in a plentiful harvest once the financial holds loosen.

So, how can you get your board educated, comfortable and ready to serve in their role as fundraisers?

1. Discuss expectations and accountability.

Ideally, this discussion takes place during the recruitment process. Potential or existing members should be given a detailed job description, outlining their role in fundraising, including specific expectations.

While organizations differ on whether they require a minimum gift of their board members, all organizations should expect 100 percent board participation. From a donor’s perspective, if board members are not personally invested financially, why should anyone else be? Depending on the culture of the organization, personal giving expectations can be as simple as encouraging members to make a “meaningful” contribution, or a “stretch” gift that indicates the nonprofit is one of their top charities.

To ensure 100 percent participation, board chairpersons can develop a personal fundraising plan with each member to set up annual goals and a timeline for the “give” and “get.” Having this type of conversation with a board member will not only increase the likelihood of a gift, but also increase the amount.

In addition to giving, new and existing members must know they will also participate in some of the “getting.” This means their personal fundraising plan will include goals and expectations regarding prospect identification, participation in fundraising events and donor visits. Board chairpersons and/or the director of development, if any, can help members develop strategies to approach new prospects. By sitting down with each member annually to develop specific goals, strategies with timelines and a review of the prior year’s successes, the chairperson shifts the focus from “will you help with fundraising” to “how will you help.”

2. Identify a board member’s comfort zone.

Fundraising success will be enhanced if board member assignments are aligned with a member’s skills and interests.

During the personal fundraising planning process, board chairpersons need to listen and understand the motivation and attitude of each board member about fundraising before developing strategies to get them involved. Find out what the member likes to do.  Better yet, based upon the needs of the organization and discussion with the board chairperson, let the members themselves determine what their fundraising function should be, and set their own goals and commitments to deliver results.

3. Arm members with education, training, support and the right tools.

Education is the key to moving your board members into their fundraising role. You can develop a board tool kit that every member receives when they join.

In addition to containing the mission, services, description and a brief history of the organization; organization charts, legal and financial documents; and a description of the role of the board, the tool kit could include a document that highlights the organization’s most recent accomplishments, fundraising objectives or urgent financial needs, talking points and case for support (“elevator speech”), call report form and thank you letter template. Talking points should include tangible results of donor dollar levels.

Another strategy is to make fundraising a part of your annual meeting or the focus of a board retreat to educate the board on the fundraising implications of the business plan and the gap between the budget and the revenue required.

A retreat can be used to provide additional training on making the “case” for a gift and how to overcome objections. Most importantly, the process of a retreat can reawaken a board’s passion for your cause by showing them possibilities they can get really excited about.

4. Get board members talking.

A common complaint of long-time board members is that they have run out of people to ask. Encourage your development team to start a conversation with the member about the work, activities and communities they are engaged in and let them talk. Free-form brainstorming and open-ended questions often result in the identification of potential new donors and connections. Similarly, if a new board member says he doesn’t know anyone to ask, encourage him to engage with people he encounters as he goes about his day, share his involvement with the organization and tap into a mutual desire to make our communities a better place to live.

5. Generate bragging rights and celebrate board success.

Make a deliberate point at board meetings, in newsletters or at events to celebrate a board member’s fundraising accomplishments. Ignite passion and motivate other members by framing those “wins” in tangible terms, e.g. “Thanks to Mr. Jones, who secured a gift of $10,000 last month, we will be able to provide 10 camp scholarships for underserved children.”

Challenge grants can also be a very effective means to motivate boards. Most members will be spurred on to meet the challenge rather than leave any money that has been offered on the table. For example, a member secures a gift of $25,000, but the donor will only give the gift on the condition that the board can raise the same amount of money. By meeting that challenge, the board has doubled its efforts – it has raised $25,000, but the organization receives $50,000. Some organizations have used a larger group of people to set up a bigger challenge. For example, three board members might secure $25,000 each for a total of $75,000 which they challenge the board to match. Peer pressure can be a huge motivator.

We hope you found this article informative. We would love to hear from you. Let us know if you have an idea or story on this topic that has worked for your organization.