How to Turn Board Members Into Fantastic Fundraisers

At our June 6 workshop,  Inspiring Your Board Members to Raise More Money, Amy Eisenstein, principal and owner of Tri Point Fundraising, spoke about the realities of donor expectations regarding board participation and, even more important, clear tips on how to get "... 100% participation from boards in all aspects of fundraising".

Here are some of the suggestions we gathered from Amy's 3 simple steps to making your board members great fundraisers. Are we missing any? Talk about it in the comments below.

1. Cultural Change

• Find your best ally: Someone on the board who shares your vision can influence other board members to engage and participate more actively; best if it's one of the more active, respected board members.
• Make it clear that it is not "give OR get", but "give AND get": One board member not donating can get a proposal rejected, if the funders want to see total participation.
• Share stories and accomplishments (these are the board's successes, too!):  Keep board members engaged, motivated, and involved in meetings; bring in a beneficiary and keep the board apprised of progress.
• Inspire healthy competition among board members by publishing (internally) what everyone gives. 
  If one board member is still holding out and hasn't given at all, ask directly, one-on-one, to see what is going on.
• Encourage board members to give "significant" gifts in relation to individual financial circumstances (of course, some can afford more than others).

These are high standards to meet in order to achieve the cultural change needed turn a lackluster organization into one that is solid and fundable.

2.    Recruiting and Training

From the very start, at the recruitment stage, establish expectations about serving on your board.

• Develop a board member job description that clearly outlines what is expected; use bullets or some other means to show full range of expectations:

1. I agree to give a personal gift
2. I agree to serve on subcommittees
3. I agree to attend meetings
4. I agree to engage others in the welfare of the organization

• Have new members sign a Board Member Expectations Form that lists everything they are expected to do during the year. At the end of the year, ask them to assess their performance to see if they've really followed through. This will allow your board members to self-select or remove themselves from the board.
• Create a nominating committee to recruit new board members.
• Provide tools so members can thrive at fundraising for the organization:

1. Mission, vision, and values statements
2. Summarized project information
3. Foundation Center resources onGrantSpace for boards

• Hold annual board retreats; these are excellent training opportunities. If your budget is tight, instead of hiring a meeting consultant, engage a peer organization and swap executive directors to facilitate the retreats for each organization. Besides saving the organization money, the swap offers a chance for networking, bonding, strategizing, and planning.

3. Keep it Simple Silly (yes, KISS)

Don't give your board members too much to do! Remember that as much as you would like your organization to be their #1 priority, they have families and a professional life, both of which probably come first. 

• Instead of just asking them to help fundraise, set small manageable tasks that new members will actually be able to accomplish. For example, ask board members to identify three potential funders among their acquaintances and make contact with two of them before the next month's meeting.
• From there, it is the basic cycle of fundraising:

1. Identification:  Give board members lists and see whom they might be connected to within a foundation. Ask them to be specific in identifying their connections and whom they might ask to contribute.
2. Cultivation: Prepare board members with techniques for engaging their friends and connections with the organization's mission and programs.
3. Solicitation: Train boards members to ask for specific gifts and specific amounts. Be thorough and explicit in this training.

What to Read on Boards and Fundraising

Learn all you can with these and other titles you will find in our library.

* "Arm in Arm", Currents, vol. 37, April 2011 (pp. 14-20)

* "Finding the Right Fundraising Structure for Your Board", Grassroots Fundraising Journal, January-February 2012 (pp. 13-5)

* At the Crossroads: Not-For-Profit Leadership Strategies for Executives and Boards, John Wiley & Sons, 2010 (Call # 610 COL)

* "Finding the Right Fundraising Structure for Your Board", Grassroots Fundraising Journal, January-February 2012 (pp. 13-5)

* A Fundraising Guide for Nonprofit Board Members, John Wiley & Sons, 2012 (Call # 610 WAL)

* Fundraising Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, BoardSource, 2009 (Call # 610 BOA GOV) 

* The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance, BoardSource, 2010 (Call # 600 BOA)

Search the library's catalog for other titles and join the lending program (for those who live, work, or study in New York City) to borrow books on the role of boards in fundraising.

Originally posted by Marie DeAeth, Nonprofit Services Associate, on the Philanthropy Front and Center- New York blog. Thanks Marie!