How Board Members Can Become Effective Fundraisers

So, you’ve been asked to join the board of a nonprofit organization, or maybe you’re already on the board. In either case, here’s some advice.

Never sit on the board of a nonprofit organization unless you are willing to express your leadership by asking friends, family, and acquaintances to make gifts of a size consistent with their ability to give. Board members must be eager solicitors of donors, especially those with the ability to make substantial gifts, and they must be willing to lead fundraising efforts.

In the end, the success of fundraising campaigns hinges on leadership, and that leadership starts with the board. Board members are the campaign solicitors of first and last resort. They are the most important fund-raising resource an organization has. There is no greater strength in a fund-raising campaign than a board ready and willing to lead, and no greater weakness than one which sees fund-raising as someone else’s job.

Yet far too many board members are, at best, reluctant fundraisers. They’re quick to claim they don’t have the time, feel uncomfortable “begging,” don’t have the right contacts, or didn’t sign on to be fundraisers — that it’s the staff’s job. Does that mean we have the wrong people on our boards? Would things be any different with different board members? The answer to both those questions is a resounding NO!

Board Members Must Be Provided With The Fundraising “Road Map”

From my experience, much of the fault lies in an organization’s failure to define and delineate for board members their fundraising role. Board members need to be made aware of the fundraising process and to be provided with the plans, tools, and support necessary for effective solicitation.

The first step to a fundraising-friendly board is to make the responsibility to solicit gifts clear at the time a person is asked to serve. Too often, the commitments and responsibilities of board membership are glossed over out of fear that a candidate will say no. I doubt most of the people who try to “seduce” an individual onto a board by stressing how little will be required of them would use the same approach if they were hiring someone for a job.

The second step is to assure board candidates that the organization will provide them with all the tools and assistance needed to raise money and that fellow board members are committed fundraisers for the organization. The person recruiting a new board member should be either the board chair or a board member who has a personal relationship with the candidate. Recruiters must step forward with their endorsement of the organization’s fundraising policies and practices, explain why they believe in them, and tell how they personally have solicited gifts for the organization.

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QUESTIONS:

1. Do you believe all Board members should be expected to fundraise for the nonprofit?

2. What about those Board members who were brought onto the Board for other purposes i.e. community relations or a specific talent that is relevant to the nonprofit?

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Please contribute your insight or the answers to the questions in the Comment section below.  Thank you!

Read Part II: Tools For Nonprofit Boards here >>

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Written by Tony Poderis, tony@raise-funds.com. Excerpted with permission from Raise-Funds

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