So, you've been asked to join the board of a
non-profit organization, or maybe you're already on the board. In
either case, here's some advice.
Never sit on the board of a non-profit 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 fund-raising efforts.
In the end, the success of fund-raising 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
fund-raisers. 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 fund-raisers -- 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 Fund-Raising "Road Map"
From my experience, much of the fault lies in an
organization's failure to define and delineate for board members their
fund-raising role. Board members need to be made aware of the
fund-raising process and to be provided with the plans, tools, and
support necessary for effective solicitation.
The first step to a fund-raising-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
fund-raisers 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 fund-raising policies and
practices, explain why they believe in them, and tell how they
personally have solicited gifts for the organization.
The Two
Strongest Tools Board Members Must Have
If board members are to raise money, they need to know and be
committed to the organization. Knowledge and commitment are the two
strongest tools anyone asking for a gift can have, and they go hand in
hand. Knowing the organization is crucial to fund-raising, but without
commitment that knowledge is worthless. Words spoken in support of a
cause in which you do not believe have a hollow ring to them. Without
knowledge you can't present an organization's case to prospective
donors, and without true commitment your efforts will yield severely
diminished results.
Commitment is something that can be determined in the
recruitment process and then built upon as an individual serves. Yes,
sometimes people will seem to have commitment that they don't. But
most of the time we can tell who really cares. Knowledge of the
organization is something that can and should be imparted to board
members throughout their tenure. An organization needs more than the
obligatory orientation session for board members. An ongoing process
of board education and awareness-building is needed.
Board Members
Must Know Their Organization
Nothing inhibits face-to-face solicitation more than not
knowing your organization well enough to answer detailed questions
about it. An unknowledgeable solicitor is an unsure and uncomfortable
solicitor. You can't do a good job at communicating an organization's
need or importance if you don't know the organization.
You need to know its reason for being, its goals and
objectives, who benefits from it, and its operational and financial
efficiencies. If you have that knowledge, you have an understanding of
the organization's importance and its necessity. That understanding
will give you the confidence and composure to pick up the telephone,
to knock on a door, and ultimately to sit in someone's office or
living room and ask for money.
Board Members
Must Be
The First To Step Forward To Raise The Money
Soliciting major gifts is only one part of a board member's
fund-raising responsibility. Board leadership is the key element in
deciding if a campaign should be undertaken and then in determining
the goal. As a board member, you must be prepared to serve on the
board's standing committee on development and to play leadership roles
on individual campaign committees.
The best board members raise their hands for the jobs most
critical to the success of an organization, and no board
responsibility is more crucial than that of fund-raising. If you're
new to a board there is no faster way to contribute than to ask to
serve on the development committee. You'll earn the respect of fellow
board members and have the opportunity to develop meaningful
relationships with the organization's executive director, its
development director, and influential board members already serving on
the committee.
By actively working to raise the contributed income necessary
to carry out the organization's mission you will have leveraged your
involvement with the organization. Every hour you give to it will
carry meaning and deliver outcome.
The Development
Committee:
Every Board Should Have One
What kind of people should be on a development committee:
those with both the vision to see the big picture and the focus to
concentrate on what needs to be done today. A development committee
needs people of varying backgrounds, but I have found the best
committee chairs share some common traits. They are skilled managers
and have strong marketing backgrounds. They are able to lead, and they
have clout in the community. As the staff development professional, I
found I could supply the nuts-and-bolts "how-to." Then my committee
chairperson would pull together a cadre of volunteers who could be
relied on to deliver results. Recruiting other volunteers is an
important part of what a development committee chair needs to be able
to do.
If you recognize yourself in the forgoing description, you
really need to raise your hand to serve on your organizations
development committee and then be ready to take a position of
leadership. Do so, and you will give the organization what it needs
most while at the same time showing yourself to be a community leader.
Let's suppose for a moment that you are a board member who is
already committed to carrying out your fund-raising responsibilities
and have risen to a position of leadership in the organization's
development effort. How then can you help bring other board members
and volunteers into the fold? You do it by overcoming their objections
to and fear of asking for money.
Overcoming The
Board's Fund-Raising
Fears, Objections --- And Excuses
Regardless of the excuses given, there are positive steps you
and the organization can take to reverse the most negative and
defensive attitudes.
- Educate them on fund-raising with workshops, retreats,
etc. Knowing the process of fund-raising helps diminish fear of it.
- Help them reinforce their belief in the value of the
organization's mission by sharing its success with them and
encouraging them to involve themselves in its programs. True belief
in a cause can turn almost anyone into an effective fund-raiser.
- Assign tasks that involve them in a fund-raising campaign,
but that do not require them to solicit gifts. These can include
rating prospects, adding personal endorsements to funding requests,
and writing thank-you notes to donors. It's a question of learning
to crawl before you can walk.
- Place them in a position to be visibly associated with the
organization and its successes. Ask a board member to be an
interviewee in a story the local newspaper is doing on the
organization or one of its programs. Let them bask in the
organization's success. We all like to associate ourselves with
winning efforts.
- Partner a board member who is a successful fund-raiser
with a new recruit as a mentor. Have the new member accompany the
successful fund-raiser on visits to a donor or two. Nothing beats
the experience of being where the action is and watching a pro at
work.
- Create opportunities for board members and volunteers to
experience the organization. They will gain a true appreciation for
the organization from the up-close and personal view provide by
visits to its facilities, events where they can watch the
organization at work, and seeing how real people benefit from the
organization. The best way to learn about something is to immerse
yourself in it.
Try these approaches and you will increase greatly the
willingness of board members and volunteers to solicit gifts. Increase
that willingness and you will raise the board's fund-raising
effectiveness.
Board Members
Must Avoid Major Solicitation Errors
Earlier I said that as a staff development officer I found
that I could provide my committee chair and by extension, other board
members and volunteers, with the nuts-and-bolts know-how of
fund-raising. If you are a board member, make sure that you avail
yourself of the skill, knowledge, and experience of the pros you have
on staff. Those of us who have been working at this fund-raising game
over the years have learned many of the dos and don'ts of successful
solicitation. Some of the things that doom a solicitation effort
include:
- Not directly asking for a specific gift.
- Not asking for a large enough gift.
- Not knowing enough about the prospect before you go into
the meeting.
- Not listening enough and talking too much.
- Not asking questions to find out what the prospect's needs
are
- Not discussing the benefits of the gift for both the
prospect and the organization.
- Not being flexible and able to come up with creative
alternatives.
- Not summarizing the highpoints of the presentation before
moving to ask for the gift.
- Not practicing what you are going to say and how you will
say it.
- Asking for the gift too soon.
- Continuing to speak, rather than remaining silent, after
asking for the gift.
After a prospect has made his or her decision, there are two
mistakes solicitors commonly make that damage the organization's
ability to obtain future gifts. They are:
- Showing disappointment in the prospect after a refusal or
when a much smaller gift than that requested is given.
- Not expressing a sincere thank-you after every opportunity
to present the case for giving, no matter what the outcome.
Board Members
Must Be
Fully Equipped With Plans And Tools
As a board member you need to rely on your organization's
development staff to provide you with the tools and support to
effectively solicit potential donors. If you feel you need more
background, training, materials, etc., ask for them. Don't wait until
after your solicitation effort has failed and then say, "If you had
only given me "X" we could have nailed that gift." It is the
development staff's responsibility to supply you with what you need,
but it is your obligation to ask for anything you feel is missing.
If you are a board member who understands the importance of
board fund-raising efforts and who is committed to helping lead those
efforts, I suggest that you sit down with the board chair, the
executive director, the development director, and the development
committee chair and assess the fund-raising quality of your board.
If it comes up short, determine why.
If you need to provide your board members with some of the
training and information discussed in this article, do it.
If you need to add board members better suited to carrying
out the organization's fund-raising needs, find a way to add them.
If the organization needs more fund-raising know-how and
expertise, find a way to provide it.
Fund-raising is too important to the continuance of an
organization for board members not to personally commit to both doing
it and providing the resources to create a successful fund-raising
environment.
A Board
Member's Commitment
In The Truest Sense Of The Word
Finally, I suggest that every board member sign a
fund-raising pledge that would read something like this:
As a board member of ______________________, I pledge to support
and take part in all of the organization's fund-raising efforts.
- I will actively solicit gifts for every fund-raising campaign
we undertake.
- I will carry the message of the organization's value and
importance to those with whom I work and socialize.
- Recognizing that leaders must lead by example, I will make a
gift to every fund-raising campaign the organization undertakes
consistent with my ability to give and reflective of my commitment
to the organization.
Signed:
________________________, Trustee
In my opinion, any board member should be willing to stand by
those words, and any organization needs board members who will.
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Those are my views on the subject. What are yours? I welcome
your comments and suggestions.
