How to Get Your Board to Love Fundraising
5 Essential Principles and Practices to Spark a Listless Board
Bob Andringa and Fred Laughlin
Some time ago Ron, a ministry CEO friend, stared dejectedly across the lunch table. "I don't get it. My board says fundraising should be one of our top priorities, but none of them is willing to help me raise a dollar. I feel like quitting."
It doesn't have to be this way. If your board seems listless about, even resistant to, fundraising, don't give up. Ron didn't. As he discovered, if you want your board to love fundraising, you can't ignore five essential principles and practices.
1. Govern wisely. A competent, well-organized board goes hand in hand with a well-run organization. Donors want to invest in successful organizations, not those pleading poverty. How many letters have you received at the end of the year begging for help to get out of the red? Are people aware of your successes? Imagine how much more involved your donors (and your board members!) would be if they saw the many transformed lives as a result of your mission.
Governing wisely means choosing the right chief staff officer, agreeing on a clear and compelling mission, setting strong values to guide the ministry, adopting reasonable goals, developing sensible parameters around activities, and measuring performance. Unless these governance-related tasks are done well, forget about successful fundraising. Most of us forget that there are one million American charities competing for donor dollars.
What does governing wisely look like? We believe a critical task is to organize all board policies into a 15-20 page Board Policies Manual (BPM) to:
- eliminate confusion between board and staff roles,
- have in one place all the policies required of a board to govern,
- focus everyone's energy,
- give confidence to donors who evaluate the work of the board,
- prevent the board from reinventing the same wheel (policy) or actually
- contradicting earlier board policies.
A well-written BPM gets everyone on the same page. It's the "one voice" of the board on policy matters and the board "owns" all that's in it. The CEO then sets administrative plans and procedures that don't conflict with the board's policies. The BPM allows the board to set fundraising goals and guidelines without getting into management. The BPM is a "living document," always being reviewed and amended as the board becomes wiser in the task of governance.
2. Communicate roles and expectations clearly—and tailor them to fit a person's skills, personality and availability. While board members of many Christian organizations are often some of their biggest donors, few of them are willing to ask others to give generously. What do you expect of your CEO and board members when it comes to fundraising? Whatever it is, put it in the BPM and make sure every person understands these expectations before he or she says "Yes" to serving on your board.
Every board should have a policy that each board member is expected to be an "annual donor of record." Encourage this donation during the first quarter of the year. Have the chair, not the CEO, hold each board member accountable to honor this board policy. Imagine a CEO saying to prospective and current donors, "Every single board member has given this year." Clearly, board members who "walk the talk" with their giving can inspire donors to new levels of generosity.
Remember, board members wear two, if not three different hats: a governance hat, a volunteer hat, and sometimes an implementer's hat. In addition to doing a good job on policy wearing the governance hat, today all board members are also expected to devote some time and energy to the organization as a volunteer, often working under the leadership of a staff person.
Ideally, at some point down the road, the board chair and CEO can encourage each board member to work with staff in creating a personalized "development role" agreement. The key is to listen to each person's interests, motivated abilities, contacts, strengths and availability, then explore what volunteer role would be the most natural fit.
Some will choose helping with an annual banquet. Others like to write thank you notes to donors. A few may come into the office periodically to help maintain the database, or make phone calls. And some will say to the CEO "I have five major donor prospects I'd like to visit with you." Maybe one gets excited about approaching businesses with possibilities of in-kind donations. The key is to find the right job fit, just as you want for staff.
3. Make a plan. Fact: Too many ministry boards spend more time worrying and complaining about finances than learning about fundraising and developing the right mix of revenue sources for their mission. What is your plan? What plan makes sense? Direct mail? Memberships? Subscriptions? Fee for services? Events? Foundation grants? Planned giving? Major donor gifts?
Numerous fundraising experts say the old 80/20 rule (80 percent of the giving comes from 20 percent of the givers) is history. Today, 10 percent of donors often give 90 percent of all donations. Therefore, a major donor strategy makes sense for most ministries. Board members can be most helpful in this personalized fundraising strategy, rather than in more complex and time-consuming activities. For major donors, the plan is to identify them, inform them, nurture them through regular engagement, making the "ask," thanking them, and thanking them some more.
A development plan born out of serious evaluation, thought and prayer outlines a whole range of strategies and goals, then identifies who's responsible for what. Some ministries form a separate blue-ribbon advisory group whose primary purpose is to give visibility, credibility and access to new networks of potential major donors.
Although you want and probably need a few high capacity donors on your board, don't fill your board with just "high rollers." Some financially successful entrepreneurs hate the slow process of governance and can detract from good boardsmanship (remember, "First, govern wisely."). Yet, a few who give generously and who know the joy of giving may be open to approaching their friends, thereby expanding your donor base.
4. A word to the CEO: "Lead!" Almost every board member we know assumes the CEO and staff will take the lead with good planning, developing a donor list, drafting good presentation material, and not dropping the ball. The CEO must create and sustain the partnership between board and staff.
Be intentional about helping the nominating committee find board members who are willing to engage in both good governance and good fundraising. Good boards are comprised of good people who want to serve. As Jim Collins says, "Getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats" is critical to any organization.
Identify these good people and nurture them before you ask them to serve. Ask them to make a personal investment in the ministry (If they say no, they're not ready for your board). Then give nominees an orientation before the elections, with ongoing board training thereafter. Keep the BPM current. Set the bar high for board work. Good people don't mind being held accountable to high expectations.
Let's go back to Ron's story. Because he was so committed to the mission of his organization, he didn't quit. But he did schedule a serious talk with his board chair (the "manager" of the board) and agreed on several strategies that eventually found many of his board members liking (could we say loving?) the joy of connecting their friends' interests with what this ministry was doing.
They formed a board development committee to focus constantly on improving the board's structure and process. The nomination process included candid talks with board prospects about the expectations to give and to help others give. They agreed that training board members on their governance hat role as well as their volunteer hat role needed to be scheduled.
It took close to two years before Ron saw board members actually come to him excited about their role in fundraising. They were renewed in their confidence about the mission and strategic plan. They received reports on how lives were being changed. Because they felt good about their governance role and saw the results, they began to own the partnership between board and staff in raising the money to do more. Ron and his board began to see the difference between just existing and thriving in ministry.
In all you do, be faithful. Ministries that seem to enjoy God's blessing are disciplined about prayer and integrating biblical precepts into planning. They honor the diversity of people and their gifts. They see no conflict with being good at the business aspects of ministry and seeking Christ's leadership in all aspects of their work.
Then give the glory to the Lord. You and your board know that without him, you can do little here on earth, and nothing of eternal significance.
Getting your board to love the work of development may seem afar off, but applying these basic principles will bring a "love of fundraising" much closer to reality. It takes time, but it's never too late to start.
Drs. Bob Andringa and Fred Laughlin, partners in The Andringa Group (www.TheAndringaGroup.com), are the co-authors of Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board.
