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Forget about your board
No really, forget about them.
If you’re fundraising for a small nonprofit, you have probably tried, over and over and over again, begging, cajoling, pleading with your board to fundraise. It’s probably causing you no small amount of frustration that they won’t do it.
They don’t want to fundraise?
Don’t fight it anymore. It’s a waste of your energy. You’ve got more important things to worry about.
Like that next meeting with your major donor.
I was having a fabulous conversation yesterday with Cheryl Newcomb, Development Director of the ACLU in Austin, and she told me that their fundraising program is not based on board members fundraising. And I just thought, WOW, what a radical notion! But it makes so much SENSE!
You are getting paid to fundraise. Your executive director is getting paid to fundraise.
Don’t try to make your board do something they’re not getting paid to do.
Board meetings? Try Bored Meetings.
Do you ever look around a board meeting and see people’s glazed eyes? They didn’t even read your fundraising/marketing report! You’re working hard! How can they be so ungrateful and unnoticing?
They are bored! No matter how many stories of hope you tell them, it’s not putting money into their wallets. It’s really not benefiting them in any way.
It’s not that your report is too long. I suspect that even if it was half a paragraph, it would be too long. It’s not that you can’t engage them properly. It’s that they’re not getting paid to be there.
They are, in fact, wasting their own time. But they go, out of some concept of duty or obligation, and eventually, they drop off. And the problem is not them. It’s the system that expects them to do something for free, day in and day out, with absolutely no benefit to themselves.
And YOU’RE supposed to lean on them to fundraise. And if you lean too hard, you can get fired. And if you don’t lean hard enough, you can get fired. WHAT A RIGGED GAME!
It’s a crazy system, built by the puritans, and we can acknowledge it and stop it right now.
When I sat on a nonprofit board, I was fundraising full time, 50 hour work weeks, and then I was also expected to do grantwriting 10 hours a week for this other nonprofit. It was insanity. I tried to make myself do the work, but I just couldn’t. It was grating my soul to do something that I should have been paid for doing. And I just had to ask myself,
WHY AM I WORKING MYSELF TO DEATH? FOR WHO?
Why am I trying to make board members do something which has no benefit for them, and which they have no interest in doing, anyway?
Let’s just stop the insanity.
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There has been much written about this subject during my 20+ years in the social profit sector. And while I agree that we may be asking board members to do things they don’t want to do…My take on board members & fundraising is to change the focus.
Not all (or any) board members need to participate in FUNDRAISING. They must, in my opinion, participate in DEVELOPMENT.
The association of fundraising professionals defines fund development as “The total process by which an organization increases public understanding of its mission…”
I believe, if you have a seat on a board, it’s your job to help raise awareness of the organization and its impact. Board members can also help thank other donors, be an engaged greeter at events, and so on. Here’s my recent post on the topic: http://lorijacobwith.com/2010/02/blessing-or-curse-board-members-fund-development/
“Don’t try to make your board do something they’re not getting paid to do.”? Then why are the board members there in the first place? It should be for reasons such as their support for the organization, community service, a cause they believe in, etc. If they’re bored, then they’re taking up space for someone else who could be more effective.
If someone is going to consent to serve on the board of an organization, fundraising/development is 80% of their job. Board members are expected use their connections to spur interest in and support of the organization they serve. General oversight and strategic planning make up the other 20%. The Executive Director should be the liaison between the Board and the staff.
As a new boy in the not for profit sector we try to ensure a quid pro quo for our board members. They are all concerned with social justice. We’re lucky enough to have found people who are equally concerned about stopping abuse as we are. People who have different roles. They all agree to give or get $10,000 a year. For some it is with the flourish of a tax saving pen, for others its through hard graft. We are very fortunate. All our board members are actively involved in our development.
Lori, I agree with your points above and I’m about to read your blog post.
I’m feeling fortunate. We have a great board at the Stop Abuse Campaign. We have 10 places still to fill and we have specific skills we are looking for along with their donation which confirms to us real and not passing social interest.
Hi Lori!
Thank you for your thoughtful response to my post! I think that the board should be involved in some ways, but since they are volunteers, I think it’s going to have to be totally on their terms. we can’t even really insist on development as a duty.
And nor would we want people in those positions that did not enjoy being there, right? That would sabotage our efforts and make our days a living hell, trying to run around and get them to do things they didn’t want to do!
Sincerely,
Mazarine
There is a lot of value in unpaid volunteers engaging in development (I’m a “student” of Lori’s and agree that it shouldn’t just be about fundrasiing but the larger picture of NP development). Simply put, when you, as the paid staff tell the stories, it’s just so easy to think “she’s getting paid to tell me this org is great”. Harder to do that with volutneers.
I also have to question the notion of people not finding value in things they don’t get paid for. If that was true I think our sector would be all but lost. I do think that it’s important to take the time to find out what the driving force behind each of your volunteers is, and how can you capitalize on it. For example, when I have joined boards in the past it was to learn new and different nonprofit leadership strategies. I wanted to be involved so that I could learn from the experience. The organizations I worked with recognized that and worked hard to give me many unique jobs to tackle. I’m a better social sector professional because of it.
Appreciate the post–lots of good things to focus on so that board meetings don’t become bored meetings.
Hi Mazarine!
I just wanted to chime in (thanks for the quote!)and agree with you and Lori both – there is a difference between development and fundraising. I’ve worked for a number of non-profits, and I’ve consistently found that in most boards, there are a handful of members who are great solicitation partners; while the others are reluctant. What I’ve worked to do is to shift expecations about the role of board members in development. There are two expectations we should have of all board members:
1) All board members should contribute to the organization. I emphasize 100% participation over amount. More and more, I find that the “give or get” philosophy of board membership is outdated. Funders expect that all board members give, and they do ask! Even if it’s $20, all board members should give. Of course, those board members with capacity should be asked to give more than $20 🙂
2) As Lori stated above, all board members should be involved in some aspect of development. My favorite development task is assigning board members to write notes or place a thank you call to anyone who donated at a certain level or above in the previous month. It’s rewarding for them, and provides invauable stewardship for those donors. Also, all board members should be helping with prospect list development, and, ideally, connecting the development and executive staff with prospects on their list. I do not assign cold calls, only people they know. If all else fails, I ask if I can use their name when I contact a prospect.
In all, their board experience shoud be rewarding, fulfilling, speak to the passion they feel about the organization and/or cause, and FUN! It’s not FUN to be dodging calls from the development director because you haven’t made your 20 cold calls yet!
Nope, we don’t want them doing things they don’t want to do…but I believe our job is to teach, inspire and model the kind of actions we want them to take. Having 100% of the board involved in development in a way THEY love is what I make the effort to create with the organizations I coach. When we get the participation at that level, and they truly enjoy it, something magical happens with their fundraising! More money comes in. 🙂
I can’t even get my board to come to meetings. I lack a quorum more often than I have it.