Working with Your Board to Achieve Fundraising Success
by Ruth Gilden
People who serve on Boards of nonprofit organizations are special. They are deeply concerned about the work your agency does and the population it serves. Often they have the ability to help you achieve fundraising success through their personal generosity and through their personal, business and community contacts.
They also bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Experiences that can help you edit an annual report, plan a successful fundraising event or target an appeal for greatest impact. The key to unlocking this often hidden asset is getting to know the members of your Board, especially those who have agreed to serve on your Board’s Development Committee and building a relationship with those individuals.
Board members are waiting for you to engage them in how they can help the organization. They often have busy professional and personal lives and some sit on boards of several charitable organizations. However, they are generally eager to help in any way they can. We’ve all learned that the biggest single reason people don’t give to charities is that no one has asked. This is also true when it comes to securing the assistance of Board members to help you achieve the results you seek.
If you’ve identified a funding source that might support your agency’s work, pull the Board list and circulate it to members of your committee and the larger Board to see if anyone can help you “open a door.” If you’re planning an event, work with your Committee chair to identify a small group who will serve as the event subcommittee—to help you plan and execute a successful event. With a little luck, you’ll find someone who has experience in working with caterers, others who can assist you in developing and editing materials, and others still who can help you with the details. And, by engaging members of your Committee and your Board in planning the event, you’ll secure a level of buy-in that will help make your event a success and lay the foundation for successful events in the future.
Your board members probably receive many invitations to charitable events over the course of a year. And they probably attend a number of charitable events over the course of a year. Because of this, Board members often develop a good sense of what works and what doesn’t. Ask their advice as you begin to consider different types of events and as you begin to develop materials for the event you’re planning.
Board members are often asked to provide lists of contacts to invite to events. As each list comes in, be sure to thank the trustee who provided it. Sending invitations to Board contacts can be even more effective if they are willing to write personal notes for the invitations being sent to their list. If busy Board members don’t have time to write notes, offer to write the message of their choosing on notes to those on their lists. Once responses come in be sure to update those who’ve provided lists with information on contributions from their contacts so that they can personally thank their friends and associates. Be sure to thank your Board members for any assistance they offer and be gracious if their involvement begins to become one more pressure to deal with. In the end, you and your organization will benefit from actively engaging trustees in your fundraising efforts.
Ruth Gilden is the Deputy Executive VP for External Relations at the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA). While she has only focused her full time attention on development for a short time, she devoted nearly 2 decades to fiscal and administrative matters at JASA— including writing and editing proposals, managing government contracts and planning special events. Prior to joining JASA, she worked for a member of Congress and in the grants office at a branch of CUNY.
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