Major Gift Fundraising and Board Members' Role
People tell us often, usually with a sigh and look of despair, that their board is just not a fundraising board. If you’ve read my other blogs, you know that to this I say: that is great!
We have an expectation of people who agree to join our boards that they will help us raise support. I want to reframe our expectation to be around board members’ willingness to connect us to others (and consider their own personal philanthropy)– and leave the act of soliciting support to us.
When we take trainings, invest in workshops, and hone our fundraising skills through experience, we feel confident in our ability to make asks. Board members, though, have been asked to help govern our organizations from a volunteer leadership standpoint, and are helpful to us because they have other types of skills. Spanning the breadth of business, law, health, science, finance, and so on, we know we can glean perspectives from expertise that make our organization’s vision richer, and ability to make decisions even more sound. But they aren’t fundraisers, and if we ask them to be, we may lose out on their participation in our leadership discussions (where we want them!) because of discomfort with this activity, and we may even leave financial support on the table when they make solicitations without the training and experience that we have.
So, then, what is their role relative to philanthropy? And how do I communicate it?
Board members should be asked to:
make our organization amongst their top 3 philanthropic priorities (an annual gift at the leadership level, and minimally, a 3-year pledge during the time of a campaign);
understand the types of people with whom we want to connect for prospective support and be willing to open a door that we can walk through – email an introduction, make a call, or be willing to be copied on a note where they can add a line of encouragement to the community member to take our meeting;
be available to join a visit (coffee, tour) with an individual with whom they have an existing relationship IF that is helpful as we begin to cultivate them, or attend development/campaign committee meeting to discuss those individuals;
speak with one voice about our strategic vision (AKA funding priorities), including the outcomes we will drive;
And last but not least: give us, as fundraisers, a seat at the table. Did you catch my interview on the We Are For Good podcast? I comment on our need to be in board meetings, at leadership meetings, and speaking into the vision. After all, we’re a bridge between what philanthropists want to impact and what our organizations are hoping to accomplish. You want to know what we hear. Board members only benefit from keeping fundraisers (read change agents) in the boardroom, and I am grateful for those leaders who know the value of transparency and plentiful communication between these groups.
Thank your board members for what they do, and then proactively and deliberately communicate how they can help you!
