Enhancing Board capacity for fundraising

 
Resource Type: 
Articles
Topic: 
Fundraising
Does your organization’s Board of Directors have the experience, enthusiasm and commitment to raise the funds needed for your group to fulfill its mission? Fundraising boards have shared goals—finding donors, developing donor relationships, and building the capacity to ask for money that will support your organization’s mission and bottom line.
 
How can you turn your organization’s Board of Directors into a “fundraising” Board?  Moving to collectively and fully embrace the Board’s fundraising role in its governance is one of the perennial “hot topics” that arise in our leadership programs. Raising money is an acquired skill; often, anxiety, fear or avoidance of reality will decrease the capacity of a Board of Directors to effectively help an organization creatively garner needed funds to meet its budget and implement its mission. Getting beyond these challenges takes a collective spirit, one that will pay off in dividends that extend well beyond the monies raised. But how do you get there?
 
In taking a look at your current board members, ask whether there is a core of a few individuals who are fundraising enthusiasts and would be effective allies in supporting change. If not, can you specifically look for this skill in new board recruits, thus developing a core of individuals committed to change?
 
Realize, of course, that change is tricky and difficult for individuals as well as organizations. Effective change requires sustained and intentional focus. For individuals, the process may look like this:
1.       identify why change is needed
2.       envision the results of change
3.       find easy, initial steps for success to ensure momentum
4.       try out and reinforce new positive behaviors, and
5.       build-in support and encouragement along the way.
 
Organizations can use much the same process.
In our 20 years of working with leaders across environmental and conservation groups, we have found the following to be successful steps in developing a long-term, team approach for fundraising at the Board level:
  • Identify the need to increase Board fundraising as a collective endeavor. While you or your small team of fundraising leaders may see the need for more Board fundraising, others may not—or worse, may actively resist. Consider the idea of board assessments as a strategic way of jump-starting a Board-level conversation about Board function. Fundraising performance assessments, or an “audit” of current fundraising efforts, help the full Board laser-in on both the role of the Board and the specific actions needed to become a fundraising Board. If the Board is ready for that step, an assessment can help create a shared picture of the need for change, and will facilitate the success of future steps. (see “Resources,” below for a link to a proven assessment tool.)

  • Ask: what would it look like to have a fundraising Board? Vague notions such as, “we need the Board to do more fundraising,” will hamper efforts for change. Create a clear picture of the fundraising Board in your future and use it as a driving force to motivate and encourage fundraising efforts. Many groups use clear goals, such as “all of our Board members will participate in 2 – 3 fundraising activities during the year,” or, “ our Board raises 10% of our annual budget,” to describe Board fundraising expectations.

  • Early success breeds success—and leads to long-term habits. As you choose the first steps toward implementing your vision of a more effective fundraising Board, think of initial goals that fit in the, “do-able with minimal effort” category. A specific goal, such as, “raise $3,000 to support communication work on our lead project,” will become a building block for larger goals and more sustainable efforts as Board members team for success. Assign tasks, contact prospects, communicate progress—and celebrate each new activity and goal reached.

  • Remember: nothing is better than praise—and the bottom line! Reaching goals is a reinforcing loop of motivation. Count the dollars, add up the donations, and don’t forget to thank those who contribute positively—a step that will reinforce individual and collective behavioral change. Praise for each leader’s progress and the group’s efforts will enhance how the Board values fundraising, and increase the likelihood that fundraising will become an integral part of the Board’s contribution to meeting the organization’s mission and increasing impact.
 
In addition to helping the “bottom line,” the good news about fundraising is that, while conservation and environmental goals are often abstract or long-term, a well-orchestrated (and successful) fundraising process offers concrete measures of success. With the Board’s commitment to your cause, standing in the community, and enthusiasm for your organization, it can become a key resource that savvy organizations invest in for positive change.