How-to: Engage Your Board Members as Fundraisers

If you’re like many nonprofit executives and development staff, you’ve seen firsthand the challenges of inspiring your board to fundraise. But more often than not, the resistance that seems like a lack of interest has little to do with your board’s desire to fundraise! Instead, it’s often a result of very relatable feelings: fear and inexperience. Many of us know how intimidating it can be to ask anyone for money—and the feeling of not even knowing where to begin.

So what can you do about it?

Just as you would with any of your other supporters (like those you engage in peer-to-peer fundraising), you can—and should—take steps to cultivate your board members as fundraisers. Because while their oversight and guidance is important, your board should also be at the core of your efforts if you want to succeed in fundraising.

With the holy grail of 100% board giving in mind, we’ve identified 8 key steps you can take to build a board of effective fundraisers:

1. Grow your board

Getting your existing board to change their habits can be hard. Depending on their tenure, some of your board members may be set in their ways and resistant to change. One of the best ways to shake things up and re-energize your board is to recruit new members. With new board members, you’ll have the opportunity to start off on the right foot. And your existing board members will be in a position to re-think their roles and responsibilities.

Be thoughtful about the type of board you want to build. Not everyone has to be connected to major donors! Board members who share your values and vision, yet who have diverse backgrounds and perspectives, will make you more effective at fundraising and serving your community. Using this simple exercise, you can coach just about anyone to build a list of prospective donors. What matters most is their passion.

You can find these new board members through a number of channels:

• Reach out to your top volunteers and most involved community members
• Post the opportunity on job search engines for nonprofits, like Idealist
• Seek out board sourcing and matching programs in your area
• Ask your existing board members and staff for referrals
• Post on social media, your website, and in your newsletter

Your job description should explicitly state that you expect new board members to fundraise. The more specific you can be about your expectations, the better.

2. Set expectations from the beginning

From your job description to your interviews and, finally, to the contract you ask your board members to sign, you want to be clear that you expect board members to fundraise. This goes for existing board members as well, whose expectations may need to be reset as you recruit new people onto your board.

3. involve your board members in goal setting

Get your board members involved early on in setting your fundraising goals for the year. Everyone on the board should be aware of your projected expenses and how much money you will need to raise. They should also understand how those funds will be used to run your programs and what the final impact will be. Dedicate time at your next board meeting to discussing the full financial picture for your nonprofit in 2019, and ask them to help set fundraising goals. Topics for discussion should include:

• An overview of your financial needs in 2019 (and beyond, if possible), including how you plan to allocate these resources
• Your current fundraising strategy and how much you plan to raise
• An agreement on how much you need to raise this year

By setting a clear overarching fundraising goal together, you’ll build accountability into the process.

4. Pick a champion to lead board development

Your Executive Director will be the one leading many conversations with the board. But uneven power dynamics can make it difficult at times to hold people accountable. To provide structure for your board as they fundraise, and to keep everyone engaged throughout the year, create a fundraising committee and designate a board champion as the Development Chair. Then, make time at each meeting for an update from your Development Chair to keep communication channels open—and everyone on the same page.

5. Get a commitment from each board member

As we said earlier in the post, we hope your goal will be 100% board giving. Not only will this lofty goal provide a more reliable cash flow for your programs, but some funders even require this level of engagement from your board.

But how and how much each board member gives doesn’t need to be identical. Every individual board member should set a personal fundraising goal for the year; this might be an annual gift at the end of the year, a monthly contribution, the promise to fund an event or buy a table at your gala, or a goal to bring in a certain number of new donors at a particular contribution level.

After you designate your Development Chair, have them work one-on-one with your board members to set these goals. If possible, have each board member write down their goals for the year. Research shows that people who write down their goals are far more likely to achieve them!

6. Give them the resources they need to be successful

As you build a board culture that emphasizes 100% engagement, you’ll also need to teach your board members how to fundraise!

Luckily, most of your fundraising efforts will follow a similar pattern:

• Create a list of prospective donors
• Set a clear fundraising goal
• Craft your Call-to-Action (CTA)
• Communicate your message + make your ask
• Follow-up with a (personalized) thank-you
• Stay in touch with regular updates.

Before you launch your next fundraiser, be prepared with a plan and share resources in advance with your board members. These can include email and social media post templates, as well as thank-you letters that they can customize for their own networks.

If you have the resources, you might also consider bringing in a consultant to run a fundraising workshop with your board. Empowering them with tools and knowledge can give them the confidence they need to become standout fundraisers, so your upfront investment will pay off down the line.

7. Be prepared to cultivate new donors on their behalf

As your board members begin to bring in new donors, whether they make the ask directly or introduce you to potential donors in their networks, you want to have a plan in place for building strong relationships with new donors (and your individual donor base). While board members can make phone calls and write personalized thank-you letters, you’ll want to add new donors’ contact information to your database and send regular communications. Doing so will put your organization in a position to successfully ask these donors to give again.

8. Give board members the recognition they deserve

Finally, don’t underestimate how important it is to recognize your board members’ contributions. You know that you should always thank your donors, and the same goes for your board members. When they introduce a new donor or secure a donation, reach out to them and give them credit; by giving them positive reinforcement, you’ll build trust—and help them develop the habit of always giving to your nonprofit.

Is your board actively fundraising on behalf of your nonprofit? What kinds of challenges do you face when it comes to engaging your board members as fundraisers? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.