Top 5 Tips to Get Your Board to Start Fundraising

Tip #2: Level set on goals + celebrate small wins.

Too often as EDs, we forget that a monetary goal is not inspiring.  We forget to let people know the WHY behind the goal.  For example, does $100,000 help us to serve more kids, save more puppies, clean up 100 miles of ocean?  We need to tell the stories to remind people why they fell in love in the first place.  

Also, setting achievable milestones and celebrating along the way will keep the energy up.  

Imagine telling someone who has never run before that they’re going to run a marathon?  That’s the quickest way to de-motivate anyone.

Tip #3: Identify your champions

Not all board members are created equal.  You’ll need to have your allies and champions on the board who can help motivate the others.  In a perfect world, your board chair will be a partner in this work, but it can be others who have the energy to help inspire, motivate and get the board moving forward.  The tipping point of a board can be a handful of people.  Remember peer pressure works for middle schoolers and board members.

Tip #4: Individualize the approach

Another mistake we make: assuming that all people will do all the things.  Instead, have an individual conversation with each board member to see what it is they’re willing to take responsibility for.  Maybe they’re uncomfortable with solicitation, but love to throw parties.  Maybe they are happy to take donors out to lunch, but hate galas.  There is a place for them.  The rule is: you don’t have to do EVERYTHING but you have to do SOMETHING.

Tip #5: Keep it front and center

As they say, what you measure is what matters.  Use your board meetings to keep the conversation front and center.  What I mean by that is not your ED reporting on fundraising, but rather the board reporting on its own activities and completion of assigned tasks.  Doing it in public ensures a level of accountability.

And, if all else fails, you might have to ask yourself if this is the wrong board.  It’s slow work.  It took me six years to finally recruit the board that I wanted, but when you get it right, it’s a lever to help you to multiply your efforts.

Want some concrete ideas about what to do with your board?  Take the board quiz here.