How to Get Board Members to Fundraise? Engage Them in the Mission

I interviewed Hal Abrams, a major gift consultant, about how to involve board members in fundraising. He said the first step is to engage them in the mission. Tell me about what you do. Many organizations live hand to mouth off their gala or just one big push. As a major gift consultant, I try to help nonprofits be more efficient with their time and change their processes to build relationships with donors and to help donors accomplish their philanthropic goals. What role do board members have in fundraising? Board members have an important role in fundraising. But I think… Read more

Organizing for Fundraising Success

In this post, I share insights from a board member who has served on smaller, community based organizations. She has several stories. In one volunteer-led organization, she wishes that someone had documented processes to make fundraising easier. She describes two situations where board members did not follow through on their commitments. And finally, she provides an example of a board that paired new board members with experienced board members to do fundraising. This is the fifth in my series of fundraising. In the first of the series, I shared a story about a successful capital campaign where a board member… Read more

Fundraising

This post is the first in a series about fundraising. Fundraising is an important responsibility of every board. But it is also a tricky one because most people don’t like to fund raise. I talked to a handful of board members and nonprofit staff to ask them about the role of the board in fundraising. The answers are varied and depend on the size and the age of the organization and the capabilities of staff and board members. Notably – and not surprisingly – when I did outreach for stories about boards in general, I got dozens of stories. But… Read more