Scott Evans, Director of Development at the Pediatric Cancer
Research Foundation some months ago asked this question on a LinkedIn
group for professional fundraisers”
How to convince a board to have a role in fundraising
I have an interesting situation: a board who believes fundraising is virtually entirely the job of the development staff (me, in this case).
Not to shirk a role in fundraising but would you have any advice on
responding to a board who is vehement about their position and offended
(so far) by my overtures to convince them that a board has great
responsibility in fundraising.
He clearly struck a chord, because more than 100 experts responded to
his question. A summary of their collective wisdom is below:
- Set clear expectations of the board from the beginning – responsibilities, expectations, time commitment, etc
- Educate the board on HOW to raise funds
- Make fundraising less scary – address the board’s fears
- Define fundraising (much of it centers around relationship building, not just requests for money)
- Making the change happen – start with one advocate on the board
- Can you change the board culture? How? Bring in an outside consultant?
- Find common ground – the goal of the board is to ensure the
viability of the organization to fulfill its mission now and in the
future
- Are YOU doing your part to help the board ?
- Is it a conflict of interest to serve on multiple boards?
- Board report cards
- Creating and sustaining board commitment
- Development committees?
- Solicitation – quid pro quo donations
We have also written about this subject in a
past blog post.
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