The All Too Familiar Challenge With Nonprofit Board Members… and How To Overcome It

Does this sound familiar… You’re excited about the three new Board members you’ve brought on this year. They’ve added tremendous value - they have all been committed to your cause as major donors for years, they’ve added a new sense of enthusiasm with their deep expertise and experience in your cause, and they provide wise counsel to you and the organization in shaping your growth strategy moving forward.

BUT… when you ask for introductions to others in their network or seek their support in soliciting transformational gifts, they balk.

What we know from our 64 years of combined hands-on experience with over 60 of the world’s leading nonprofits, is that this is all too common.

Nonprofits are generally brilliant at leveraging the expertise, counsel, and philanthropic support of Board members, but only moderately effective at gaining access to their networks and getting them to fundraise on your organization’s behalf.

Why is this?

Honestly... Nonprofits don’t always have a well thought out process in place for onboarding board members from a Development perspective.

What typically happens is a nonprofit invites someone to join the board, conveys the give/get expectations, and hopes the board member will deliver. In some instances they might schedule a meeting to inquire about introductions the board member can make to their high-net-worth peers, or cultivation events they can host, but that’s often the extent of a nonprofit’s fundraising requests.

Nonprofits can do a better job of setting themselves up for success by asking every board member three essential questions.

Those questions are...

1. Under what conditions would you be willing to introduce us to high-net-worth individuals in your network? 

This question helps you learn what you need to do to earn the board member’s trust. No board member wants to grant you access to their network if they don’t believe you’ll handle their important relationships with great care.

2. If we equip you with the information you need, would you be willing to engage in specific cultivation activities with people in your network or with prospects with whom we feel you’d have a great connection?

In response to this question, a board member may ask what kinds of activities?, to which you can provide examples appropriate for your nonprofit. For example, you might ask them to make a phone call, invite someone to an event, or join you for a meeting. The key here is to let the board member know you’ll provide them with all the information they need and will happily craft talking points they can use. This builds trust in a different way: the board member will understand you’re there to help them put their best foot forward for your organization.

3. Would you be willing to ask a top prospect for a transformational gift to help further our mission?

Some board members are comfortable making “asks,” while others are not. For those that are, you want to prepare and coach them to be the best possible solicitors because no one inspires a person, couple, or family to make a transformational gift more than someone who’s made one themselves.

Your Turn

• Which of these three questions are you currently asking potential board members, and which do you need to add in the future?
• How comfortable are you in asking these questions and what would it take to become more comfortable?
• How are you equipping your board members to be your greatest fundraisers?

Sometimes it just takes a few intentional tweaks to the process to reset expectations and insure that your Board members are willing, equipped, and excited to be part of securing gifts that can truly transform your revenue and your impact.

Here’s to cultivating and equipping a Board of Directors who are not only your biggest champions, but also some of your greatest fundraisers!

All the best,

Lisa, Jeremy and Pam