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In most organizations, board fundraising refers to two related components.  First, the board is asked (or required) to give a personal gift each year to the organization.  Second, the board is asked (or required) to help solicit funds for the organization from their own network of family, friends, and colleagues.

Both forms of board fundraising are vital to the success of every single school, church, or charity.  Why?  Because the best place to start your fundraising network is with those supporters who are closest to you organization, and who is closer to your organization than its board of directors?  If they won’t give personal gifts and ask for support from their own rolodexes, can you really expect others who are further removed from your organization to do the same?

Of course, board fundraising is a tricky subject for your non-profit’s development staff and staff leadership – your development professionals know how important the board’s involvement is to your fundraising success, yet often, the board (or at least some portion of the board’s membership) is reluctant to give or raise funds.  When this happens (and it often does) , your organization’s development staff is left in the unenviable position of pressuring their ultimate boss (the board) into giving.  This pressure takes any number of forms, including cajoling, inspiring, wheedling, and all to often… begging.

Because board fundraising is such an important component of your organization’s overall fundraising plan, here are four tips for rousing any board into an increased fundraising role for your school, church, or charity:

1.   Explain the Need

Believe it or not, many board members of many organizations aren’t entirely clear on the “dollars and cents” of their non-profit.  They don’t understand where the money goes or why your group needs more of it.  Sure, most boards have a few “numbers people” who ask lots of questions and double check figures on the budget, but don’t make the mistake of thinking all of your board members are similarly inclined.  (Part of this explanation process should be the presentation of a well-written fundraising plan).

Boards that understand the balance sheet and the overall fundraising goals are much more likely to be actively engaged in fundraising efforts.  Take some time to explain your budget to your board, and to lay out why you need each and every dollar you are attempting to raise.  Show them the need, and what they can do to help fill it.

2.   Inspire with Your Mission

Your board may innately support your organization, but even they sometimes lose steam.  Take the time to frequently reconnect your board with your mission.  Inspire them with your successes.  Share with them your vision for the future.  Highlight your clients’ stories.  Take them on tours.  Connect with them frequently.  Board members that are inspired and emotionally driven by your mission are board members that not only will raise money for you, but will want to.

3.   Educate and Support

Depending on the composition of your board, you may have several (or even a majority of) board members who wish they could raise lots of money for you, but don’t really know how.  Take some time to “train” your board on how to fundraise.  Teach them how to make an ask.  Walk them through the process of holding an event in their home for your organization.  Show them how to introduce people to your charity.  Give them a chance to practice, to learn, and to ask questions.

One great way to do this is by holding a board retreat with a major fundraising component.  Another way is to set aside time at a board meeting for a training session.  Teach your board what you want them to do so they can go out and do it for you.

4.   Be Mindful of Your Board’s Talents

Various board members will have varying talents.  Some will be great fundraisers.  Others will be great visionaries.  Still others will help with PR, advertising, program components, and planning and organization.  While all board members should have some responsibility for fundraising (and all should personally give to your organization), recognize that some people will have a real knack for board fundraising, while others will only do so out of a sense of obligation.

Understanding this fact, be mindful of always having a certain percentage of good fundraisers on your board of directors.  As members cycle on and off of your board, make sure that board fundraising is an important criteria of the selection process for new board members.  Set yourself up for future fundraising success.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Related posts:

1. How to Increase Your Charity’s Fundraising Profit
2. Raising Funding for a New Non-Profit
3. Best Fundraising Strategies for Small Non-Profits

Individual fundraising (raising money from individuals) should form the backbone of 90% of all development organizations that exist today.  All types of fundraising are important to carrying out your mission, and none can be discounted, but non-profits that can successfully rely on events, direct mail, or grants are the exception, not the rule, and generally are national, not local in scale.  For most small and mid-sized non-profits, individual fundraising will provide a major portion of your fundraising revenues.

Here are five things that every charity should know to maximize their individual giving program:

1.  You’ve got to have a Plan

Every single aspect of your development operation starts with a plan.  Many small non-profits have a general fundraising plan, but not a specific individual giving plan.  This is a mistake that will ultimately result in confusion and missed opportunities.  Before beginning or continuing your individual fundraising efforts, write out an individual giving plan.

2.  Individual Fundraising is Viral

Raising money from individuals works best when you utilize viral fundraising.  Think of your organization’s development efforts as a set of concentric circles.  Your organization is in the middle.  Your donors are in the next circle – go back to them, cultivate them, get them to help.  Your donors’ contacts are in the next circle – develop relationships there, ask for funding, then ask these new donors to introduce you to their rolodex… keep working outward.  Build fundraising networks.  Fundraise virally.

3.  Relationships Matter!

People give more money when you build a relationship with them.  Nowhere is this truer than in major donor giving.  Work to build relationships with your donors and with your prospects.  Visit them.  Keep them updated and involved.  Show them you appreciate them.

4.  Involvement Goes Beyond Giving

Some schools, churches, and charities think that individual donor involvement stops when the check gets written – take this approach and I guarantee you will leave money on the table.  Most donors who give to your organization do so because they want to be involved.  As a development professional, it is your job to get them involved beyond just writing a check.  Help your donors and prospects volunteer, learn, network, and come to events.  Get them connected more deeply with your group, and they will continue to give.

5.  Your Mission must take Center Stage

While individual fundraising relies on many factors – your board’s contacts, your donors’ networks, your staff’s fundraising abilities, and your marketing material’s quality – none matters more than your mission.  Many organizations lose sight of this simple fact.  Ultimately, more people give because of your mission than any other single reason.  Make sure that your group’s mission takes center stage in your individual fundraising campaigns, and in all of your development efforts.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Related posts:

1. Fundraising for Small Non-Profits
2. How to Write a Successful Fundraising Plan
3. How to Build Your Prospect List

Getting your key supporters to make – and stick to – personal fundraising goals is one of the toughest tasks that small and mid-sized non-profits face.  When it comes to your board, your major donor groups, your key fundraising volunteers and large event hosts, getting them to nail down set fundraising targets can be tricky, and motivating them to stay on target even trickier.

Personal Fundraising Goals Should be Ambitious, but Doable

The goals you set in conjunction with your supporters should be ambitious, but doable.  They should require the person who is fundraising on your behalf to really get out and work their network… but the goals shouldn’t be so ambitious that your supporters will lose heart or be unable to reach the goal no matter how much work they put in.

Take a look at your team member’s abilities, his or her contributions to the organization in the past, what their network looks like, and what type of fundraising opportunity you are working on (is this an event?  A mailing?  Direct asks?).

Discuss, Rather than Dictate

If possible, discuss the fundraising goals you would like to set for your team member openly with him or her.  Rather than sitting down with the person and saying, “We’d like you to raise $25,000 for our capital campaign,” have a discussion… ask your supporter what they think they can raise, what kind of time commitment they will be making to the effort, and how enthusiastic they are about fundraising for you.

Of course, sometimes, you will have to fit donors into defined groups.  For example, if you are holding a $500 event and the host committee is being asked to sell 10 tickets, you can’t have a discussion with a prospective host committee member and set a goal of 3 tickets with them.  If you set a minimum threshold for committee membership, you have to stick with it.

In circumstances like this, be careful who you invite onto the host committee… if you know someone can only sell 5 tickets, and the host committee is asked to sell 10, don’t ask the person onto the committee… they will only get discouraged.  Instead, find some other way to involve them in the event, and ask them to still consider selling those 5 tickets.

Motivate Along the Way

Once you’ve set a personal fundraising goal for your supporter, be sure to offer support and motivation along the way.  When dealing with volunteer fundraisers remember that the person who is fundraising for you is doing so without compensation, because they believe in your mission.  Offer them lots of praise, help when they need it, and occasional reminders about their target and how far they have to go to meet those personal fundraising goals.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Related posts:

1. The 10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event
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