{"id":85,"date":"2020-04-04T22:14:11","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T02:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penncreativestrategy.coydhea2-liquidwebsites.com\/2020-1-10-just-dont-make-me-fundraise\/"},"modified":"2022-10-31T12:12:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T16:12:25","slug":"2020-1-10-just-dont-make-me-fundraise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/2020-1-10-just-dont-make-me-fundraise\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Don’t Make Me Fundraise!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Eleanor Shakin and Marissa Lewis<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ever heard this from a board member?<\/p>\n

\u201cJUST DON\u2019T MAKE ME FUNDRAISE!\u201d<\/h2>\n

Most board members respond enthusiastically to the requirements of board membership. They become engrossed in the programs, carefully review the financials, and take the time needed to deliberate with colleagues on program and policy.<\/p>\n

But many simply dread being asked to raise funds. This is largely because we are raised to avoid the topic of talking about personal wealth.\u00a0 How many of us talk about how much money we make over a family dinner?\u00a0 We are taught that how much money someone has is considered personal information and is socially inappropriate to discuss. \u00a0So board members naturally feel deeply uncomfortable with the idea of asking people for money.<\/p>\n

Since fundraising is a core responsibility of nonprofit boards, it\u2019s well worth the effort to turn this around.<\/p>\n

There are many ways to fundraise<\/h2>\n

Start by improving the understanding of fundraising\u2019s critical role in the organization and the many ways a board member can participate.<\/em><\/p>\n

A recent study of 16 nonprofits that had breakthrough success in individual giving commissioned by the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund indicated that there are four large themes each of these organizations had in common:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fundraising is core to the organization\u2019s identity<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fundraising is distributed broadly across staff, board and volunteers (culture of philanthropy)<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fundraising succeeds because of authentic relationships with donors<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fundraising is characterized by persistence, discipline and intentionality<\/p>\n

Fundraising is actually a cycle of activities.\u00a0 Most fundraising actually takes place before or after you request the gift. \u00a0The cycle begins with identifying donor prospects, building relationships with them, engaging donors, asking for a gift, expressing gratitude and recognizing donors.\u00a0 Board members can and should plug into all of these phases, not just the asking phase.\u00a0 For those who are uncomfortable, they might start at the back end \u2013 start by thanking donors who recently gave.\u00a0 It can be surprising and delightful to receive a personal call from a board member expressing gratitude for their support \u2013 and this delight is infectious –\u00a0 it will spread to the board member who makes the call as well.<\/p>\n

Shift your mindset<\/h2>\n

Then work on the fundamental mindset shift needed for fundraising.. Don\u2019t dwell on money \u2013 lead with your passion for the cause, the purpose of the organization, and the possibilities for the future.\u00a0 Start from your own \u201cwhy\u201d you give story.<\/em><\/p>\n

Board members are generally passionate about the work of the organization. Once they find their own language to communicate their enthusiasm, their confidence will increase. \u00a0\u00a0So don\u2019t script them \u2013 let them speak from the heart.\u00a0 Take some time to help them practice this language \u2013 role playing can be a useful technique.<\/p>\n

Encourage them to share their passion. \u00a0Make sure they feel free (and are equipped) to share their enthusiasm in a multitude of ways \u2013 in person at events, by mail (with personal notes on the annual appeal), online (through sharing social media posts), and just by sharing it in casual conversations \u2013 at dinner parties, at the gym, at work, etc.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about networking<\/h2>\n

Encourage board members to begin thinking about how broad their own networks are. \u00a0Most of us know people through our neighborhood, our childrens\u2019 school, our work, the gym, our faith community, and many other networks.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Ensure that your board understands that by sharing names with you, they are not promising to immediately ask them for money.\u00a0 You will support your board member as they work their contacts into the cultivation process. Introduce them thoughtfully to the work of the organization and encourage their increased involvement gradually so it feels natural and authentic \u2013 not socially inappropriate.<\/p>\n

Whether planning for a small gathering, a major gala, or a one-to one major donor meeting, the responsibility is shared by staff and board. \u00a0Prepare authentic experiences for the donor, and every experience will deepen the donor\u2019s relationship with the organization. In the process board members can become enthusiastic, knowledgeable and successful ambassadors for the organization.<\/p>\n

Not every board member will find her or his voice over night. Some will never become enthusiastic solicitors. But with practice, even a reluctant fundraiser can achieve success, and an inspired fundraiser will achieve great results<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever heard this from a board member? Many board members simply dread being asked to raise funds. We are taught that how much money someone has is considered personal information and is socially inappropriate to discuss. Since fundraising is a core responsibility of nonprofit boards, it\u2019s well worth the effort to turn this around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":86,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,1,72],"tags":[87],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1408,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/1408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}