Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion Into Action

Acknowledgments xxi

Introduction xxiii

Chapter 1 An Understandable Problem 1

What Is Keeping Board Members Away from Fundraising? 1

What Do Board Members Want, Anyway? 3

The Best Dream Team Board Members 8

The Right Roles for Board and Staf f 10

Does the Board or the Staf f Do the Fundraising? 11

The Reality of Board Members and Fundraising 14

The Mistakes We Make with Our Board Members and Fundraising 15

Mission Possible—A Better Way! 19

Chapter 2 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step One: FOCUS on the Mission 23

Creating Sustained Change: The Challenge 24

Step One: Focus on the Mission to Inspire Board Members 28

Emphasize Outcomes and Results instead of Process 30

Give Board Members Substantive Work 32

Create Meaningful Board Meetings 33

Ways to Liven UpYour Board Meetings—and Your Board 36

Let the Board Members Do the Talking 38

Energize Meetings with Mission Moments 39

Have Some Fun! 44

Your Role in Gently Leading Your Board 46

Chapter 3 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Two: INSPIRE Your Board Members with a New Philosophy of Fundraising 49

Fundraising Is Changing the World for the Better 49

Board Members’ Myths and Problems with Fundraising 51

Proud to Be a Fundraiser! 55

Get Everybody on Your Bandwagon 57

Get Your Board Busy Raising Friends 58

Fundraising Need Not Be Scary: Deal with Their Fears Directly 59

A Conversation about Discomfort with Fundraising 61

Fear of Fundraising Exercise 63

The Joy of Giving 65

Why Do People Give? Lessons for Board Members 68

Fundraising Is Full of Power 71

The Power of Being a Volunteer 74

Expect Abundance, Not Scarcity 77

Chapter 4 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Three: READY Your Board with the Right Tools and Skills 83

Fundraising from the Donor’s Point of View: What Donors Want 84

Take the Emphasis Away from Soliciting 90

The Act of Soliciting Is One Tiny Instant in the Cycle! 93

Board Members as Ambassadors to Cultivate Major Gifts 97

How to Make Use of a Lucky Moment: Teaching the Elevator Speech 101

Chapter 5 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Four: ENGAGE Your Board Members in Your Fundraising Plan 111

FriendRaising Builds Social Capital 112

Board Members as “Sneezers,”Advocates Who Spread the Word Wherever They Go 115

Spreading the Word by Mail 117

Advice Visits: Searching for Hidden Gold 119

Gathering Friends with Small Socials 124

Mission-Focused Tours Illustrate Your GoodWork 132

Board Members in Action: Success Stories 137

Chapter 6 Create a Dream Team Board and Set Your Board Up to Win! 143

What Do We Really Want for Our Organizations? 143

Enlisting New Dream Team Board Members 145

Set Up a Governance Committee to Keep Your Board on Track 150

A Dream Team Board: Who Do You Want? 154

Use a Big Request to Enlist Board Members 157

xii contents

Let’s Agree on Fundraising Activities for Every Board Member 160

Welcome New Board Members into the “Club” 167

How to Get to Know Your Board Members 171

Self-Assessments Keep Everyone Focused 174

Make Sure All the Board Members Give 176

Seven Rules for Successfully Soliciting Your Board 179

Set Your Board Members Up to Win 188

How to Organize for Fundraising Results 191

A Board “Leadership Team” Creates Results 195

References and Recommended Reading 201

Books That Focus on the Bigger Picture of

Transformation, Organizational Change, and . . . 202

Articles 202

Donor Commitment Form 203

AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards

of Professional Practice 205

AFP Donor Bill of Rights 206

Index 207