How can I get my board to fundraise? How many times have you heard that?
In this slideshow, Gayle L. Gifford, President of Cause & Effect Inc., shows you want you've been doing wrong and how to move in a more effective direction. Gayle is one of just 102 fundraisers worldwide who hold the advanced fundraising credential ACFRE from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is co-author of The Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits, available through amazon.com
The fundraiser's guide to working with board members
1. The fundraiser’s guide to working with
board members
By
Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE
President
www.ceffect.com 401.331.2272 gayle@ceffect.com
@gaylegifford
2. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
Who knows others is clever,
Who knows him/ herself has insight.
Who conquers others has force,
Who conquers him/ herself is truly strong.
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, 33, Adapted translation from John Wu
Topics for discussion
Working with your board members
Stages of change
Four framing perspectives to improve your leadership
Essential board functions
Understand and respond to community need
Create a compelling vision and strategy for societal betterment
Produce results
Ensure that the organization is trustworthy, healthy, resilient and lives its
values
Ensure an excellent board
Set strategic goals and objectives that link money to outcomes
Ensure a reasonably achievable revenue strategy with clear designation of
who is responsible for what results
Common mistakes in working with board members
Thinking group decisions or job descriptions will motivate individual action
Thinking scolding will produce action
Failing to engage leadership
Assuming high levels of board member commitment or understanding of the
mission
Assuming your needs are high priority for your board member
Assuming board member understanding and commitment to the case for
support
Failure to provide a detailed action plan, broken into baby steps
Treating every board member the same, with the same level of expectation
Forgetting to create a developmental plan for each board member
Failure to follow up
Not respecting or leveraging board roles and protocols
Recruiting board members for their connections without asking if they are
willing to use those connections for your organization.
See http://bit.ly/SJFfr2
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
3. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
Stages of Change Model
1. Precontemplation: I haven’t thought
about this yet
Validate lack of readiness
Create interest and awareness
Encourage self-exploration
2. Contemplation: How will this turn out?
Is this good for me? Can I make this happen? How does this
compare to other choices I have?
Persuade
Motivate and encourage
Reduce costs
3. Preparation/Action: Do I have the skills to do this? Will my
environment allow me to adopt the behavior?
Believe the behavior can actually be accomplished
Provide instruction
Teach new skills
Practice
Change beliefs about the system if those are incorrect
Change conditions/change the system if beliefs about system are correct
4. Maintenance: Was this the right thing to do? Can I keep doing it?
Maintain action
Provide rewards
Reinforce behaviors
Overview of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. From James O.
Prochaska, et. al. See http://www.uri.edu/research/cprc/transtheoretical.htm
Marketing Social Change, Chapter 4, Alan R. Andreasen
Framing Tools
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
4. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
Frame Definition Strategies
Structural About the systems, Attune structure to the task,
structures, organization technology and environment
Human All about the people Get the right people, in the
Resource right jobs, motivated, engaged
and working together
Political About networks, Use of agenda, authority,
influence, power networks, power, bargaining,
interests, ecosystems
Symbolic About meaning Use culture, story, ritual, myth,
ceremony, symbols to create
meaning and motivate action
From: Reframing Organizations, Lee G. Bolman & Terrence E. Deal
What Volunteers Need from Staff (or each other) to give or
get
Leadership and direction
A compelling case for support that links money to outcomes
The right assignment that corresponds to their movement up the ladder
A plan with practical and doable actions
Personalized training, coaching, and encouragement
Logistical support
Gratitude
Celebration
Five Aspects of Fundraising Where Board Members Can
Participate
1. Match making
2. Friend making
3. Asking
4. Thanking
5. Stewarding
A Few Common Fundraising Mistakes Board Members
Make
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
5. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
Not linking the fundraising goal to a powerful vision of the community
change you are trying to create
Believing that spending hours in board meetings talking about the need for
more money will actually raise more money
Launching events without calculating what it will take to raise the amount of
money needed. Not assessing the work on the event against other
investments of resources.
Avoiding personal fears by ignoring the advice of the professionals
Thinking all you need to do to raise a lot of money is to know or recruit rich
people to the board
Action Items When You Return to the Office
Interview three board members
Develop strategy for each board member
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
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A Few Resources
Asking by Jerold Panas
Friendraising. Community engagement strategies for boards who hate
fundraising but love making friends by Hildy Gottlieb
Keep your Donors, by Simone P. Joyaux and Tom Ahern
How to Make Your Board Dramatically More Effective, Starting Today by
Gayle L. Gifford
How to Raise $500 to $5000 From Almost Anyone, by Andy Robinson
(formerly Big Gifts for Small Groups)
Network for Good Learning Center www.fundraising123.org
For Impact Newsletter, www.forimpact.org
Reframing Organizations by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal.
Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. From James O. Prochaska, et. al.
See http://www.uri.edu/research/cprc/transtheoretical.htm
Marketing Social Change, Alan R. Andreasen
Copyright 2012. Reprint with acknowledgement. Not for commercial reuse.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
6. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
#1: What’s your vision?
Describe your ideal relationship with your board and individual board members.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
7. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
#2: Getting to know your board members
Let’s develop a list of questions that you can use to interview individual board
members. Write down two questions you would like to ask that will help you
gain a deeper understanding of your board member, help them gain insight
about themselves, or help you design an engagement strategy for that person.
We’ll go around the room and share questions to add to your list.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
8. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
#3: Action Plan for a Board Member
Board member Jane Smith is a very successful business person who grew up in
Providence. She is in her 60s and seems to know almost everyone in town, both
professionally and personally. She has been making a $500 annual gift to your
organization, but you are fairly confident she has the capacity to give more.
You have not worked with Jane before. Jane says she is new to fundraising. She
has volunteered to serve on your campaign planning committee which is getting
ready to start a $3 million growth campaign. She is willing to participate in
prospect screening and has offered to set up meetings for you. She has said that
under no circumstances would she ask for money.
1. What is Jane’s potential? What are your aspirations for Jane?
2. In relationship to your aspirations, where do you think she is on the stages of
change ladder in relationship to solicitation? What evidence points to that?
3. Considering what you have learned, outline at least four steps you will take
to move this board member up the ladder. Why did you select those steps?
Copyright 2012. Reprint with acknowledgement. Not for commercial reuse.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
9. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
#4: Board fundraising activities
Pretend you are your board member. Brainstorm two activities in each category
that you are willing to do to help support fundraising. Then, consider what you
need from staff to make you successful in undertaking this activity.
Board Member What you need
Activity from staff
Match making
Friend making
Asking
Thanking
Stewarding
Copyright 2012. Reprint with acknowledgement. Not for commercial reuse.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272
10. The Fundraisers Guide to Working With Your Board
Date: October 15, 2012
Presenter: Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, President, Cause & Effect Inc.
_______________________________________________________________
About the presenter
Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, is President of the consulting firm, Cause & Effect Inc. A
nationally respected consultant, writer and trainer, Gayle has over 25 years of
experience in building nonprofit capacity in governance, strategic and business
planning, fund raising, facilitation, program development, and communications.
Gayle’s work to strengthen nonprofits is fueled by her passion for a greener,
more just and peaceful world.
Author of the newly released How to Make Your Board Dramatically More
Effective, Starting Today, published by Emerson & Church, Gayle writes, blogs
and tweets on many aspects of nonprofits. She is an adjunct instructor in
nonprofit management and organization development in master’s programs at
Brown University and Simmons College.
Her nonprofit clients have ranged from the grassroots to international, including
the House of the Seven Gables, May Institute, PLAN International, Progreso
Latino, WaterFire Providence, the Rhode Island Foundation and Women’s Voices
for the Earth.
Gayle serves on the board of WaterFire Providence and Blackstone Academy
Charter School and serves on the Advisory Council of Latino Dollars for Scholars
and the Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art.
Gayle is one of the 100 fund development professionals worldwide (and only
two in RI) who have achieved the ACFRE advanced fundraising credential
awarded by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
You can reach Gayle at 401.331.2272 or gayle@ceffect.com. Or follow her on
Twitter @gaylegifford or her blog, The Butterfly Effect, at
www.ceffect.com/blog. You can also sign up for her free monthly newsletter at
www.ceffect.com.
Copyright 2012. Reprint with acknowledgement. Not for commercial reuse.
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www.ceffect.com gayle@ceffect.com 401.331.2272