On a recent phone call with my colleague and friend Chad Brown, he used these four words to describe a great development officer, especially a great major gifts officer. And Chad would know, he’s been doing major gifts work for years and is currently a Donor Consultant, Major Gifts Officer with the Greater Twin Cities United Way in Minneapolis, MN.

Priest. Someone who listens with discretion. It’s important when talking with people about money that information learned be held close to the vest due to all the important and private things that may be shared.

CEO. The person with the vision who creates an amazing plan. In this case it’s the annual development plan. This is the take-charge attitude. Development officers exhibiting CEO-type behavior motivate others to help them reach the agency fundraising goals.

Entrepreneur.  Great development officers are self motivated with a drive for results. They don’t need someone looking over their shoulder to meet their goals and often exceed by using new, outside the box strategies.

Ringmaster.  This one is really important. They get in the limelight when it’s important to do so. And then they take themselves out of the limelight to shine the light on others: donors, staff & volunteers.

As Chad explained to me, awesome development officers are all of these at some point in their day. And sometimes they are all of these in the same meeting. Which are you today?  

The years I’ve spent fundraising myself, and coaching and training organizations to fundraise, have taught me what works and what doesn’t. Of course, there are far more than nine steps for how to keep supporters happy and giving at their full capacity, but the nine steps that follow have been derived from my own personal checklist when deciding to work with an organization.

Download the FREE e-Book with case stories and tactics that outline each step.

Use these steps as a topic of conversation with your staff and your board. These are important topics —add them as part of meeting agendas, and devote time to discussion and implementation. Go forth and multiply your fundraising dollars!

1. Are led and supported by key volunteer and/or staff leadership.
   (Board Chair, CEO, Executive Director, Pastor, Rabbi)
2. Are supported and managed by at least one staff.
   (Development Director, Dev. Associate)
3. Have ALL board members participate in some capacity.
4. Have a well defined goal, with a specific timeline, creating a sense of urgency.
5. Create an emotional connection – making it personal for people to participate.
6. Keep donors and interested parties informed and engaged.
7. Keep the money conversation visible in print, on website and via multiple forms of communication to allow transparency and encourage  widespread participation.
8. Invite participants to do very specific things with a deadline for doing them.
9. Utilize a web-based donor data management system to allow others to assist with tracking donor contacts and gifts.

I believe successful development efforts have all board members participating in fund development in some capacity and I don’t just mean the “Hey, you’re doing a great job” cheerleading role.

Being a board member is not just an honor to bestow on people who show up at meetings. Board seats are critical to the financial success of your organization.

I can just feel some people squirming as I write this. I can read your mind, too: “But Lori, you don’t know my organization—my board can’t/won’t agree to that!”

Are you sure?

The reality is, without FULL board participation and a clear understanding of your financial needs, your work as an organization is far more difficult.

How do you get the board to support your fund development work? Start with an expectation and accountability discussion. When the board members started their term of service, were they told directly that being a part of fund development is expected of them? Was their role clearly defined? And do you have one or more advocates on your board who will strongly support your efforts to get all the board members, well, “on board”?

Here’s what I mean: In the interview process, it’s critical that both fundraising (the raising of assets) and fund development (raising of visibility and deepening engagement) activities be thoroughly discussed and outlined. New board members must know beyond any doubt that they will be included in some of the “doing” as well as the giving.

A frequent frustration I bump into is that the development staff doesn’t know—because they haven’t discussed it or created a plan around it—what they want from the board, so the board is left to figure it out on their own. It’s as if you want me to know how to scuba dive because I love being in the water, but no one ever takes the time to teach me to do it.

Participation doesn’t mean the board members must directly ask for financial contributions. Here’s a short list of things that a board member or key volunteer can do to assist your organization in maintaining deep, connected relationships with donors, and they do not ever have to ask someone else for a financial contribution:

• Make phone calls to donors to thank them for their recent contribution.
• Invite donors, volunteers, community members, family, friends, colleagues, and others to your events, including the “get to know us” type of events that are free.
• Take a current or former donor to coffee to thank them for their recent gift. Obviously it’s not practical to take every donor out; set a minimum donation goal for this type of activity.
• Make an introduction to the community affairs person at their workplace.
• Give a heartfelt—but short—speech at their church or civic group to invite interest in your organization.

This is only a short list of the many ways board members can actively participate in fund development activities. Whatever role they play, staff and board must be clear and specific about expectations. Then staff assists by providing data so that board members can hold themselves accountable. Discussion of these metrics may cause great strides in your keeping donors connected and engaged.

Let me know what other ways your organization utilizes board members in fund development efforts.

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