When Program and Development Staff Fight, The Loser Is The Organization
By Susan Ladner and Jeffrey Newman
The Setting: Quarterly Board of Directors meeting of a mid-sized non-profit that provides direct services to handicapped youth. Eleven men and women are present.
Board Chair: OK. Now let’s turn to our fund-raising committee report for this year.
Board Member (aside to another member): Oh, good. This topic’s all yours. I think I’ll go get my coffee now.
Every Board member, even those not on a fund-raising committee, needs to be concerned with fund-raising. But what each individual member’s role is, and how to get the most out of each individual Board member, are questions that need to be considered and reviewed regularly by an organization.
The fact is that whether wealthy or poor, well-connected or barely known, each board member does have a place in an organization’s fund-raising. To be sure, some have a larger part to play than others, and yet no one should be without some responsibility and no one should bear the entire burden alone.
But, to keep fund-raising fresh, interesting and effective, it is important to do an interactive assessment of the board and its individual members since what role each member can play or is willing to play on a board evolves and changes regularly. Some become more involved, others less; some gain more influence among their friends and colleagues (enabling them to be more successful at fund-raising for a board) while others leave jobs or change positions (giving them, perhaps, less ability to seek support). The assessment should be done at least every two years by the Executive Director or Director of Development working with the Board chair.
In short, individual board members are not static creatures, remaining the same as when they came to the board in the first place. Assessing their capabilities, concerns and interests on the board, and within the context of the needs of the organization, are critical to helping both them and the board become successful and integral parts of the organization’s fund-raising.
That assessment should involve talking with each board member, preferably in personal meetings over lunch or dinner. It should be made clear beforehand that one of the topics of the meeting will be fund-raising, and that you (the ED or Development Director) are in the process of assessing the ways in which each individual on the board can be helpful. During the meeting it will be important to put the board member at ease, explaining that you are not trying to give her/him a lion’s share of responsibility for organizational fund-raising, but rather that you are hoping to let each board member help you create a strategy that will work for the entire board.
Being direct but not high-pressured is important. Most board members know that they have a role to play in bringing funding to the organization, but they often don’t know how best to do it. So a conversation in which you and the board member literally talk it out can be rewarding for everyone. Listen carefully to what the board member is saying, and let him/her guide the direction of the conversation as much as possible. But be prepared. Know as much as possible about Board members' interests and connections, and have suggestions at the ready. At the same time try to anticipate what a board member’s hesitations might be.
“I’m really not good at asking friends or colleagues for money” should not be answered by “Oh you’re better than you think you are, why not give it a try.” That’s an almost certain way to a dead end either right away or down the road. Rather, a response along the lines of “OK. But there are other ways to get friends and colleagues involved. How about hosting a breakfast, and inviting our Chair to make a presentation?” In other words, be ready with positive alternatives that allow a board member to avoid his/her fears while providing possibilities that may be a better fit.
One of the things that can make fund-raising interesting and dynamic is that each board member, each person who can help bring the organization funds, is different and needs to be approached differently. Each individual needs to be helped to design their own contributory strategies within an overall, realistic plan. If allowed to do that then the chances are much greater that a board member will become and remain invested in helping raise funds. In turn, the returns such a board member brings in are likely to increase significantly in ensuing years.
So when the topic turns to fund-raising at the next board meeting it would be nice to think that the majority of board members are thinking, “Oh, yeah, I’m working on that. I should report on what I’m doing."
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