Empower Your Board for Fundraising Success

A clear development strategy turns reluctant board members into inspired fundraisers.

When you ask your board members to approach others to support your chorus, they say they will (and they probably mean to), but they don’t. There’s something in their way, and it’s not just the lack of training or commitment.

I remember watching a mother at the neighborhood pool calling to her three-year-old to “just jump in!” at his first swimming lesson. But he held his body stiff and refused, screaming “No!” and crying. I wanted to congratulate the little guy on his good instincts. He knew he wasn’t safe, and his mother’s pressure didn’t make him feel any safer.

Susan Howlett

Just like that mother, we insist that our leaders jump into the scary water of asking people for money, urging them to ignore their own instincts, which warn of embarrassment and rejection. We should congratulate them on their reluctance, not get exasperated with them. They sense something is amiss, and they’re right. The problem is not the board, but the lack of a coherent development strategy. Board members can feel it in their hearts and in their guts when the strategy doesn’t make sense. Their natural reaction is to shut down, refuse to participate, or resort to unsuitable tactics they’ve seen in other contexts.

Even the most sophisticated organizations sometimes lose sight of the fundamental concepts that shape good fundraising. We can all benefit from periodically refreshing our understanding of the field’s best practices, which are grounded in copious research. Here are five concepts that I’ve found most effective in helping organizations focus their fundraising strategies.

1.) Pay the most attention to the people closest to the chorus, not new donors and not wealthy people.

It’s much easier to raise money from people who already know who you are than it is to approach strangers. Focus your attention on people who have already “leaned in,” indicating that they’re interested. Before reaching out to anyone new or simply wealthy, look to your core constituents: board, staff, volunteers, current donors and sponsors (people who have made gifts in the last year), and anyone who has benefited directly from your work or performances.

These are the people who understand you, who think you add something to the community, and who have the most investment in your success. If they’re not giving generously and modeling that behavior to others, why would anyone else consider supporting you? We insult people when we decide for them that they don’t want to give because they’re already giving their time or they don’t have much money. Offer these stakeholders the same information you would give anyone else, and let them make up their own minds.

Your second prospect pool consists of people who have been touched by your work but are not in the core groups mentioned above. It includes anyone who has ever been a board member, staff member, volunteer, or chorus member. Former donors and sponsors, audience members, cooperating musicians, or concert hosts have all said yes to you at some point, so they’re more prepared to give than a newcomer.

Also consider people who attended something you offered, like a free performance, a workshop, a class, or a demonstration. Friends and families of those in your core groups, vendors, professional allies, and people from similar organizations are all good prospects. 

2.) Prioritize retaining and upgrading current donors, and retrieving lapsed donors, before reaching out to new ones.

Research by Penelope Burk reveals that retention rates among donors to nonprofits are staggeringly low. Many nonprofits are losing half of their donors each year due to simple neglect. Yet it costs much less to keep current donors than to attract new ones, so why are we spending so much time and energy on acquisition instead of trying to keep the people who have already said yes? Your number one goal must be retaining current donors. Your second goal should be investing in relationships with these donors so they’ll want to give more. And third, you should be retrieving lapsed donors who gave recently, but not this year.

3.) Focus attention on top donors.

Since the top 20 percent of donors in most organizations are giving 80 percent of the money, it’s a good idea to keep those donors happy. Their support alone is practically enough to sustain the organization. Focusing attention on major donors makes sense for these reasons:
• Losing one major donor is more of a blow to the budget than losing several small donors.
• Retaining major donors costs less than wooing them back after they’ve left.
• Keeping current major donors costs less than acquiring new ones.
• If they’re happy and well cared for, they’ll be inclined to introduce others to the organization, doing your acquisition for you.

4.) Work on deepening people’s relationship with the work you do rather than simply asking them for money. Ask only when they’re ready to say yes.

Organizations raise more money when they spend more energy and resources on relationship building than on asking. Their donors stay longer and share their excitement with others. Avoid the mistake of going straight from identifying a good prospect to asking for money before it’s time.

People go through a series of phases as they become donors, then repeat donors, and then major donors. It’s the same process consumers follow when they buy a product and then become loyal buyers. We understand that process intuitively, and we know that if we win someone’s loyalty authentically, they’ll renew their support of their own volition.

If we follow this five-step process in order, the relationship unfolds organically and everyone enjoys it:
1. Identification. Identify your most likely prospects—those closest to the organization—and learn enough about them to have a pleasant conversation. Are they connected to someone in the chorus? Did they grow up loving music or come to love it as an adult? What type of music do they prefer?
2. Information. Clarify for these prospects what your organization believes in, what it does, what value it adds to the community, and what distinguishes it from similar organizations.
3. Interest. Pay close attention to see if the prospect is “leaning in”: participating in the conversation (virtually or in person), checking your website, calling the office, asking questions about your organization, or lingering at the end of gatherings.
4. Involvement. People who are interested usually get physically or emotionally engaged when you invite them— making an in-kind gift of goods or services, volunteering in some small way, attending a performance or event, or participating in a survey, focus group, task force, or committee.
5. Investment. Once a prospect has indicated interest and gotten involved, it’s time to offer the opportunity to contribute: online, by mail, on the phone, or in person.

After the donor has given, it’s important to take her back through the cycle. Show her what her gift made possible, introduce her to another aspect of your work, and watch for increased interest. Then you can offer more sophisticated opportunities for involvement and more strategic ways to contribute.

5.) Engage in efforts with lower costs per dollar raised.

If you were to document all of the out-of-pocket expenses and all of the staff, board, and volunteer time that goes into each of your fundraising efforts (appeal letters, workplace campaigns, web-based giving, events, major gifts, and so on), you would see a clear pattern: the cost per dollar raised is highest for events and lowest for personal solicitations. Big events are the most expensive way to raise a dollar.

People push back when you share this information, insisting that there are so many other reasons to have an event. But if the same number of people hours were spent cultivating relationships with current donors, you could raise much more money with the same amount of effort. Once responsible board members realize this, they usually see that moving toward lower cost-per-dollar-raised efforts—like simply asking people for money—is the best strategy in the long run for the board, staff, donors, and organization.

If people insist on holding an event, have them articulate and prioritize their nonmonetary goals, then quantify them after the event to see if it was worth it. If you can’t measure the benefits of the event, you should question why you’re investing so much energy in it. (See susanhowlett.com/boards-on-fire for a list of nonmonetary justifications for holding an event and how to measure the results.)

Using Board Members Optimally

When I’m leading board trainings, I sometimes ask, “So, what are board members being asked to do to raise money?” People usually look around at one another, and no one responds until finally, someone says, “Well, we’re supposed to sell tickets and fill tables for the gala. Is that what you mean?” Someone else will add, “We’re supposed to get sponsors, too.” But no one ever just nails it and says, “These are the five things we’re asked to do each year to raise money."

Most board members don’t know precisely what it is they can do to add optimal value in fund development. And even when they do know, the things they’re being asked to do aren’t necessarily the best use of their position. Decisionmakers in any organization are powerful assets and should be used carefully and strategically.

We need to assign board members tasks that befit their role. We often look at them as glorified volunteers and set them to work decorating for an event when the most important thing they can be doing is connecting donors and prospects to the mission. If we give them jobs that warrant their attention, they usually rise to the occasion.

The donor pyramid can be a useful tool for visualizing where board members can have the biggest impact on fundraising. At the top of the pyramid, periodic phone calls, handwritten notes, or value-added emails to high-level donors can generate more revenue with less effort than anything else in the strategy, especially if money isn’t mentioned. At the middle of the pyramid, attention to donors who have given often can keep those people connected, affirmed, and engaged. And near the bottom of the pyramid, a welcome phone call from a board member to a new donor does more to ensure retention than anything else the organization might do. All these steps are simple, free, mission related, authentic, and valued by your donors.

What donors want most, according to Penelope Burk’s research, are prompt, personal, meaningful thank yous, assurance that their gifts were spent as promised, and proof that they landed somewhere, touched someone, and changed something. What a great use of board members to advance your fundraising strategy. When you enlist the board to invite stakeholders into deeper connection with your chorus, they will participate more joyfully in fundraising. Try it!


Susan Howlett has been a consultant to nonprofits throughout the United States for 25 years after serving as a board member, development director, and executive director. This article is excerpted from her book, Boards on Fire! Inspiring Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully and appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of The Voice. Her website, www.susanhowlett.com, features videos and other resources to guide nonprofit fundraising.