Thursday June 26- Board help

Hi !

👨‍🎤  Enrico Palazzo: What’s cookin this week

In this week’s enews…

• Board members don’t have to give a cent

• How to get Board members to help with fundraising

• Learn from the good: Life saving campaign

• Great post: 10 ways to communicate with donors and prospects

• Strategy Insider: What does the grant say?

• Greatest two-hit wonders

From my subscriber survey: The second most popular answer you checked to the question “what’s your biggest organizational pain point” was: The Board doesn’t help with fundraising.

Let’s dive into it.

🌅 Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light: They don’t have to 

Lemme open with one my nonprofit beliefs: Board members do NOT have to give a donation!

I am against the whole “they have to give X amount” or a “give and get.” Policies like that mean that your organization automatically excludes people from joining and contributing to the Board.

Example 1: Your mission is helping the homeless. At least one homeless person should be on your Board because they’re the ones who know what they need. (As the disability community says: Nothing about us without us.) But if you say that every Board member has to donate a minimum of X, you’re excluding people who don’t have a lot of money.

Example 2: Your mission is to find a cure for a disease. There’s a world renowned researcher who could sit on your Board but they are not wealthy. Having this person on your Board instantly brings your organization credibility and prestige. You’ll prevent them from sitting on the Board because they can’t cut you an annual check for $10,000?!

This is why I believe the Board should be made up of people with nonprofit experience, people with knowledge and expertise related to your mission area, people dedicated to your cause. And yes, if some people of wealth are on the Board that’s fine.

But bank account statements should not be the reason someone is or is not on the Board.

Should the Board help with fundraising? ABSOLUTELY! The Board’s job is to be responsible for the financial health of the organization now and in the future. Obviously, fundraising plays a big part in that.

The problem becomes when the Board doesn’t want to get involved with fundraising. When that happens, the first question I ask is why?

• Do they think fundraising is icky?

• Do they hate when others try to “hit them up”?

• Do they not feel knowledgeable enough about your mission and programs?

• Do they hate talking about money?

• Do they worry about being turned down?

All of the above are within reason. The job of the CEO and fundraising staff is to meet the Board’s pain points and solve them so that the organization grows and thrives.

🫡 What so proudly we hail, in the twilight’s last gleaming: Other ways to be involved

There are ways to encourage your Board members to get involved with fundraising. But for many the biggest pain point is they are not fundraisers and they don’t know how to ask.

First, you need to get them to value what fundraising is and why they should help out. That can include a 3-step approach to teaching them how to ask.

Of course that involves actual fundraising and you may encounter resistance. They still don’t want to do it.

This is when you step up and offer Board members the chance to be part of the fundraising efforts without having to raise money. You offer them opportunities to get involved, help out and help the organization grow.

Some ideas:

1. Pick up the phone: Board members can help with gratitude. They can call donors, thank them for their gift and let them know the impact of their donation. This helps with retention- great gratitude leads to higher retention and higher lifetime giving.

2. Host a gathering in their home: This is NOT for raising money. The goal is to introduce a new audience to your work, mission and most important, values. Or this could be a stewardship event for current donors. Either way, there’s no money ask.

3. Represent: Local Chamber of Commerce event? Roundtable with the city council? Board members can represent the organization. Helps get the name of the organization out there.

4. Open house: Invite people to visit your center of operations and have Board members there to provide a guided tour. This means prepping Board members so they can answer questions and share relevant info.

5. Open doors: Board members may know people who would be interested in your organization’s work. Ask Board members to make an introduction and then you (CEO, fundraiser) will take it from there and begin to engage the person.

6. Presentation: Request that Board members speak at local events. Discuss why they give their time and effort for your organization. Share your mission, impact in the community and who is being helped.

Your Board members are some of the best ambassadors you have. They don’t want to fundraise? No problem. Ask them to get involved in other ways. (Here are some more ideas for helping without having to make a fundraising ask.)

If the organization really matters to them, Board members will get involved. Some will help with fundraising while others can be offered other opportunities to help but without the asking for funds.

Of course, if they refuse to help at all, it might be time to find other people to join the Board. That’s not as easy as it sounds. Which is why I’ll finish with this:

Before Board members join, they should be interviewed and fundraising should be discussed. Any contract they sign should outline their responsibilities. Don’t surprise them after they join the Board.

🎶 For the rampart’s we watched, da da da da da da da: Learn from the good- life saving campaign

In this section I will share with you something good being done by a nonprofit that you can learn from.

Research Education and Access to Community Health (R.E.A.C.H.) Las Vegas provides services, education, referrals and access to healthcare through a variety of programs and projects.

They partnered with the Consulate of Mexico to spread important information to the Latino community to prevent heat illness during the summer. Given that many in the local community work outdoors, there was a need to educate about the symptoms of heat stroke and how to avoid it.

What I like about this is:

• It was done through a partnership

• It’s educational

• It brings value to people

• It’s timely

• They found a need and a solution to the problem

• The information was spread in Spanish to make sure everyone understood

This may not seem like a big deal but if it helps save a life…

💣️ And the rockets red glare, bunch of bombs in the air: A little of this and that

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

1. 4 ways to optimize your website for effective fundraising (MayeCreate)

2. What donors really want… and how to deliver it (CharityEngine)

3. 5 ways to build monthly giving retention (A Direct Solution)

4. Stop picking fundraising goals out of thin air (Further Together)

5. 10 ways to communicate with donors and prospects (Nonprofit Pro)

🇺🇸  Gave proof to the night, that we still had our flag: Strategy Insider- Deep Dive

In this section I’m going to share with you how I build strategies for nonprofits. Each week I’ll share another piece and over the coming months you’ll see how everything fits together.

Grants are a good way to learn if an organization is organized.

An organized nonprofit will have templates, forms, budgets, program descriptions, lists, impact data and more ready to go before they even begin filling in an application.

Just as important is what’s being written in grant applications. Is the organization being presented as it presents itself on its website, for example? Are the grants using common language and messaging to what gets sent out via email and on social media?

Because each grant application is different, I will review a bunch of them to learn more about the organization’s mission, work and impact. Some applications may contain stories and/or data that is important for me to know.

I am also looking at who the nonprofit is applying to. What types of foundations- not just local, community, national, private family and more- but also to see what the foundation is interested in funding and how that matches the client’s mission and values.

For me, grants provide a window into the organization that answers all the W questions: Who they are, what they do, who they help, how they help them, where their activities take place and why is there a need for them in the community.

All important to know when considering a fundraising and marketing strategy.

So far I’ve shared with you my deep dive into fundraising, marketing, platforms, interviews, competition, the Board and grants. Next week I’ll be discussing organizational processes.

👏  And the home of the land and the land of the free: Two-hit wonders

Each week in my P.S. I share with you which song I listened to on an endless loop while composing the enews. This week I want to share an article that you can read and debate.

We all know about one-hit wonder songs. But do you know who the greatest two-hit wonders are? Check out the methodology in compiling the names and then look at the list. Some of the names, wow!

Back at it in two weeks. Enjoy the holiday!