A relatively common concern among nonprofit executives and development directors is that their board members are reluctant to ask for money.
It isn’t due to a lack of effort by the staff members. They provide prospect lists, campaign materials and fundraising training. They set up fundraising competitions, send inspiring emails, make reminder calls and conduct regular report meetings.
If, after all their efforts to motivate and mobilize board members to raise funds, they still don’t see the results they want, they may even resort to asking their board to adopt a “give and get” policy. But even those policies aren’t generally enough to change board culture and get results.
While there are usually a few board members who are comfortable asking for contributions, it is important to acknowledge that the vast majority of board members would do almost anything to avoid it.
Instead of trying to come up with new ways to convince reluctant board members to go out and ask for money, perhaps we should consider a new strategy. Why not try a different kind of request that engages them without intimidating them? Requests such as:
Providing alternate ways for board members to help with friend-raising before asking them to fundraise will help them build their confidence to ask for a contribution since they will have a better knowledge of the organization’s impact and can share first-hand stories about transformational experiences. Besides, it is much less frightening to ask for a gift from someone who has become a friend to the organization than in making a cold call.
Change the request. Change the outcome.