Archive for June, 2009

Hi!  In my webinar last week, I received several questions about boards and their role in fundraising.  This is the perennial question that so many staff members have. (I’ll be repeating this webinar, which was sold out, again on July 16 in case you missed it.)

The fundraising world says that “boards are supposed to help raise money.”  But if you ask individual board members themselves about this, they’ll probably say “not so fast now!”

And they will reply many things such as “I’ll do anything BUT fundraising. . . I hate fundraising . . . Do you really want me to hit up my friends? . . . Talking about money is tacky . . . etc and etc and etc.

The fundamental truth – whether we like it or now - is this:  Board members don’t have a “role in fundraising” unless they are willing to accept this role.  Yeah, they “should” be helping in fundraising, and they are supposed to be helping in fundriasing. BUT They are volunteers – you can’t MAKE them do anything.  I guess you could fire them, but then where would you be? 

You can read them the riot act, wag your finger at them, even give them seminars titled “the art of the ask,”  but if they honestly don’t want to do fundraising, then I don’t think they will.

This is what drove me to look for a better way.  After reading, thinking, interviewing folks and observing many boards, I finally concluded the only way to get your board members to take on their fundraising responsibilities is to motivate them. 

We have to inspire them into action. We have to show them easy ways they can help in fundraising.  Check out my other articles, resources and my upcoming webinar on July 16, and I’ll show you how to do this.

Morale is an issue for everyone these days, particularly with the end of the fiscal year staring us in the face.  Morale is often an issue with board members as well who liable to lose heart with all too much bad news.  

I have developed a sure-fire exercise that wakes everybody up, gets them talking, smiling and enjoying themselves, gives them their own chance to speak, fans the flames of their energy and passion, and reconnects them with the reason they are taking the time out of their busy lives to serve on the board.

Tall order you might say! But try this – and I’ll bet you get the same results!  I described this morale-boosting exercise for board members in my recent webinar “Six New Rules for Board Members in Changing Times,” which was sold out early. (I’ve decided to offer the webinar again on July 16th if you’d like to join us.)

So let me share with you this fabulous exercise: You won’t believe how easy it is. But it does require some discipline on your part and willingness to try something new on your board’s part.

I begin every single one of my “Easy Fundraising for Board Members” retreats with this exercise – and it never fails.

Here’s a simple question to ask them: “Why do you care about our organization?” It’s a pretty unusual question because board members don’t often get a chance to talk about why they care. They are too busy doing business and being efficient.

In the interest of using their time wisely, we too often just don’t take the time to go deeper and touch their hearts or hear their story. We’re responsible if they are disengaged or bored, because we are the ones who make the agendas and decide how they are going to use their time with us.

But you won’t believe what happens when you just ask this question! This is the conversation that can fan the flames of a board member’s energy and passion. I am always amazed and pleased with what it evokes in people. It helps them get back in touch with that deep caring they have in their hearts for your cause.

This is the core reason why they are with you, and why they are willing to share their precious spare time on your cause instead of something else.

Here’s how I set up this most important conversation so that no one is self conscious or feels put on the spot. I do a “mingle exercise.” It’s an exercise in which board members mingle around the room and share their own perspective with four or five different people.

Here’s how to set this exercise up.
     1. Ask your board members what they would say to someone who asked them why they cared enough to serve on this board. If they ran into someone at work or socially, what would they say?
   – (You might also ask them “what legacy do you want to leave from serving on the board?” or perhaps “what speaks to you personally about the good work we do in the world?”)
     2. Give them a few moments to write down some notes to themselves – what would they really say if given the chance?
     3. Then tell them in just a minute we will ask everyone in the room to share these thoughts with FOUR other board members.
     4. Explain the exercise: “Find a partner, introduce yourself to them in case they may not know you well, and then share your story. Each person should take just about 30 seconds. When you finish with your partner, then go find another partner and chat with them.”
     5.  Then launch them: “Everybody up!” Have them stand up, go around the room, and share their perspective briefly with four or five other board members, one after the other.

It’s great to debrief when everyone is finished.  Ask everybody first what their experience was when they were doing this.  What were they saying? How were they being? Was it easy?  Was it even fun? What did you learn from other board members?

When they do the mingle exercise, they will find themselves saying over and over why they really care about the organization and what is deeply meaningful to them about your mission.

It evokes exactly what they should be saying to their friends and acquaintances: something personal and from the heart. And it reinforces it because they repeat it again and again.

This mingle exercise has a very special added benefit: it is also a “re-kindling” conversation.

As your board member talks repeatedly about what sparks his enthusiasm or interest in your organization’s work, he is re-igniting his own passion as he speaks. He is reminding himself about the difference you make; and why it is personally important to him.

Remember, most board members don’t know what to say about your organization! This exercise gives them low-key, but most valuable, practice talking about your cause, in a natural and spontaneous way.

They also learn from other board members; they get great energy from the other folks in the room; and they enjoy themselves.

When you do this exercise, you’ll be surprised by the excitement and fun that it generates. You’ll see people laughing and smiling. Board members love to talk to each other and they rarely get the chance.

It’s a great energy boost and refreshing shift away from boring board meetings – AND it’s the best morale booster I’ve ever seen.

When they are re-inspired by their own passion for the cause, board members are now ready to go to work. Because they get back in touch with the deeper issue of why they care, then they are much more ready to tackle the work at hand with vigor – and commitment.

I’ll bet that if you do this before a meeting, you’ll find that it’s one of the best meetings you’ve ever had with this group. At least that’s what some of my fundraising friends say who have put this conversation in front of their board.

Try it and post a comment here to let me know how it worked!

This is an article by Terry Axelrod of Benevon that was printed in the Guidestar June newsletter.  I am a real fan of Terry’s and highly recommend many of her strategies. 

http://www2.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2009/call-your-donors.aspx?source=jun09nwsltr

In these uncertain times, nonprofits are asking, “What do we do now? How do we survive, manage, or even thrive in this economy?” I’ve spent this week calling about 50 CEOs from some of the groups in our Five-Year Sustainable Funding Program. I called to listen, to see how each group was faring, how their fundraising was going, what more they might need. Granted, their teams have had the benefit of our training and coaching, some for several years. What I heard was heartening.

About 85 percent of the CEOs shared that 2008 had ended very well for them. They had met or exceeded their fundraising goals. For 2009, they are budgeting for no growth and managing their reserves very conservatively. The other 15 percent had experienced severe budget cuts (usually from state funds) that had nearly crippled them.

When we talked about the extent of the cuts, we started to quantify how much money it would take for them to feel that they could weather the storm. In each of those cases, once we talked through their fears, they were able to put a dollar number on the solution and design an emergency campaign to raise those funds.

In both cases—those groups that were doing well and those that were feeling the pain—when they asked for my advice about what to do now, I said those same three words: “Call your donors.”

Whether to say thank you personally for their support, to share the challenges your staff and clients are facing, or to ask for their support for an emergency bail-out campaign, if you have been engaging your donors as individuals (especially donors who make larger multi-year pledges, indicating their long-term support for your work), it is easy to pick up the phone.

Ask how things are going for them right now, let down your hair, share the real issues you are dealing with, ask for their input, include them in the life of the organization. Treat them like the loyal supporters they are.

Set aside one hour every day this week to call your donors. In one hour you ought to be able to reach and talk to 3 or 4 people. That’s 15 to 20 people this week. Right now: open your calendar, block out the time. One hour a day, pick up the phone. Call your donors!

Terry Axelrod, Benevon
© 2009, Benevon

Terry Axelrod is the founder and CEO of  Benevon (formerly Raising More Money), a Seattle-based organization that has trained and coached more than 3,000 nonprofits to build sustainable funding from individual donors.

What if board members won’t respond to my emails?  Well how long are your emails?   How many subjects are you covering?  Are you being interesting and mercifully brief? Here are the rules for emailing board members:

First, email to them as often as you need to. Don’t set them up high on a cloud and stay away from them because they are the “board members.”  That being said, don’t EVER send needless emails to board members. Keep them very very short and to the point and action oriented.

Remember it is your job (I hope) to provide staff support to your board members in the area of fundraising.  If they have volunteered to do something, then by ALL MEANS follow up on it and remind them. DON”T let them off the hook unless they tell you that they just can’t follow through. 

Second.  Make your messages mercifully brief. Carefully edit OUT every extraneous word.  The more white space the better.  The shorter the better. The first 16 words are the most important because they will show up on their blackberry and those words will determine whether your board member is willing to scroll down to read the rest.

Third. Only one subject at a time in an email.  If you load up your emails with many topics and make it into a long report, busy people are likely to put it aside becaseu they assess that it will take too long to read quickly. And then they probably will never get back to it. The 16 second email is a great rule. Don’t ever send an email that takes longer than 16 seconds to read.  Better yet, make your email so short that it can be read on a blackberry.

How long should I stay when I visit a donor? You need to be sure you don’t overstay your welcome.  Ask for only 30 or 40 minutes and GET OUT when you said you would.  It’s a great strategy because then they will be highly likely to see you again.  They will know that you will be mercifully brief.  They will know that you won’t drone on and on!

Never wait until the donor makes signs that they are finished with the visit.  Always be the first one to begin the process of ending the meeting.  You NEVER want to make someone feel like you are a drain on their time.

Use your internal radar when you are in front of a donor. Your goal is to make them feel important  and interesting.  And let me be clear – to you they are without a doubt very important and you are totally interested in what is on their mind.

When should I leave? When I am making a call or visit, my internal radar is going round and round. I am carefully watching my donor for signs of boredom or distraction.

If I sense that they are becoming tired of the visit, you better believe that I get out of there quickly. The last thing I want my donor to be is impatient or bored.  I want him to remember the visit as enjoyable and interesting.

If he remembers the visit experience as boring, then all is lost. I can’t imagine how he would ever be willing to see me again if that was his experience.

When I was Director of Development of the Kenan Flagler Business School, I called on many of our crackerjack alumni on Wall Street. Most of these guys had an attention span of about t13 ½ minutes. Of course they were wheeling and dealing in millions every minute, so their time was precious.

So  my strategy was:  Ask for 15 minutes and then get out.  And I followed that rule. Now and again I would stay longer if my donor was really enjoying herself. But I would watch her carefully for signs that she was ready to end the visit and then split quickly.

Sometimes I would deliberately leave even when someone clearly wanted to keep talking.  I figured that was insurance that they would be willing to see me again – they would know for sure that I would leave when I said I would – and that they had more to say to me so they would want to visit again.

How do I get donors to see me – sometimes they avoid scheduling an appointment. Here’s how to solve the eternal problem of prospects not being willing to see you: If they know you are an attractive, interesting, fun person who will let them do all the talking, then they will see you.

If they think you are afraid of donors, uncomfortable in social situations like this one, holding yourself small, seem scared or awkward, then they will not want to spend time with you. Would you want to spend time with you if you were like that?

I never know what really to talk about when I make these calls.  What should I do?

Development visits – the importance of having fun. Well the first thing you should remember is to make your visits pleasant and fun.  Your donors have many things to worry about these days.  Let your time with them be a nice break from business and the drudgery of life. 

Remember they are volunteers. They don’t have to be doing this – so since you are something extra to them – all the more reason for you to make sure they have a good time.

The more laughter and enjoyment on a fundraising visit, the better.  Here’s a story from the NC State Graduate School.  The Dean, Development Director and I had lunch with a major donor  who was a million dollar prospect.  It was an introductory visit and the first time I had met this person. 

Well, the donor and I got along famously.  We laughed and told stories and he had a great time.

Later I was debriefing with the Development Director.  I said to her, “this visit was fabulously successful, because he enjoyed himself so much.  Always try to be sure your prospect has as great a time as possible.  Then he will not only be willing to see you again, he will actually look forward to it.”

See if you can “get along famously” with your donors.

I’ve never made calls to major gift donors by myself before.  I’m worried about being only 30 years old and calling on the important people who are so busy.

Jill, you need to remember that us older folks just LOVE to be around wonderful, smart young people. Especially if they are bubbly and cute.  I love to hear what they are thinking about, what’s on their minds, what they find interesting and what are their challenges. 

You need to remember that your youthful energy is a bright spot on someone’s day—and your happy presence is a little gift to that person. 

Jill, you have a great smile and you laugh a lot. Those are two great assets that will take you a long way. It’s important to remember to enjoy yourself – and you will help the donor enjoy herself too.

Don’t be too serious on your calls. Show your full personality and be willing to share a little about your life and your interests.  Allow the donor to get to know you just as you are getting to know him.  Don’t hold yourself back. 

Of course, your donor is supposed to do all the talking, but if they show interest in you – let a little of yourself shine.  Then turn the conversation back around to the donor!  Remember its always all about them not you. 

Remember that fundraising is a person to person activity.  You are attempting to establish a personal “relationship.”  Being yourself fully is most important. You have to show up as a real person if you want the donor to trust you. 

Be willing to show yourself. Be smart, even while you are really only listening.

Also remember that you need to get them to do the talking. If you listen with rapt attention to them, they will really enjoy themselves  - you can be sure of that.

Focus the agenda on results. Decide what is needed most out of this meeting and tell your board members what you need: “By the end of this meeting, we need to accomplish x, y, and z.” That will get their attention.

Be creative with the agenda. Look for ways to tweak the meeting plan to evoke your board members’ passion for your cause. Perhaps there’s a way of presenting a report that is more song-and-dance and less a dry recital of figures. Think of ways that you can humanize any presentation and bring it to life.

Consider occasionally throwing out the agenda altogether. Although radical, consider the benefits: the board creates its own agenda by consensus at the beginning of the meeting. That way everyone is immediately paying more attention to the work that needs to get accomplished.

Focus on problems, challenges, or ambiguous issues. This will activate your board members’ various backgrounds and skills sets, not to mention their interest. It will allow you to draw upon a deeper reservoir of their talent and energy, and will give them more interesting work.

Plan big. Bring big-picture strategic planning issues into regular board meetings. For example, take the standard strategic planning issues focusing on organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats,(SWOT analysis) and work them into regular meeting agendas.

Look at your board meetings as cheerleading sessions designed to f ire up your board

members and put them into action.

Use consent agendas for routine business items that do not require much board discussion.

Interview the CEO. Consider allowing time for the board members to interview the CEO about what is on his/her mind. What keeps the CEO up at night?

Let the board members do the talking.  They will be far more interested in the work at hand. Set up agendas with 70% of the time in conversation and 30% of the time listening to presentations.

Always choose one interesting item and set it up for a discussion.

he real world

Why do you think all the colleges and universities have so many “major gifts officers” on staff in their development office? It’s because it’s a smart investment.  The universities know that with each additional development officer calling on major gifts prospects, they can expect a certain return on their investment that is a very nice multiple of that person’s salary. 

Hiring development officers is a very smart investment. I’d love to see the latest statistics on the ROI, but I am sure it’s nice and high.  Too many smaller organizations just don’t have the resources or the vision – or the courage – to invest in staff – and then they wonder why their fundrasing programs are faltering.