Here’s an interview I did recently for the nonprofitmarketing360 blog. I thought you’d enjoy it!

What are the issues that are keeping your clients awake at night?

GAIL: I think the economy is just a huge issue. People are worried about whether they can raise the money they need or not.

But I’m also seeing a really interesting problem.

What's keeping YOU up at night?

My consulting clients are struggling to learn how to take donors who are identified potential major prospects and develop them to become major donors.

It’s a very delicate, step-by-step, intuitive process to bring a major donor along.

That’s a lot of what I’m teaching my consulting clients, all these little subtleties of developing that type of relationship.

I’m surprised. I thought major donor fundraising is like dating, so I assumed that everyone knew this instinctively.

GAIL: Well, you would be surprised how people feel nervous about it, men and women.

I have a friend at UNC-CH, Eli Jordfald, who gave a presentation called ‘Mastering the Art of the Discovery Call” to a standing-room-only session at an AFP International Conference in Chicago.

She works in the Lineberger Cancer Center at Chapel Hill. She talked about how she takes a prospect who’s identified as having potential, and what she says and does to find out if they really have potential.

It’s a delicate step by step process.

Have the top burner issues changed since you started consulting?

GAIL: I think there’s a little bit more desperation among the clients. A little bit more worry.

I spend time comforting people a lot, and assuring them that if we go through these processes, we can be successful.

So they look to me like the savior, which is scary, but I have a lot of confidence that we can be successful if we do it correctly.

A lot of issues with major donors haven’t changed. Also, I’m still teaching people how to get board members to return their phone calls and read their emails.

I am very interested in keeping up with the front edges of my profession, so I’ve been studying Internet marketing at great length. I’m on Twitter, I’m on Facebook; I have my own blog with over 7,700 followers.

I study subject lines for my blogs and how to write copy, and that’s a whole new skill set for a lot of people.

Nonprofit fundraisers have got to learn how to write for the web, and they’ve got to understand web marketing.

A lot of your work seems to be around boards. Is that a particular weak spot for a lot of organizations?

GAIL: Lord have mercy. It’s amazing what a pain point it is.

It was such a pain point of mine, that I was driven to write my book, Fired-Up Fundraising.

I was frustrated and upset with some of these boards I was working with. So I hired a leadership consultant, Dr. Thomas Griggs, to teach me how to motivate people, how to build teams, and how to get people together.

Leadership consultant Dr. Thomas Griggs inspired my new way to approach boards and fundraising.

He tutored me for a couple of years. And that training has informed a whole new perspective of working with board members that is much kinder, gentler and more fun.

People love it. I do board retreats all over the world. The board members love the work I do with them, because they’re bored too.

I surveyed my mailing list and I asked what is the biggest challenge in fundraising today, and I would say almost half the people, when asked an open-ended question, said something about their boards.

So, I have definitely hit the pain point of all pain points.

Board members are in pain too, because they feel like they’re not making the difference they want to make.

You can’t shake your finger and order them around.

You have to motivate them, make them feel good and successful, and gently bring them into fundraising.

You can’t just say, you’re supposed to go out and raise money, because they don’t know how!

Then they’ll flee. They need to be understood. And here’s why this is important:

According to some research, guess what’s the number one indicator of how much a board member actually gives to the organization?

It’s how they rate the quality of their experience on the board.

Do you think that social media have impacted fundraising practices?

GAIL: Sure. I’m not so sure people are bringing money in through social media, although I have seen some campaigns that have been very successful.

But social media is going to be more and more important. I don’t think it’s impacting the big money right now because most people who give money are older, and they’re the people who are not on social media.

However, I read a recent study that a third of boomers are on a social media site every day. I don’t think we can be ostriches and just stick our heads in the sand and hope this stuff goes away.

I don’t want to be a dinosaur myself. I want to be relevant.

What do you advise clients when they’re looking into all these things and what they should do?

GAIL: I tell them the first thing they’ve got to do is have a great website.

The first thing you need is a terrific web site!

Second thing, they have to do some decent email communications. And third, they should worry about social media.

I see some abysmal websites that are practically driving donors away. So let’s start with the basics. I’m redoing my website all the time.

When did you start blogging?

GAIL: I started with great focus and regularity about a year and a half ago, and I committed to sending something out every Friday morning.

Whether I’m alive or dead, I send out one really good article. I try to make it interesting and snappy and throw my personality into it.

What was your goal when you started?

GAIL: My goal was to get people to subscribe to my content, to sign up for my list.

It was to write really compelling, interesting copy that people thought was valuable, and give it away, and become someone who was trusted.

As web guru Seth Godin says, you earn permission to email people.

They give you permission to come into their lives, into their computers. So that was my goal.

Blogging has been a great marketing tool for my consulting and my speaking.

And now I have almost 100 members of my online training/coaching program, Fundraising Insiders, who are working closely with me to stay on top of the best practices and trends so they can raise lot of money that they urgently need.

Do you feel like the goal has been met?

GAIL: I would like to have more reach.

See, I’m this funny person. I have a personal mission.

My mission is to make the world a better place, what's yours?

My mission is to reach as many nonprofit leaders as possible, inspire them with energy, and give them tools and skills so they can make the world a better place.

So the blogging helps. It’s how I execute my mission along with speaking and training and writing books.

It’s part of my service to the world, and I think it comes back around.

Are any of your clients integrating direct mail and social media successfully?

GAIL: Probably not. But I don’t know how important it is.

I think it’s more important to integrate email and direct mail in what we call multiple-channel fundraising.

You send a postcard, you do a phone call, you do emails, you do a letter, you have your website, and that message is all the same, it’s consistent, it all reinforces each other, and it’s sent out in a sequence.

That’s smart fundraising.

Did you like my interview? Tell me why or why not with a comment below:

I bet you made some new year’s resolutions, didn’t you?

That’s great!

I have an additional resolution to offer you:

Take a stand.

Just take a stand for what you believe in.

Just like that.

Draw a line in the sand and say to yourself, “I want to make a difference.”

And then say “I AM going to make a difference.”  (Isn’t that powerful!)

Because when you make a declaration that you are going to do this, something happens inside.

By “naming it” and “claiming it,” you start making it happen.

Think for a moment.

What really matters to you, anyway?

What urgently concerns you?

I hope it’s the cause you work for so hard.

Because if you are that concerned, then what are you going to do about it?

Remember Gandhi famously said:

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Can you become that change that you so urgently want to see? Can you actually embody that change?

If you want to make it happen, you need these three things along with you.

You need:

1.  Courage

My, oh my, but it’s easy to sit back and expect others to take the lead.

Isn’t it?

But what happens when no one steps up to the plate?

Or when your cause’s supporters lose sight of their goal, or they dissolve into petty bickering or competition?

Well, my friends – nonprofit staffers and board members alike – the world NEEDS more people to step up to the plate.

It takes gumption as we say in the south.

How do you muster up your courage?

You get over yourself.

You hold fast to your vision of what you are trying to accomplish.

You keep your goal firmly in sight and hold on to it tight.

Because if you are totally “possessed” by your goal, then you’ll forget your self consciousness.

I remember when I first started public speaking. I was absolutely scared to death.

Standing up there and looking at all those faces staring at me, expecting me to say something interesting –  it was enough to send panic thru every molecule in my body!

But then I remembered what I was speaking about, and how passionately I felt the need to communicate.

And somehow, I lifted up out of my fear and became in some way “possessed” by my energy, passion and my ideas. And they just spilled out of me then.

Bottom Line: If you hold fast to what you believe to be deeply true, you’ll find more courage than you ever thought you had.

2.  Enthusiasm

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “nothing great was achieved without enthusiasm.”

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." -Emerson

And I so believe this.

Because if you are enthusiastic, you have happy outgoing energy.

This energy is attractive.

It pulls people to you. It pulls supporters, dollars, connections.

All of a sudden people want to hang with you. Your cause’s bandwagon is growing. And growing.

If you are a group of people who are fired-up, enthusiastic, energetic – then you can do anything.

This is the energy that can change worlds.

Pump yourself up.

That’s why I always say that board meetings need to be terrific gatherings.

They need to be like cheerleading sessions. When you pull your team together, you’ve got to fire them up with energy and enthusiasm.

And you’ve got to do the same for yourself.

Get yourself in touch with what really matters to you, and what stand you are going to take.

You’ll be motivated enough to take on the world!

Bottom Line: Everything starts with energy. Make yours expansive and happy – and you’ll attract all sorts of help!

3.  Clarity.

If you want to change the world, and rally supporters to help you, then you need a very clear goal.

You need to know what you are trying to achieve.

You've got to be totally clear and focused about what you are trying to do.

• You need to know when you want it done.
• You need to know how much money you need to raise.
• You need to know what outcomes and results you are aiming to create.
• You need to know what it will take to get there.

You’ll never be successful if you don’t have a clear goal.

If you are raising money for your cause, then you’ve got to say: “ we need xx money in order to do yyy work.”

For example,

• We need to raise $100k in order to bring meals to 2000 elderly members of our community.
• We need $500k to build an orphanage in Africa.
• We need $50k to present a concert or a performance.

I don’t know why nonprofits are so reluctant to state how much money they need.

So many of my clients just say “we need as much money as we can raise.”

That’s fine, but it doesn’t grab donors. It’s not specific enough.

You need a clear goal.

Donors – especially these days – want to know how much help you need in order to accomplish your goals.

They aren’t messing around.

And they don’t like fuzziness.

If your message is muddled, you are not going to raise the money you need.

Bottom line: You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t know where you are going. Have a clear goal!

I hope these ideas help you fire up your board, your staff, and your supporters.

Remember how urgent this is. There’s no time to waste.

There’s too much at stake.

Don’t mess around. Go for it!

Did this resonate? Let me know with a comment!

How do you determine who to ask to join the board of your wonderful cause?

Who is your dream board member?

If you really want to enlist a Dream Team Board, look for folks with these qualities.

And if you’d like a recruitment guide – you can use my 24-page Recruit Your Dream Team Board Workbook (it’s free to my subscribers.)

Here’s my short list of top qualities I want in a board member (warning – I’m biased – and this is not a politically correct list!):

1.    A person of influence and connections.

Above all, I like to have people who know other people and can make things happen. My favorite board member is someone who can pick up the phone and help us make a key connection.

This type of board member can open new doors for us and help us network at a new level. They know people with resources, and people who can influence others on our behalf.

2.    Deep passion for our work.

Do they have the passion and care for our mission? If they do not, they may bring a clinical approach to our work and miss the heart of what we do.

3.    Time and willingness.

Some of the most wonderful people simply don’t have the time. Even if they are wildly passionate, they may be on the road all the time or stacked up with family and work commitments.

Even the most passionate board member is unhappy if they feel that they are not fulfilling their commitment to the organization.

So be sure they have the time.

4.    Deep pockets and/or access to deep pockets.

I like board members who are passionate AND have deep pockets.

I want someone who can open fundraising doors for us. Who do they know? What is their own giving potential?

Sorry but I like people on the board who can write the big check.

Not everybody on the board needs to be a deep pocket, but you certainly need some of them on your board.

5.    Current donor or volunteer.

Let’s hope your new board members are already donors. If they are not, I’d think twice!

And a loyal current donor might be just the passionate, knowledgeable, capable person your board needs.

6.    Reputation for balanced, sound, deliberate thoughts and actions.

How are her leadership skills? Is she a good team player? Can she handle ambiguity or robust discussions?

I like very much to know how someone operates within a group before I bring them into the mix.

You’ll be smart to vet them this way too.

A well-vetted board member is more likely to be a happy board member.

7.    Experience on a nonprofit board.

Isn’t it wonderful to have folks who understand the nonprofit ball game?

If they are experienced, then there’s less chance of them trying to meddle in the staff’s work.

8.    Professional experience.

I find that people who have worked at some point in their lives are often better board members.

People who have some professional experience, I think, are better able to leave their personal “stuff” home and behave in an unemotional manner on the board. (told you this wasn’t a politically correct list!)

9.    Fundraising experience.

People who already know and understand fundraising are invaluable.

Their knowledge and expertise helps to back up your own recommendations to the board about smart fundraising strategies.

They’ll save you time and energy and even heartache, because they will help

• motivate the rest of the board,
• set an example for everyone,
• keep everyone else in line supporting a well-thought-out fundraising
• plan.
• reign in less-than-productive distracting fundraising strategies.

10. Knowledge of our community and our environment.

Again, a little experience wins. When you have board members who understand your unique community or the environment you operate within, it just save time and energy.

It’s like they are on your team before you start, and you don’t have to spend valuable time and energy educating them.

Now, here’s my disclaimer:

There’s an exception to every single attribute on my list.  One size doesn’t fit all boards – and like I said above, this is my own personal biased list.

It’s simply a sweeping generalization of what I have found over two decades of working with boards.

Bottom line:

Be clear and specific about the qualities you want in your new board members.

Define what and who you want and then go after those folks!

Use my “Recruit Your Dream Team Board Workbook” (free for subscribers) as a guide to enlist the most fabulous people you can imagine to join your own bandwagon.

I bet you have an opinion on my list! What are YOUR favorite qualities in a new board member?

Last week I heard two people suggest that many Executive Directors don’t really want their board members engaged.

Why?

Because they are afraid their board members will “meddle.”

What do I mean by meddling?

It’s when a well-meaning board member pushes a personal idea or agenda that is not an organizational or staff priority.

Meddling board members may have the staff walking on eggshells.

The trustee may come up with a strategy, tactic, or issue that he or she thinks is really urgent and important.

But the problem is that it’s simply not in the business or operating plan.

Sure, it might be a cool idea, but the staff’s already got more to do than they can handle.

When things get sticky.

When a meddling board member is bothering staff about their personal hot issue, things can get very sticky.

It’s very distracting to the staff who may have to walk on eggshells.

It’s a fine line to try to honor the board member’s good intentions and ideas, but also ignore or deflect their idea, and still not turn them off.

Sometimes the staff has to clean up after a board member who’s gone off on a tangent, and created tension and confusion.

It takes valuable time and energy away from the very, very important work at hand.

(Read my post on Board Members Gone Wild!)

So, how do you prevent a board member from meddling?

The solution? Give them plenty of other important work do to.

Load them up with action items. Then they won’t have the time or energy to create additional work.

It’s the board member who doesn’t have anything to do, who tends to create work.

And often it’s the wrong kind of work.

YOU should create their To Do list.

YOU should create the board members' "To Do" list. Not them.

Don’t let THEM create their own list!

And by “you”  I mean board and staff leaders alike.

It’s the leadership that agrees on the priorities, generates agreement from everyone, and creates the To Do List. Not individual board members.

I believe in giving board members plenty of action items to accomplish.

Give them something meaningful to do.

Don’t let them guess what you need them to do – otherwise you just may have someone who’s trying to head in a wrong direction.

What action items can you have them do?

• Tours:

Try systematically organizing tours of your office or field trips to see your work.  Invite community leaders, donors and friends to take the tours.

Have a board member host each tour.

Ask each board member to host one tour a year for their network and contacts.

• Thank donors:

Have them write thank you notes to donors.

Ask them to phone donors to say thank you.

Ask them to host parties for your donors to make them feel like insiders.

Ask them to host a thankathon to warm up donors before your annual fall appeal.

• Small socials:

Have them host Porch Parties to introduce their friends to the cause.

Ask them to host social gatherings, coffees, meetings to spread the word and make new friends.

• Solicit gifts:

Seek sponsorships for your next event. Give everybody a call list and names to cover.

Make phone calls to followup annual fund appeals.

See my post 14 Easy Ways Board Members Can Raise Money.

• Identify prospects:

Have them create a VIP Prospect List for your organization.

Moral of the story:

If you put board members to work constructively, they will typically stay with the plan.

Distract them with plenty of the right kind of work and they won’t go off on personal tangents. (we hope!)

How do YOU keep your well-meaning volunteers on task and in action?

Leave a comment and let us know!