How can you create an interest in fundraising when everything’s going well? Is your board telling you that you have everything handled and they don’t need to help? Listen to this video where you will learn how to create urgency to get your board of directors off of the shoulder and into the fast lane.
Hi, I’m Karen Eber Davis, and happy Thursday. It’s Added Value Video day.
Let’s talk about how to create urgency in board members who are pleased with how the organization is going and don’t see a lot of need to help you with fundraising. Things are good. Let’s not mess with a winner.
What they need is a little fire under them that says, look at what we’re losing. They need to experience some loss and see what’s being missed.
If your board members, and you can give them this challenge, would contact one person per week and vet them for their nonprofit interest–this could be someone they meet in a business meeting. It could be someone they’re having lunch with—who’s already a friend anyway. They want to do it when they’re having a networking lunch. In the conversation, they turn to your nonprofit or nonprofits. And they say, hey, what are you involved within the community? And they discover that they’re interested in you. So in most of those conversations, they won’t be interested in you, but if everyone you have, 10 board members and everyone does one a week. Okay, that’s 40 roughly contacts a month and let’s just say a quarter of those people do have some interest, a possible connection, would love to come to an event. Would love to know more.
Okay, so now we have 10 people per month times 12 months is 120 people who are asked and who your development staff has such a chance to work with about becoming donors and becoming engaged. So of those 120 people, say 60 of them say that was great did they are not interested, next. But 60 of them remain involved. 30 become volunteers. 30 become donors who in a year’s time average of $1,000 a year donor. Okay, so now we have 30 donors at $1,000 a year if you accumulate this year to year to year. Let’s just assume it’s one time, and you have $30,000 of unrestricted funds that you didn’t have before. Would that make a difference to this organization that kind of been from where the numbers began to match their actions, and they can see that $30,0000 every year to invest back in the organization would make a huge difference will help your broad feel some urgency? So if your board’s not unhappy and not interested in helping to fundraise because they think things are great, give them some urgency. Show them what they’re losing.
This is only one example of what boards could be bringing in if they get active. I’m Karen Eber Davis, and there’s more my newsletter and you can sign up on the link I put below.
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Karen Eber Davis provides customized advising and coaching around nonprofit strategy and board development. People leaders hire her to bring clarity to sticky situations, break through barriers that seem insurmountable, and align people for better futures. She is the author of 7 Nonprofit Income Streams and Let's Raise Nonprofit Millions Together.
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