Trustee support for Fundraising

The Institute of Fundraising has just published "The Trustees Guide to Fundraising", a copy of which arrived in the post this morning. It's a 45-page booklet intended to guide charity trustees through the key elements of fundraising, and their roles within it.

It covers:

Trustee Obligations
Looking to the Long Term
Ways and Means
Tax-effective Giving
Law, Ethics and Fundraising
The Last Word
The Useful Directory

and costs £10.

It is a revised and updated version of a guide first published by The Giving Campaign in 2003.

Available from Amazon at

[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trustees-Guide-Fundraising-Institute/dp/187454106X/219[/url]

Might be a useful tool for you and your trustees.

As I said, the US is, culturally, ahead of the game here.

Too many UK trustees sit on the laurels of donations of their time-for-meetings and expertise, without any awareness of the need for them to be fully engaged in fund-raising. I emphasise that this is not a reflection on their commitment to/interest in 'the cause' - which is exemplary in most cases, or they wouldn't be trustees - nor is there any intention to denigrate the contribution they make. It is *purely* a cultural thing and needs to change - and is changing, just slowly (like all cultural change tends to be).

The main reason for trustees possibly being resistant to fundraising for the organisation can only be down to "fear of the unknown" - and Tony has (most beautifully, as I knew he would) explained the process of leading your trustees into the role you want them to take.

[quote]I've just been appointed fundraising manager. I see potential for a major donor fundraising initiative, but there is no strong fundraising voice on the trustees. I'd be looking to the trustees to open their address books and to be advocates for this (and other activities). I think fundraising is seen as a necessary evil here and I'd like to address that.

Any tips?[/quote]
John: Sorry for you that I am not a fellow of a few words, especially along the line of those which are succinct, and hit the mark, such as the pearls from Sandre and John.

I never met a fund-raising question or quandary I didn’t like. I miss few opportunities to chime in. (Often in error, but never in doubt.) Besides, it’s Sandre’s fault for encouraging me after my slumber here in the US to catch up with you GMT folks. Fact is, we fund-raising people never sleep. We are ever awake and alert to any non-profit organization’s Board of Trustees looking to have others do what it is they should be doing when it comes to fund-raising.

This is not an exercise in Trustee bashing, as they have been, are now, and always will be, the lifeblood of non-profit organizations. They have given and raised billions of pounds/dollars for millions of charities over many decades of time. But, when there are no, or few, fund-raising-inspired and working Trustees on any Board, we want to know why.

(1) If it’s simply that they need to be shown the way with our suggested plans, strategies, and tactics, then we do so and help them utilize their peer, leverage, and influence power and status to the maximum.

(2) If they knowingly and willingly abrogate their responsibility by choosing not to give and raise money, nor to enlist others to do the same, then these are the individuals who can sound the death knell for most any organization when they provide such bad leadership. It’s so easy to sit back and approve an expense budget---to spend money for what must be a good and worthy cause---then to put the responsibility for raising the money onto others---usually staff.

There is not much one can do with a Board as described in the second case, one just going through the motions. Hopefully, in a short time, they will be replaced before it’s too late.

But, it’s that first instance, cited above, which I expect you will find to be the one most likely at home in your organization, a situation ready for you to help your Board to do its job.

From my experience, much of the fault lies in an organization's failure to define and delineate for board members their fund-raising role. Board members need to be made aware of the fund-raising process and to be provided with the plans, tools, and support necessary for effective solicitation. The “providing,” is where you come in.

With your Board President, a Development Chair from the Board, and with your CEO, you can go far in overcoming the Board's fund-raising fears, reticence, objections --- and excuses

Regardless of the excuses given, there are positive steps you and the organization can take to reverse the most negative and defensive attitudes.

1. Educate them on fund-raising with workshops, retreats, etc. Knowing the process of fund-raising helps diminish fear of it.

2. Help them reinforce their belief in the value of the organization's mission by sharing its success with them and encouraging them to involve themselves in its programs. True belief in a cause can turn almost anyone into an effective fund-raiser.

3. Assign tasks that involve them in a fund-raising campaign, but that do not require them to solicit gifts. These can include rating prospects, adding personal endorsements to funding requests, and writing thank-you notes to donors. It's a question of learning to crawl before you can walk.

4. Place them in a position to be visibly associated with the organization and its successes. Ask a board member to be an interviewee in a story the local newspaper is doing on the organization or one of its programs. Let them bask in the organization's success. We all like to associate ourselves with winning efforts.

5. Partner a board member who is a successful fund-raiser with a new recruit as a mentor. Have the new member accompany the successful fund-raiser on visits to a donor or two. Nothing beats the experience of being where the action is and watching a pro at work.

6. Create opportunities for board members and volunteers to experience the organization. They will gain a true appreciation for the organization from the up-close and personal view provide by visits to its facilities, events where they can watch the organization at work, and seeing how real people benefit from the organization. The best way to learn about something is to immerse yourself in it.

John: Try these approaches and you will increase greatly the willingness of board members and volunteers to solicit gifts. Increase that willingness and you will raise the board's fund-raising effectiveness.

In the end, the success of fund-raising campaigns hinges on leadership, and that leadership starts with the board. Board members are the campaign solicitors of first and last resort. They are the most important fund-raising resource an organization has. There is no greater strength in a fund-raising campaign than a board ready and willing to lead, and no greater weakness than one which sees fund-raising as someone else's job.

I sincerely appreciate Sandre’s suggestion to you for the review of the material available on my website. Do peruse the Table of Contents of the articles to select as needed, perhaps beginning with the following:

--- How Board Members Can Become Effective Fund-Raisers
[url]http://www.raise-funds.com/111203forum.html[/url]

--- Who Should Raise The Money From Within Your Organization?
[url]http://www.raise-funds.com/092004forum.html[/url]

--- Develop Your Fund-Raising Plan With Consensus
[url]http://www.raise-funds.com/111204forum.html[/url]

Best fund-raising wishes,
Tony