So you want to join a non-profit board?

Throughout the years I have been incredibly grateful to work on and with several non-profit boards. After a few conversations recently with colleagues in the professional world as well as a couple of friends regarding joining a board, I decided to write this blog post. I hope it is helpful to anyone considering joining a non-profit board of directors.

Here are a few things to consider before joining a board:

Have a passion for the cause. If you are on a board, most likely you will be asked to not only fundraise for the non-profit but to also be a cheerleader for them. It's vital that you have a passion for their mission.

Check out the days and times that the board meets and make sure you can make it to the meetings. Meeting attendance is important as that is when the action of the board takes place. It's also your opportunity to meet other board members and see where else you might be able to use your talents for the non-profit. Finally, board meeting attendance is important when it comes to grants for the on-profit as many granting organizations ask for the attendance percentages of the board and consider that percentage when deciding on grants.

While talking about meetings, you may also be asked to join a committee of the board, like finance or development. These committees will take even more of your time, time that will be well served. Keep this in mind before committing. 

Have a clear knowledge of expected giving and know that you can afford that (and be willing to make that kind of financial commitment to the organization). This is crucial. Most boards have a giving requirement. Sometimes it is give and get, meaning the total number includes what you yourself can donate and/or bring in through others donating. It's important to be comfortable with the amount that is required aside from any other amounts of money you may give to the organization, say for tickets to an event or a table at the annual Gala. When fundraising plans are developed board giving is typically one line and event revenue another. Keep this in mind when deciding whether or not you can personally afford to be on the board.

Ask yourself why you want to be on the board. I have seen many people who serve on several boards and wonder why. I also wonder how much commitment can they seriously give to so many organizations and how effective can they be to each of those organizations. If you have passion for a group, wonderful. If you want to look good or add something to your resume, make sure you can bring something to the organization, and I mean more that a check or attendance at a few meetings.

Non-profit organizations can thrive with an active, fundraising and effective board filled with members who have passion and skills. Make sure you can bring 100% to them before you commit. This will make your experience on the board more fulfilling and at the same time strengthen the non-profit.

Thank you for reading! 

Lapsed donors

A lot has been written about lapsed donors and how to continually keep an eye on how lapsed donors affect one's overall fundraising plan.

A plan around decreasing lapsed donors can be worked on throughout the year, not just towards the end of your fiscal year.

For me, it all starts with donor relationships. How does your organization treat donors? Are they just an ATM? Do they get thanked quickly? Do they know how you spent their donation? Do you try connecting with them other than when you ask them for a donation? Are they kept up to date regarding your mission and their part in it?

I think any fundraiser could add more questions. This is enough for the purpose of this blog post.

If my organization and our mission is frequently in front of the donor, then we have a better chance of keeping them as a donor. If we thank them quickly and let them know how we spent their money, our chances are even better at keeping them as a donor. 

Inevitably for some us, including me, we end up at the start of our year end campaign and haven't paid 100% attention to potential lapsed donors.

This is what I do:

I send out the year end appeal. The direct mail piece. It goes to everyone, including those who have not yet made a donation this year.

I create a list of any potential lapsed donors for the year and it goes on my office wall. As donations arrive, I call them to thank them and cross their name off.

A few weeks after that first direct mail piece went out, I bring in volunteers to call every donor who received the year end appeal, with focus on those who have not yet made a donation.

Come December, bring in as many folks to help as possible. Your ED, the board, co-workers. Make sure every donor has gotten a call. OK, if you have tens of thousands of donors you can't do this. But you can still make the effort.

This totally works. In my first year here we lowered the amount of lapsed donors by 60%!

Try it. And remember that the best way to maintain a donor is how you treat them, not just an end of year ask.

I would love your feedback and would also love to learn about what you do around lapsed donors!

Thanks for reading!

A simple thank you

I frequently think about what Miss Manners would think about the decline in the use of thank you cards these days. Or thank you emails. Or calls.

I recently had a conversation with a person who I had donated a couple of tickets to an opera. They wanted to get a couple more tickets for their upcoming auction. I politely declined.

I clearly remember going back and forth with this person regarding a donation. All the time I took and the true generosity from our organization to theirs. They made money from the donation.

Yet the gift to them did not warrant a thank you note.

It's not uncommon. Unless you have donated to me or made time for me. Then you will be nicely surprised.

Thank you card's are so important. Especially if you are a fundraiser! Any time I meet with someone the first thing I do when I get back to the office is jot a quick note on our stationary and pop it in the mail. It's important to me that people I visit with know how grateful I am that they took time out their busy schedule to meet with me. Or that they decided to donate something to our auction.

And it only takes a few minutes.

The other great thing about thank you notes is that hardly anyone takes the time to write them, and as a fundraiser anytime I can stick out is great!

But the bottom line is that in our business, it's simply the right thing to do.

If you have agency stationary, use that. Every time I can get out our brand is good. If you do not have stationary, buy some inexpensive note cards or have some printed at FedEx Kinkos.

You will definitely not regret sending a thank you card!

Thank you for reading!

A challenge in fundraising

I have caught myself saying many times that if fundraising at my current organization was easy, then I would be bored at not happy. I have always loved the challenge that come with fundraising, whether the economy is tough or I fundraise for a cause that is not well known, I love the challenge.

There is a difference between challenge and desperation.

I can be as successful as the next person with creative fundraising campaigns, energetic meetings with donors, constantly in communication with everyone who supports the organization and bringing in new corporate and individual partners.

Yet the first question I have to ask is whether or not my organization is viable. Is it financially sustainable? Standing alone, a sole fundraiser cannot change the financial direction of an organization. That takes a team which includes a strong development team, an out of the box thinking Executive Director, a staff that gets it and a board that is 100% committed not solely to the mission but to the viability of the organization.

And just to be clear, if you do not have all of that in your current organization is doesn't mean you are doomed to fail. It simply means that the challenge you were hoping for is full throttle and one that cannot be met with your fundraising skills alone.

What I have found that is so important in viability is having honest conversations with the most generous donors of an organization. Long term donors want to keep giving and in many cases want to give more. Yet they need to know that their money is not being wasted. That the organization is going to be around in the next five to ten years (and more!).

I have also found that it is important from a fundraising perspective that long term donors see new donors coming in, that all of any challenges are not only being met by the same people who have always been there. I would say that this means not only individual donors but includes major donors and new corporate partners.

Show me the money before I show you the money, in other words.

I totally get this. It makes complete sense.

I am going to continue writing on this topic for a while and would love your feedback. And ideas. And experiences. Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at dhanley@operacolorado.org

Thank you very much for reading!

Get out there!

It seems like forever since I last wrote a post for this blog. Starting a new job and creating two other blogs have been taking time away from this, my original, blog.

I decided to stop procrastinating and just write. Attending an incredible luncheon this week helped.

I know many fundraisers and people in non-profit development and we are all so busy. Unfortunately some us are too busy to get out and meet people and promote our cause.

I attended the annual Women With Hattitude luncheon this past week as a guest of one of my donors. She suggested I wear a hat and thanks to my production manager at Opera Colorado, Hally, I arrived in style with a hat used in one of our Sideshow opera, Trouble in Tahiti.

My hat was an instant hit and I was able to say Opera Colorado literally hundreds of times.

Not only did I have a blast, I met many people who love opera, many who have never been to an opera, many who have never heard of Opera Colorado, and many who were really excited to have met me.

And all I did was decide I wasn't too busy to accept a kind invitation from a donor to go to a luncheon.

Get out there! Go to a luncheon. Or an after hours. Or a local non-profit event. Talk to folks about your group's mission and why you love fundraising for them.

You'll be glad you did!

Keeping it short this time. Thanks for reading!