Latest / Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for Startup, Small, and Growing Nonprofits / Nonprofit Fundraising: Your Board as your First Fundraising Team (E37)
Transcript
- Matt Stockman (00:00) What do you do once you've taken the first steps towards getting your first dollars into your nonprofit? You've had some conversations with people who already believe in you. You've started to build confidence around talking about your mission. So what comes next? If you're at what I call ground zero, meaning zero names in your database, zero donors and zero dollars in the bank, or maybe you're now just barely past that point. The next place your early funding almost always comes from is your board and your board's network. This is part two of a three-part series on how to secure your very first nonprofit dollars. And in the first episode, we talked about why your first gifts should come from people who already believe in you. So today, we're going to talk about the role your board plays in early fundraising, what board giving is really about, and how to set realistic expectations. so you don't frustrate or burn out your board or yourself. Welcome to the Nonprofit Launch Plan podcast for startups, small and growing nonprofits. This podcast is here to help you build your nonprofit from the ground up on a strong, sustainable foundation by providing clear frameworks, practical tools, and the real world guidance that you need that you can actually put into practice. I'm your host, Matt Stockman. I'm a nonprofit growth coach. And here at Nonprofit Launch Plan, we believe that every successful nonprofit has to be operating at peak performance across six key areas, leadership, fundraising, marketing, programs and services, operations, and finances. So on every episode, we focus on at least one of these core areas to help you create lasting impact without unnecessary complexity in your nonprofit. Now, before I dive in, I do want to briefly remind you about the free resource that is especially relevant for today's conversation. If fundraising just feels intimidating or unclear, I've created a free Fearless Fundraising mini course. It's a PDF workbook that I put together in five short videos that will walk you through the five core steps of the fearless fundraising framework. Those steps are problem, solution, ask, urgency, and action. just by clicking the pink banner at the top of the homepage. You're going to hear me reference concepts from that framework throughout today's episode. So let me set the stage first and foremost. We need to start with a bit of a mindset shift. For a lot of startup or newer nonprofit leaders, the board feels like something you have because you're supposed to have one. You needed a board to file your paperwork. You needed a board to look legitimate. You needed a board because somebody told you nonprofits have boards. But in the early stages, your board is far more than a formality. Your board is actually one of your most important credibility assets. And that's why both board giving and board support matters so much at the beginning. In fact, if you're just building your board or you're at the very beginning of this nonprofit building journey, one of the most important things you can do is to get clear on the exact responsibilities and expectations of each board member. In future episodes of the podcast, we'll dive deeper into this, but for now, if you're still building your board and scouting for potential board members, or even if you've already got a board, but the board feels like it's not in 100 % alignment with you and with the organization. Take some time to get clear on what the responsibilities and expectations of each board member are. If you've got a coach or an advisor or even the board chair selected, get help from them on this. You're going to want to outline what the expectations are of each board member. and then clearly communicate that to the individuals as you're inviting them to join the board. Things like, how many meetings are you planning to have each year and is every meeting mandatory or not? Like, simply put, if they can't commit the time to what the board is going to require, then they're probably not a good board member candidate. Another thing to think about is what the overall board responsibility entails. Will this board provide governance and accountability? Will it be involved in setting the budget or just monitoring the budget? And will each board member be expected to make a financial contribution each year? And then will board members be expected to introduce the nonprofit to their network of friends and work colleagues and so on? In the end, the goal is for board members to clearly understand what they're agreeing to and what their job will be as a member of the board, Should they agree to join as a board member? The board relationship can really go sideways if board members feel like they are being asked to commit to things that they didn't expect after saying yes. So you really want what the responsibilities and expectations of each board member... You want that as clear as possible on the front end. Okay, now a little bit more into the fundraising part. It's very customary and common for board members to be financial supporters of the nonprofit they serve. It's also really common and kind of human nature to think as the nonprofit leader in the back of your mind, you could be saying, they've already agreed to serve on the board. I bet they think that their service is enough of a contribution. So I won't ask them for financial support. hear me say this board giving is not about an obligation. It's not about pressuring people into something. And it's not about forcing people to do something they did not sign up for. That's one of the reasons. Back to what I said before, if you're clear about what the expectations and the responsibilities of the board are, they're not going to be shocked by any of this. Board giving to what the nonprofit is about is about validation. When a board member gives financially, they're making a statement that says, I believe in this mission enough to invest my own resources in it. And that statement carries a lot of weight, especially in the early days. External donors are not just evaluating your mission, they're evaluating your leadership. and your governance as well. One of the first silent questions early donors are going to ask is this, do the people closest to this organization believe in it enough to give? So board giving answers that question before you ever have to. Now, does not mean that every board member has to give the same amount. It does mean every board member should give in a way that is personally meaningful and sacrificial for them. Equal giving is not the goal, but shared commitment is. So that's first. Let's talk about why board giving makes external fundraising easier. Imagine sitting down with a potential donor and saying, our board is fully committed to this work every board member gives. takes out lot of friction. It communicates seriousness. It communicates mission alignment inside your organization, and it communicates trust. Without board giving, you're asking external donors to go first. But with board giving, you're inviting them to join something that already has momentum. Those gifts are signals to everybody else externally that you will talk to in the next weeks and months that something good and unified is happening in your organization. It's a signal that this organization is worth paying attention to. And just like we talked about in the first episode, early fundraising is relational, not promotional. your board helps extend those relationships. Now, let's talk about the second part, board networks. Because this is where expectations can often get confused. Board members are not fundraising machines. nor are they ATMs. And some may disagree on this, but I don't think they should be obligated to ask their friends for money on your behalf. But what they can do, and what I feel that they are uniquely positioned to do, is open doors. An introduction from a board member is very powerful. Board members can say things like, I'm involved with an organization that's doing really meaningful work. I love what they're doing. Would you be open to a conversation with them? That's a little bit of positive peer pressure, which I think is a very powerful tool. And even more than that, it's an invitation. And that invitation is powerful. Your job as a nonprofit leader is not to turn board members into fundraisers overnight, but your job is to equip them with clarity and confidence. We'll talk more about that in a moment. When board members understand the problem that you're solving, the solution that you're offering as a nonprofit and why it matters now, they naturally become your strongest ambassadors. now let's talk a little bit about what's realistic. Most startup nonprofits have small boards, mainly volunteers, and boards who are made up of people who have lives and jobs and big careers and families and they're already stretched pretty thin. And then they're adding whatever they're doing to serve on your board on top of all that. So let's set some expectations that actually work, especially when it comes to them introducing you to their networks. First, I do want you to expect personal giving from every board member. We talked about this before. Again, it's not equal giving, but it's meaningful participation 100 % across the board. Second, expect engagement with the organization from your board members and with you as the leader. They can't be a board member in name only. without being involved in showing up for the meetings and sharing their feedback and opinions and most importantly, understanding their role as connectors. Some board members will be natural connectors. Some will struggle with it a little bit more. All of your board members should be able to introduce you to some people who might become donors. For some, the natural connectors, they're able to make a hundred plus introductions and for others it might only be one or two. But listen, when they make those introductions, it's really important that you treat these introductions carefully and with a lot of patience. Because I want you to look at this from the angle of the board member for a moment. The board member who's about to make the introduction is thinking, the gung-ho executive director of the nonprofit that I serve on the board of would like me to introduce them to people who have been my closest friends, maybe family, trusted colleagues, or business relationships. And we all know that the reason for the introduction is so that the gung-ho executive director or development director, you, can ask this close personal friend and colleague of mine, for financial support at some point. This is actually a very vulnerable place for some people that if you don't honor it and treat it with some finesse, you can really close the door on future introductions. In fact, I know of board members of particular organizations who will actually hold off on making the really powerful introductions with people who have really high capacity inside their inner circle. And instead what they'll do is they'll kind of test. how you're going to handle an introduction by introducing you first to somebody who's a little bit more of a casual acquaintance before they introduce you to the people who have really high capacity, who are their closest family members or companions or business It's like they don't want to risk introducing you to their really close inner circle, highest capacity friends until they're sure that you can handle it well and not embarrass them by putting too much pressure on their friend or family member or coming on too strong, stuff like that. So in the end, treat those introductions to a board member's network very carefully with a lot of finesse. Next, don't abdicate fundraising to the board. Fundraising is a leadership responsibility. The board supports fundraising, but they don't replace fundraising. And when nonprofit leaders expect the board to do all the fundraising, everybody loses. The nonprofit can't sustain for that long. So here's some practical next steps that you can take. First, I want you to have a clear conversation with your board about why board giving frame it as leadership and validation, not an obligation.Explaining how powerful it is to be able to say every board member believes in this mission so much that they're giving financially can really help them understand why their financial support is a big deal above and beyond their serving on the board. Also, equip your board with simple language. Hopefully by now, you've completed the fearless fundraising workbook with the five steps and you've built your core fundraising messaging script. Share that with them. As a board member, they should be able to clearly explain the problem, the solution and why this matters right now and understand the core steps of the fundraising ask. Then, ask them for introductions. board members who they know that might care about the mission and ask permission from them to follow up with those individuals. And then lastly, celebrate your board members' participation. When board members give or they connect or they support the mission in any way, acknowledge it. When you acknowledge it with the rest of the board, again, that's the power of positive peer pressure. and it's an important culture builder as well. If you remember one thing from today's episode, let it be this. Board giving is not about the money alone. It's more about credibility. Your board's belief in the mission creates confidence for everybody else. Now in the next episode, we're going to talk about the third place that your early nonprofit funding is going to come from. Early believers beyond your inner circle and your board. These are people who resonate deeply with the problem that you're solving and they're just waiting for an invitation to engage at a deeper level. That's coming up in part three of the series. I'm going to walk you step by step how to engage with those people and secure your first nonprofit dollars. Before we wrap up, don't forget to download the Fearless Fundraising Mini Course at NonprofitLaunchPlan.com. Click the pink banner at the top of the homepage. It will help you clarify your message, build your confidence, and take practical next steps for getting dollars in the bank and getting you launched. Thanks again for listening to the Nonprofit Launch Plan podcast for startups, small and growing nonprofits. If this episode was helpful at all, share it with another nonprofit leader who needs some encouragement and clarity. And don't forget to like and subscribe and do all the podcast things so that you don't miss out on the third part of this three part series about how to get your first nonprofit dollars into your nonprofit. Until next time. Keep building wisely, keep making a difference and thank you so much for watching and listening.