Inviting the Board to Give
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying the first taste of Fall. This time of year, a cool thing begins to happen--something only seen with this degree of clarity and abundance once a year. For the next few months we get to see how nonprofit organizations are positioning themselves to their donors through solicitation. It's an amazing revelation into how organizations see their donors--how they value or devalue their relationships, how they nurture or don’t nurture their donors. It's a time of year I find fascinating. Lots of solicitations will be headed our way from lots of different organizations, and we all have a front row seat!
This season of solicitation makes me reflect on our closest donors. Especially our boards. You all know I believe that the board should be part of donor relationship engagement in some form. I want you to really think about how you invite your board to go deeper with you as a donor this fall. Really focus on seeing your board as the intimate heart of the organization, the closest donor constituency you have. As such, ensure that they are invited to invest in your shared values and vision in ways that reflect and honor that relationship. Reflect on the following questions as you go into this fall:
How do we engage the most intimate donor constituency to give to the cause that they are legally charged with overseeing?
Is standing up at a board meeting and asking everyone to turn in a gift something that reflects the intimate position the board holds?
Is sending out a form letter or email to the group appropriate?
Should we hold a board event and ask them to give as a group?
Should we have the board chair send out an update that it is time to make a gift?
Should we write them each a personal invitation to give letter?
Should we meet with them face to face and invite them to give at a meaningful level?
However you invite the board to give, spend some time thinking about what will demonstrate the importance and intimacy of board member relationships. The way we invite the board member to give also gives us an opportunity to share with them the level of care we want to take as we invite others to give. It also helps to demystify what inviting someone to give looks like.
In the end, board members should be seen as life-long advocates. Invite them to invest in your shared values in ways that let them see experience the care we want all donors to feel as we ask them to invest value and intimacy in a cause we all care about.
Happy Fall!
Warmly,
Jamie
