Are you satisfied with your board’s fundraising performance?

If the answer is an emphatic “No!,” don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Based on all the inquiries, I could probably lead board fundraising workshops 365 days per year. The demand is endless.

Perhaps you’ve tried the standard remedies: pep talks, board retreats, recruiting people with fundraising expertise. Maybe you resorted to guilt and shame (which I don’t recommend). 

But here’s the thing – have you tried restructuring your board to boost their fundraising commitment and follow-through?

What follows is a series of creative ideas, with thanks to the wonderful colleagues who suggested them.

Option 1: Organize the board based on your revenue model 

First, study your current income mix in relation to your programs. What are the primary sources of funding for each aspect of your work? 

Then imagine the ideal income mix for your group. Where do you want your money to come from to support these programs? Long-term, how do you want to shift your revenue?

Divide up board into teams to focus on funding sources – foundations, government, membership, and so on – based on people’s interest and expertise. Working with relevant staff, each “revenue team” develops and delivers its own work plan to boost income.

For more on this approach, visit the archives of the Board Café for a great article by Jan Masaoka.

Option 2: Seasonal fundraising teams

This one is adapted from a model developed by Jill Vialet, who wrote about it in the recently-departed-but-still-beloved Grassroots Fundraising Journal; the article archive hosted by the Nonprofit Quarterly. (Thanks, NPQ!)

Start by creating three or four seasonal work groups or committees – the spring team, the summer team, etc. Include non-board members on each team, which is also a great way to audition them for the board.

Each team picks a fundraising project for intensive work during its season. For example, the summer team might focus on a series of fundraising house parties, while the fall team works to personalize and expand the annual appeal via mail, email, and social media.

While the executive committee provides oversight throughout the year, everyone else works intensively during only one season – then takes the rest of the year off from fundraising.

The next two models were suggested by Kim Klein, who described them in How to Get Your Board to Raise Money: Plan X, also in the Grassroots Fundraising Journal.

Option 3: Replace the development committee with multiple committees

Donor fundraising boils down to three tasks: finding new donors, keeping them, and encouraging them to increase their gifts over time. 

Therefore, you could create separate committees for acquisition, retention, and upgrading, plus an oversight team to coordinate everything. In terms of tasks, the retention committee could focus on thanking donors in a more prompt, personal way, while the upgrade group can develop activities to engage your supporters more deeply.

Under this model, everyone participates, but they get to choose their committee assignment.

To hold people accountable, set appropriate metrics for each committee. (Hint: these benchmarks won’t always be dollars raised.)

Option 4: Create temporary work groups

Start by developing an annual calendar of relevant, time-limited fundraising projects: your annual fundraising event, personalized membership mailing, online giving day, major gifts campaign, etc.

Teams are formed (include both board members and other volunteers) to work on the relevant projects. Then they disband when the project is completed and evaluated.

To make this successful, you need enough volunteers so that no individual is involved with more than two or three projects and has time off in between. As with the previous models, people can choose their assignments. However, some gentle persuasion may be required to round out the work groups.

Sorry, no panaceas

None of these strategies is magic. They all require structure, staff support, and board/volunteer training. 

However, if your board is spinning its fundraising wheels, you might find a useful answer among these options. Feel free to experiment and adapt to meet the needs of your group.