Board Engagement That Raises Money
Stop hoping the board will fundraise. Give them roles they will do, and build the give-get culture without the fight.
Through the Arts & Culture lens
Board members here are frequently already climbing the patron ladder personally, so the menu's "hosting" and "voice" categories, a living-room gathering, a few words at a gala, tend to be the easiest sell, since many trustees already do versions of this informally. Give-get policy should acknowledge that trustee giving is often visible within a tight patron community, which makes the "amounts stay private, participation is public" framing especially important to hold to.
Continuing education
1.00 points
Volunteer Involvement · Leadership and Management
Learning objectives
- State the honest inventory of what trustees will do, from personal giving and thank-yous to introductions, hosting, and accompanied visits, and apply the match-don't-mandate principle to the board you have rather than the board you imagine.
- Build a one-page board fundraising menu of sized, specific roles, run the annual 30-minute selection conversation with each trustee, and report the tally in aggregate at every board meeting.
- Run a board ambassador program: select three to six trustees for warmth and reliability, train them in one two-hour session, match each to three to five relationships, and hold the quarterly hour that keeps it alive.
- Adopt a board giving policy built on a meaningful gift and every-trustee-every-year participation rather than a fixed minimum, secure it through a peer-led annual conversation, and report the one-line scorecard to funders and the board.
Designed for CFRE continuing education. Not yet accepted; no CFRE points can be claimed.
Lessons
- 19 min
Video lesson
What boards will and won't do
VII Multiply · Volunteer Involvement
- 16 min
Template· DOCX
The board fundraising menu
VII Multiply · Volunteer Involvement
- 18 min
Field guide· PDF
Running a board ambassador program
VI Accompany · Volunteer Involvement
- 14 min
Template· DOCX
Give-get policies that stick
IV Invite · Leadership and Management
This is members-only material.
Members get every lesson, template, and worksheet in all eight tracks, plus the support to put them to work in your shop.
More in this stage
Boards, Teams & Leadership
Running the Development Shop
Directing the work is a different craft than doing it. Plans, budgets, staff structure, and the operating rhythm of a healthy shop.
Capital Campaigns
Capital Campaign Readiness
Before the feasibility study, before the consultant: an honest readiness assessment and the two years of quiet work that make campaigns succeed.
Boards, Teams & Leadership
Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping Fundraisers
The average fundraiser tenure is 16 months. Build a team that stays: hiring for the real job, coaching the craft, and career paths that retain.