Board engagement: The view from the other side
Jeanne Fogel
Director of Individual Giving, Feeding Westchester
It’s rare to meet nonprofit leaders who are entirely satisfied with their board’s contributions to philanthropy. We often hear: “Our board members have capacity, but they don’t give at high levels—and each gift feels like we’re begging.” “Our board members only give to events and aren’t interested in our major philanthropic needs.” “We know our board members are connected, but they are not opening their networks.”
It’s tempting to peg these challenges on board members—they are disengaged, reluctant to give, or protective of their contacts. To be sure, board members’ willingness and commitment to holding up their piece of the partnership is important.
However, engaging boards in philanthropy starts with us. As fundraisers and nonprofit leaders, we have the ability to define needs and to equip and inspire board members to help us fill them.
The first step is to regularly pause and ask: what kind of experience are we providing to our board members?
To help us do that, we spoke with Jeanne Fogel, Director of Individual Giving at Feeding Westchester. Before making a career change into professional fundraising, Jeanne served as a board member at a local organization. Now that she works on a team that engages a board in philanthropy, she brings a unique perspective: she sees each interaction from the other side.
Here are the lessons she passed on to us.
Lesson 1: Treat board members the way you treat major donors.
First and foremost, says Jeanne, “I treat our board members as major donors. I think it’s important to treat the board as a group of individuals.”
Before asking them for any assistance, Jeanne took the time to speak with board members to ask:
How did they get involved
What keeps them involved?
How do they view their responsibilities?
“These conversations helped me to connect with the board members and understand how they want to be involved,” Jeanne said.
It also helped her realize: “A lot of their work will be in the conference room,” which is not a fulfilling experience to most board members. She set out to make board leadership more meaningful for each board member. For those who wanted to connect more with the mission, she found opportunities to include them in hands-on experiences, like volunteer opportunities and facility tours for major donors.
Lesson 2: Ask board members the way you ask major donors.
As nonprofit boards have become more fundraising-focused in recent years, expectations have changed for board members. As a board member, says Jeanne, “you might be feeling like an ATM.”
That feeling is particularly true of nonprofits with full events calendars. Every few months, there is a new ask for another event.
Jeanne recommends sitting down with each board member at least annually to ask what their priorities are for the year. Start with understanding what the board member wants to achieve. Then, map out up front what the year looks like in terms of giving and participating in fundraising.
Remember to include direct mission giving in the conversation. Often, says Jeanne, “the board gets a lot of requests for event support, but not a lot for mission support.” That aligns with some board members interests. For others, however, Jeanne shares: “They end up feeling like they can’t have the effect they want.” Board members join your board because they are passionate about your mission. Not providing opportunities for them to invest directly in the mission deprives them of meaningful giving experiences.
A holistic, mission-forward conversation is “a much less tone-deaf way to engage our board,” says Jeanne.
Lesson 3: Don’t focus on training board members to ask. Train them to ask for meetings.
It’s common to hear board members say: “I don’t want to ask for money.”
The good news is, when it comes to philanthropy, we don’t need board members to ask, necessarily. Events succeed when board members chip in and ask their contacts to donate and buy sponsorships, tables, and tickets. Philanthropy, on the other hand, succeeds when board members provide introductions and validation that positions staff to make an ask.
The easiest way to kickstart board engagement in philanthropy, says Jeanne, is to take the focus off of the asks. Start with smaller steps that pave the way to relationships: writing a thank you letter, joining a donor meeting to share a personal story, introducing a staff member to a philanthropist, etc.
“You don’t have to train the board to ask,” says Jeanne. “Train the board to ask for a meeting. When you do that, you’re asking them to share why they have chosen to get involved, why they care, and what they want their friend to learn about it. You’re just asking your friend to learn about something that you’re passionate about.”
Take board members on donor meetings with you to help them understand what they’re like. The more they see what great experiences meetings are for donors, the more willing they will be to arrange them for their friends.
Lesson 4: Meet each board member where they’re at.
Jeanne recommends taking the time to really understand how each board member feels about helping with fundraising—and finding ways to overcome barriers. No matter where a board member is starting from, there is something meaningful they can contribute to the effort.
Jeanne sees three common categories of board members.
First, there are board members who are experienced in sales and skilled in making the leap to fundraising. They naturally navigate conversations and make compelling asks. In these cases, Jeanne looks for ways to learn from the board members. “There are times we really have to let a competent board go,” she says, “and trust their process.” One downside she notes is that donors who give through these board members are less connected to the staff and community—and are likely to disengage when the board members roll off.
Second, there are board members who are willing to assist and even ask—but are inexperienced or untrained. They make common mistakes, especially talking too long in meetings about their own passion, rather than letting the donors speak. In these cases, Jeanne leans on preparation as the key. Clear objectives and scripts help, as does being very clear: “we are going to ask these questions.” Over time, she and the board members develop cues for certain behaviors; for example, sitting down after a facility tour means that it’s time to stop talking and listen.
Third, there are board members who are afraid of fundraising. Jeanne points out: “When you unwrap that, it’s really that they don’t have a personal network that can meet the expectation. As staff, we need to recognize that a little quicker.” If a board member seems to be stepping away and getting uncomfortable, there’s likely something else going on. “After 4-5 years, unless your network is changing somehow, you may not have more people to cycle through,” she points out. “You may have asked all your friends.”
In the—very common—case, Jeanne considers three options:
Give them new tools to engage their network that they haven’t had before, such as cultivation events, volunteer opportunities, and mission experiences.
Find ways for them to help you with your portfolio, like joining you on meetings or making thank you calls.
Consider whether it’s time for them to roll off the board, a point which all board members reach eventually.
Lesson 5: It’s our job to make board service easy.
At the end of the day, Jeanne says, “I think they’re just major donors—they’re easier major donors. They have really opted in to say: I really care. They probably care as much about the mission as we do, but for a variety of reasons, they’ve chosen the board as the way to serve it.”
As staff, it’s our job to make it as easy as possible for board members to serve the mission.
We are the matchmakers between the passions and interests of board members and the needs of the organization. Once we understand a board member’s aim, we have to provide them relevant, tangible ways to help the organization. Just like we wouldn’t expect any other donor or volunteer to know automatically how to be most helpful to our mission, we can’t expect board members to read our minds and know our precise needs.
Once we’ve found a way a board member can contribute, we have to pave the way. We can help in a variety of ways, depending on the situation: drafting an email, crafting a letter, scripting talking points, providing helpful reminders, etc.
The key is to take each step at a time and make that step as seamless as possible. Each little success will spur the next. And when breakthroughs come, they will be thrilling for all involved.
“Once they have helped close their first gift,” says Jeanne, “they trust the process.”
Jeanne Fogel is Director of Individual Giving at Feeding Westchester. She brings her past marketing experience to development, and looks to understand what motivates donors to help connect with them. She is passionate about fighting hunger and enjoys the chance to distribute food when she can get away from the office.