We all know that board members have varying degrees of fundraising experience – and interest.

Although every board member doesn’t need to be the one to ask for money – and that’s ok, EVERY board member should be involved in some part of the development process: identifying prospects, building relationships, asking, or thanking.

Here are are 3 easy ways to involve the entire board in fundraising.

1.  Handwritten Thank You Notes: Take 10 minutes at the beginning of every board meeting for each person to write 1 short note to a donor that made a gift the previous month.

If you have too many donors, pick the ones that are most important.

Here’s how to identify them.

Don’t cherry pick the “largest” donors. All research shows that loyalty is King and lifetime giving rules. LTG is actually “a thing” these days and the latest fundraising software measures it – and so should you.

Make it easy, fun and a well oiled machine. If the process is clunky, it won’t work. Have a list of the donors, their address, cool note cards and envelopes, stamps and pens ready and waiting.

Don’t let anyone tell you that this isn’t a good use of the boards time. Building relationships is one of the most important things ALL leaders should be doing.

2.  A Discovery Visit. Here’s how it works. Assign a board member to invite a donor to coffee. Someone that loves the organization and has the potential to give significantly more.

This is fun for the person with high EQ skills. Send the board member that has enough influence that the donor will respond to their email or phone call.

What to say when inviting them:  “My job as a board member is to get to know our donors. You have been giving for 5 years now and I would love to know why you chose to give and what aspect of the work is most important to you?”

During the coffee date, listen with rabid curiosity. 

You can surprise someone by asking other questions that emerge from small talk. “what was your favorite subject in school?”

Follow-up with “why” questions.

Then… “that’s interesting, I never would have guessed that. What was it that appealed to you?

You’ll learn alot about the person and what matters to them.

The  goal is to learn about what your donor loves about your cause, their hot buttons, and to show them that you care – and mean it. 

The quality of this experience is invaluable for setting the stage for a potential major gift down the road – and to connect them with something that matters to them.

3. Identify your Story. Forget the elevator speech.

I love how modern fundraising is getting more innovative and meaningful.

Give a small journal to each board member. Maybe a Moleskine so it’s special and taken seriously.

Invite each person to reflect about a particular experience that has moved them about your work.

Then ask them to write a few lines in their journal as a reminder for future reference.

If some people don’t have personal experiences, schedule a time for them to visit.

Go around the room and share it. 

These stories will become your personalized elevator speech. The way each person speaks about the organization should be different. Also, you won’t forget it.

“Our organization does ____. omg! one time I was visiting ____and ____happened. Since that experience I _____”

By keeping a journal and writing a few lines down every time you have a new experience (and you should be having them with some regularity), you’ll have an arsenal of stories at your disposal that can be used depending on the person you’re talking to. 

Here’s an experience that I had yesterday that would go in my journal.

My husband and I participate in a program where local families purchase a bag of household items each month for a family in need, anonymously.

I go out to buy the stuff and delivery it to the organization each month.

The supplies are the kinds of things that many of us take for granted and can be quite expensive: laundry detergent, toilet paper, tampons…things that some families have trouble affording after rent and food.

When I went yesterday, several families were in the waiting room waiting to see the caseworker. Moms, baby’s, an elderly person.

I quickly dropped off my bag, got in the car, and started crying.

I was reminded how much I love, love, love, the family that I don’t know, that my family has the good fortune to do this.

Get your board members involved in a way that makes sense for them. It may not be easy for all of them, but it’s do-able and incredibly rewarding.

More importantly it will bring everyone closer to each other and the mission.

Do you have an example of how a board member stepped up in a way that worked for them?

Please share.