Board Member Getting: It’s Time to Demystify Fundraising

In my last blog, “Board Member Giving: 4 Types,” I launched a two-part discussion prompted by the ECFA 3rd Annual Nonprofit Governance Survey (watch for the Executive Summary this fall). The survey said there’s a big gap between board giving and the training of board members in fundraising and stewardship.

The Gap. The survey reports that “less than 42 percent of their organizations provide training to equip and inspire board members on the ‘how to’ of inviting others to give.” So there’s a big gap between expectations and equipping.

The Fix. (Actually, as you know, there is no “quick fix,” but there are best practices.) Here are some thoughts: 

First, leverage passion and giftedness.  Every Christ-follower does not have every spiritual gift. Yet, many leaders expect every board member to be competent fundraisers. Some are gifted in inspiring others to give; some aren’t. 

“Fundraising” is not a spiritual gift, of course, but I’ve noticed that some board members, with training and inspiration, can leverage their giftedness in leadership, administration, evangelism, even mercy and exhortation—to the benefit of kingdom resource development.

Next, let’s demystify fundraising. I was asked to discuss this subject with a board recently and so I started the session with a simple exercise. I asked the group to divide up into groups of two and answer this question:

“Describe a time when you experienced great joy
upon giving a financial gift to an organization, a church, or a friend.”

The stories were amazing! Smiles boomeranged around the room! The conversations were joy-filled. 

In that teachable moment many board members realized that generous giving is both God-honoring and personally uplifting. Many realized—almost an epiphany—that inviting another person to give generously is inviting them to experience the kind of joy that they had experienced. 

Inviting others into the joy of giving is a natural, friend-to-friend thing to do. It’s only unnatural when we allow Satan to cloud the purity of generosity with bad theology. 

So…rather than blame, shame, cajole or pressure your board members into being reluctant fundraisers, go slow. Invite reflection. Focus on joy, not obligation.

I know. It’s much easier to blog about fundraising than to actually do it. In R. Scott Rodin’s thin little novelette, The Third Conversion, he cautions Christian development professionals (and board members):

"This is a bad time to get good at doing old things. The new wine of this biblical way of raising ministry resources requires new wineskins."

QUESTIONS: Has your board or CEO created a “one size fits all” herd mentality that demands every board member must be a fundraiser—without thoughtfully leveraging the passions and spiritual giftedness of each board member? If so, how are you going change this? Could you individualize expectations so you’re aligning board work with the way God has uniquely made each person around the table?

Board Member Giving: 4 Types

According to the ECFA 3rd Annual Nonprofit Governance Survey (watch for the Executive Summary this fall) there’s a big gap between board giving and the training of board members in fundraising and stewardship.

“CEOs and board members agree that all board members should be givers and encourage others to give, but…while a healthy 87 percent to 91 percent agree that board members should be annual givers—less than 42 percent of their organizations provide training to equip and inspire board members on the ‘how to’ of inviting others to give.”

This is a two-part issue—and so I’ll address it in a two-part blog. Here’s part one—to help your board assess and address board member giving.

As Max De Pree recommends, “the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality,” so I’m always on the hunt for precise labeling of strategic issues. Mark Dillon hit pay dirt with his descriptions of four types of givers in his book, Giving & Getting in the Kingdom: A Field Guide. 

Where are your board members—and where do you want them to be?

THE GIFTED GIVER (2-5% of givers) will show up at the dedication of a new building and ask, “What’s next?” Dillon says “the gifted giver seldom needs to be asked.”

THE THOUGHTFUL GIVER (15-25% of givers) tends to calibrate giving to current income “and rarely involves lowering their net worth to fund what they care about.” And, “They have joy in giving, to be sure, but often lack unbridled delight in investing resources for kingdom purposes.”

THE CASUAL GIVER (35-50% of givers) “possesses a vague understanding of their obligation to be faithful and generous stewards of their resources, but rarely seek out opportunities to give. They usually give in response to a specific request.”

THE RELUCTANT GIVER (perhaps 33% of givers) may be “an overly generous description, because many in this category give very little of their resources for any charitable purpose.” Easy to offend, they’ve had few, if any generosity mentors in their lives. Their parents were unlikely to be kingdom stewards either.

Dillon suggests specific and biblical ways to engage these four types of donors. In the section, “Big Ideas Attract Big Gifts,” he urges CEOs, pastors and fundraisers to engage givers at the front end of a project. “Big ideas are mission-centered.” He quotes one gifted giver,

“Please don’t come to me with an ‘order list’ already thought out,
where my only decision is how much to give!”

So…perhaps your board chair, your CEO and your senior development officer should thoughtfully (and confidentially) look at individual board member giving over the last two to three years—and “define reality” by slotting them into these four giving segments.  Then, prayerfully, make a plan if your reality check reveals you need to move board members into higher levels of commitment.

Caution! This is not a discussion about wealth—it’s a discussion about generosity and commitment. Board members will lack authenticity in inspiring others to give—if they, themselves, are not personally committed at a high level.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and so many organizations invite people to serve on the board only if they are already in the generous givers circle. 

Many ministries define “generous” this way: As a board member, I will prioritize my giving so our organization is in the Top-3 of my annual giving. 

Again, this is not about wealth. Board members at all income levels can be generous with what God has given them. (That’s the brilliant premise of the biblical tithe.) Note: For more help on this, order the ECFA Governance Toolbox Series No. 1: Recruiting Board Members.

QUESTIONS: What kind of a giver are you? Does your board have written or unwritten guidelines on board giving expectations—that focus on priority (example: Top-3) versus an annual dollar amount? What’s your board’s next step in this area?

“Retirement Is Not in the Bible” – Or Is It?

This is not a theological blog, so I may be venturing above my pay grade here…but there’s a niche trend in evangelical circles that is expressed in a variety of ways. I’m not sure it’s biblical or Christ-centered. Some leaders write or speak (even pontificate):

•  “There’s nothing in the Bible about retirement, so I don’t plan to retire."
• “I’d rather burn out than rust out."
• “My organization/board still needs me. There’s no obvious person to replace me.”

 Contrast these views with these scriptures:

• “And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2, Amplified Bible)
• After Elijah “retired” to heaven, there was common agreement that “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha!” (2 Kings 2:15)

In my Bible, the relevant themes are:  coach, mentor, disciple, give away, prepare, empower, inspire the next generation, be God-honoring. There’s not much about: hold on, hold tight, protect your position [or your board seat], stay as long as you can, tell those younger leaders to learn patience.

I hope you’re talking about it. Some nonprofit CEOs (and pastors) hold on way too long and boards don’t have the guts to address the succession elephant in the room. It’s not an age issue, it’s a spiritual issue.

When will we allow the next generation
to be the leaders that God has called them to be?

Ditto many board members. Harry has been disengaged for three years—but no one’s having the difficult conversation with him.

The ECFA 3^rd Annual Nonprofit Governance Survey (to be released this fall), with responses from almost 2,500 CEOs, board chairs and board members of ECFA-accredited organizations, addressed these issues with three questions:

Question: Does your board have a strategy for recruiting younger board members?

     Yes: 32.8%      No: 67.2%

Question: Do you have 1 or more board members age 35 or under?

     Yes: 36.5%      No: 63.5%

Question: Does your board have a written succession plan in the event of the CEO’s death, long-term illness or unexpected resignation?

     Yes: 34.5%      No: 65.5%

Benchmark your board’s practices against other ECFA-accredited organizations. What are you discerning from God about your CEO’s exit plan; and your aging board members?

Here are several resources:

   --New Voices at the Table: Welcoming the Next Generation of Board Leaders: A BoardSource Toolkit (PDF).

   --ECFA Governance Toolbox Series No. 1 - Recruiting Board Members: Leveraging the 4 Phases of Board Recruitment - Cultivation, Recruitment, Orientation and Engagement (view the introductory video)

QUESTIONS: Is “retirement” in the Bible? What is your board’s succession plan—and what is your specific plan for recruiting and inspiring the next generation of staff and board leaders?