Nonprofits With Active Fundraising Boards More Likely to Meet Goals

A key feature of the successful methods is that they expand the nonprofit organization’s list of prospective donors, either because board members share their contact lists or make personal introductions or host special “get to know you” sessions.

Selected key findings

• Engaging board members in fundraising helps organizations reach their fundraising goals. For 2011, 60 percent of those that did engage board members met their goal, compared with just 53 percent of those who did not
• Working with a board-level development committee increases the chances an organization met its goal in 2011: 63 percent of organizations with a board-level development committee met their fundraising goals for 2011, compared with 52 percent of those without that type of committee.
• Organizations in which board members request friends or business associates to make a financial contribution met their fundraising goals for 2011 more frequently than did those that did not ask board members to make similar requests.
• Among organizations that require a minimum board member contribution, the median amount $1,000, but it higher for arts ($2,000), and education nonprofit organizations ($2,500). The minimum amounts also increase with organizational budget size, with some very large organizations asking for minimums of more than $100,000.

About the survey
The Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) conducts surveys two times a year. The current report is available at www.NonprofitResearchCollaborative.org.