Success in Fundraising Starts With the Board of Directors

Following are some tips for creating and maintaining the most valuable kind of board for your organization.

1. Board member giving
One of the key responsibilities of every board member is to ensure sound resources and finances for the organization. That means the board is responsible for seeing to it that the organization has the funds to carry out its mission. Before board members can begin to fundraise externally, each must make a personal financial commitment. The old ideas — “I give my time, so I don’t have to give my money.” “I’m on a lot of boards, so I can’t give much.” “You should appreciate me for my good ideas ... that’s enough.” — are out. O-U-T … out. Each and every board member must make a financial contribution annually that is personally significant and meaningful.