Enhancing Board Performance

Rick Moyers' blog post at the Chronicle of Philanthropy has some deceptively simple suggestions.  I'd recommend that each board chair and the executive director/head sit down and talk their way through these steps.

Create an annual work plan for the board. The plan should include goals and milestones for the year, along with items of business that need to get done at certain times of the year, such as acceptance of the audit, election of new board members, approval of the budget, and the executive director’s performance and salary review.

At each board meeting, take some time to put the meeting in context. To keep board members engaged, celebrate what was accomplished at the last meeting and give them a heads up about what’s coming up and why it’s important.

Keep track of board terms and when board members are up for renewal or are about to rotate off the board. That may seem obvious, but it often falls to the wayside in the press of other urgent business. I’ve run across board members who were in the fifth year of their three-year terms and others who were surprised and incredulous that their terms were up. It helps to plan ahead.

Have an annual one-on-one conversation with each board member. This conversation should include a reminder of where they are in their term and when they will be up for renewal. This is also an opportunity to ask for their feedback on how things are going, how their experience can be improved, and how the board could operate more effectively.

So what do we need in order to raise money?

1. Leadership
2. Data Management Capacity
3. Membership/Annual Fund/Special Gifts Analysis
4. Qualified Prospect List
5. Board participation
6. Integrated communications/marketing plan
7. Compelling case for giving
8. Viable Financial Plan
9. Organization well-regarded
10. Momentum

Time to plan!

Institutional Planning Sessions [IPS’s] are intensive, facilitated programs designed to help non-profit organizations initiate important action steps.  IPS’s provide boards and executive directors with a unique opportunity to reflect carefully on a key issue without the immediate pressure of other board business.

Recent IPS topics have included;

Governance review-committee function, bylaws

Succession planning

Fund raising review

Pre-capital campaign assessment

Board self-assessment

Board/executive coordination

Institutional priority review

Audience development

Community outreach

Marketing initiatives

 The IPS approach makes the assumption that the most important part of the process consists of ‘planning to plan.’  It frequently happens that during initial session analysis the organization redefines or even completely discards the initial planning goal.  

Presession Analysis [min. 4 weeks]

1.       Initial contact with consultant.

2.       Liaison established.

3.       Preliminary questionnaire and discussion of IPS scope and focus.

4.       Data review by consultant on a confidential basis.  Examples; 990, strategic plans, annual reports, board/committee minutes, attendance analysis, grant applications, staff/board contact information. 

Planning Session [3-6 hours]     

Location

Length

Participants

Format

Desired outcome[s]

Post-session Assessment and Implementation [Post session]

·         Confidential IPS assessment report from consultant

·         Session assessment by participants

·         Follow up action by organization

Philip Sedgwick Deely & Associates

The 'Shape' of Fund Raising

http://slidesha.re/aLex2C

Philotypes??

A semi-serious look at donors....Philotypes

How do I ask for a gift?

 Plan the call with your partner

Know your prospect-what has their involvement been? Decide in advance who will make the request for a gift. Meet 10 minutes before the call and rehearse.

Know the case/prospect  

What is the mission, what are the needs?  Talk about excellence first, needs come next. What are the prospects’ giving history?  What interactions have they had with your organization?

Meet face-to-face

Personal, face-to-face contact is the most effective way to ask for a gift. Deflect a preemptive gift when setting an appointment. “Ah, come on, you don’t need to bother coming over.  Why don’t you just tell me what you need?”

Cite personal commitment

“Would you consider joining me with a gift of…Those who ask must have already given themselves. Set appointments yourself when possible. It is appropriate to make direct reference to your own gift.

Adopt a positive outlook

"I’d like to ask if you would consider a gift in the range of...Avoid-“I know there are a lot of demands on you" or the worst "we have you down for..." Soliciting a gift is not 'begging', 'arm twisting', or 'putting the bite on someone.'

Ask, then listen

Research indicates that more than 1/2 of all solicitations that fail to result in a gift occur because… the solicitor has not asked for a gift. Do not leave a blank pledge card behind. After you have asked for the gift...do not speak. Be prepared to offer an alternative gift opportunity.

Philip Sedgwick Deely & Associates

Signs of Hope--fund raising after the recession

I opened my 10th invitation to a summertime fundraising gala this morning and began to muse about signs that the recession might just becoming to an end...modest recovery in the financial markets and a calmer approach to real estate workouts are encouraging signs and yet the potential for a late season 'frost' is still lurking.  Most NPO's have had to recalibrate their expectations in the past two years.  The 'new normal' does not entail reliable annual growth in the annual fund, every larger comprehensive capital campaigns, or even, ever higher benefit ticket prices!  

     More than ever before NPO's need to nurture relationships with their donors and, in particular, treat LYBUNT [Last Year But Not This] donors carefully-allowing them to reengage at a lower giving level if necessary.  Some organizations have offered to maintain certain upper level benefits for one-time big donors with an invitation to resume full benefits at a higher level next year.