Fired-Up Fundraising

Praise for Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action

"Fired-Up Fundraising is honest, realistic, practical, and inspiring. It transforms the whole concept of fundraising from obligation and drudgery into passion and fun. Every CEO, development director, development consultant, and board chair needs to have and use this book."
—Charles F. (Chic) Dambach President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding Former Senior Consultant, BoardSource

"A breakthrough! Fired-Up Fundraising takes the mystery out of engaging your board in the ongoing work of fundraising. In this well-organized little book, Gail Perry lays out a commonsense, four-step process that will fire up your board and help you meet your fundraising goals, year after year."
—Mal Warwick author of How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters

"Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action is by far the best book I have ever read on how to involve board members in the entire process of fundraising, from identifying prospects, cultivating them, and finally making 'the ask.' Just as important, it is an invaluable guide on how to select, enlist, train and especially inspire board members so they take ownership of their institutions. Every nonprofit CEO and development officer should read this book."
—Robert L. Gale President Emeritus, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and founder of BoardSource (formerly known as the National Center for Nonprofit Boards)

"This is the book for which EVERY nonprofit chief executive has been yearning since time immemorial. Every nonprofit needs money to survive and thrive, and every nonprofit has a board of trustees to help raise it, but few nonprofits come anywhere near using their boards to maximum benefit. Fired-Up Fundraising, a reader-friendly, realistic, and practical playbook written by a richly experienced, highly literate fundraiser turned consultant, takes readers by the hand and leads them step-by-step through eminently doable ways of inspiring the greatest possible engagement of-and return from-their trustees. It will instantly become the gold-standard guide for building successful boards."
—Joel Fleishman Professor of Law and Public Policy and Director, The Foundation Research Program, Duke University

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxi

Introduction xxiii

Chapter 1 An Understandable Problem 1

What Is Keeping Board Members Away from Fundraising? 1

What Do Board Members Want, Anyway? 3

The Best Dream Team Board Members 8

The Right Roles for Board and Staf f 10

Does the Board or the Staf f Do the Fundraising? 11

The Reality of Board Members and Fundraising 14

The Mistakes We Make with Our Board Members and Fundraising 15

Mission Possible—A Better Way! 19

Chapter 2 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step One: FOCUS on the Mission 23

Creating Sustained Change: The Challenge 24

Step One: Focus on the Mission to Inspire Board Members 28

Emphasize Outcomes and Results instead of Process 30

Give Board Members Substantive Work 32

Create Meaningful Board Meetings 33

Ways to Liven UpYour Board Meetings—and Your Board 36

Let the Board Members Do the Talking 38

Energize Meetings with Mission Moments 39

Have Some Fun! 44

Your Role in Gently Leading Your Board 46

Chapter 3 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Two: INSPIRE Your Board Members with a New Philosophy of Fundraising 49

Fundraising Is Changing the World for the Better 49

Board Members’ Myths and Problems with Fundraising 51

Proud to Be a Fundraiser! 55

Get Everybody on Your Bandwagon 57

Get Your Board Busy Raising Friends 58

Fundraising Need Not Be Scary: Deal with Their Fears Directly 59

A Conversation about Discomfort with Fundraising 61

Fear of Fundraising Exercise 63

The Joy of Giving 65

Why Do People Give? Lessons for Board Members 68

Fundraising Is Full of Power 71

The Power of Being a Volunteer 74

Expect Abundance, Not Scarcity 77

Chapter 4 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Three: READY Your Board with the Right Tools and Skills 83

Fundraising from the Donor’s Point of View: What Donors Want 84

Take the Emphasis Away from Soliciting 90

The Act of Soliciting Is One Tiny Instant in the Cycle! 93

Board Members as Ambassadors to Cultivate Major Gifts 97

How to Make Use of a Lucky Moment: Teaching the Elevator Speech 101

Chapter 5 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Four: ENGAGE Your Board Members in Your Fundraising Plan 111

FriendRaising Builds Social Capital 112

Board Members as “Sneezers,”Advocates Who Spread the Word Wherever They Go 115

Spreading the Word by Mail 117

Advice Visits: Searching for Hidden Gold 119

Gathering Friends with Small Socials 124

Mission-Focused Tours Illustrate Your GoodWork 132

Board Members in Action: Success Stories 137

Chapter 6 Create a Dream Team Board and Set Your Board Up to Win! 143

What Do We Really Want for Our Organizations? 143

Enlisting New Dream Team Board Members 145

Set Up a Governance Committee to Keep Your Board on Track 150

A Dream Team Board: Who Do You Want? 154

Use a Big Request to Enlist Board Members 157

xii contents

Let’s Agree on Fundraising Activities for Every Board Member 160

Welcome New Board Members into the “Club” 167

How to Get to Know Your Board Members 171

Self-Assessments Keep Everyone Focused 174

Make Sure All the Board Members Give 176

Seven Rules for Successfully Soliciting Your Board 179

Set Your Board Members Up to Win 188

How to Organize for Fundraising Results 191

A Board “Leadership Team” Creates Results 195

References and Recommended Reading 201

Books That Focus on the Bigger Picture of

Transformation, Organizational Change, and . . . 202

Articles 202

Donor Commitment Form 203

AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards

of Professional Practice 205

AFP Donor Bill of Rights 206

Index 207

GAIL PERRY is a noted fundraising consultant who helps organizations reconnect with the passion of their leadership, staff, and donors—inspiring action. With over twenty years and $100 million in fundraising success behind her, Gail now brings her Passion-Driven Fundraising™ approach to national audiences through training, speaking, and writing. Gail holds an MBA and a BA with honors in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is the founder and principal of Gail Perry Associates, based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

FIRED-UP FUNDRAISING

Turn Board Passion into Action

What goes on in the minds of dedicated board members when the word "fundraising" is mentioned? Why does their excitement for the cause suddenly disappear when they are confronted with even the idea of fundraising? Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action enthusiastically lays out a clear series of steps that help you introduce your board to a new perspective on fundraising. Straightforward in tone and filled with simple tips to put into practice, this insightful book shows you how to create engaged, passionate board members actively involved in supporting fundraising, and even enjoying it!

Written by nonprofit authority Gail Perry, Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action presents Passion-Driven Fundraising™—fundraising that engages board members, leads change, and achieves unprecedented results for your organization. How will Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action revolutionize the way your organization sees fundraising? This seminal book:

• Renews readers' passion for the change they want their nonprofit to make in the world
• Discusses proper selection of board members and the establishment of clear, early expectations
• Clearly walks you through the process of creating a fundraising board
• Introduces a system of clear and workable steps to fire up your board and turn them into the "Dream Team" you want
• Includes examples of easy ways for board members to get involved in fundraising as well as sample board commitment letters
• Provides a special chapter presenting all of the book's exercises for your use as a powerful retreat designed to motivate, inspire, and empower board members

Encouraging readers to rediscover their vision and passion in their organization and work, Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action uniquely activates you to introduce reluctant board members to fundraising in ways that make them feel comfortable. Readable and enthusiastic, this book will get you—and your board members—fired up about raising money and becoming more productive fundraisers.

Praise for FIRED-UP FUNDRAISING

Turn Board Passion into Action

"Fired-Up Fundraising is honest, realistic, practical, and inspiring. It transforms the whole concept of fundraising from obligation and drudgery into passion and fun. Every CEO, development director, development consultant, and board chair needs to have and use this book."

—Charles F. (Chic) Dambach President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding Former Senior Consultant, BoardSource

"A breakthrough! Fired-Up Fundraising takes the mystery out of engaging your board in the ongoing work of fundraising. In this well-organized little book, Gail Perry lays out a commonsense, four-step process that will fire up your board and help you meet your fundraising goals, year after year."

—Mal Warwick author of How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters

"Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action is by far the best book I have ever read on how to involve board members in the entire process of fundraising, from identifying prospects, cultivating them, and finally making 'the ask.' Just as important, it is an invaluable guide on how to select, enlist, train and especially inspire board members so they take ownership of their institutions. Every nonprofit CEO and development officer should read this book."

—Robert L. Gale President Emeritus, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and founder of BoardSource (formerly known as the National Center for Nonprofit Boards)

"This is the book for which EVERY nonprofit chief executive has been yearning since time immemorial. Every nonprofit needs money to survive and thrive, and every nonprofit has a board of trustees to help raise it, but few nonprofits come anywhere near using their boards to maximum benefit. Fired-Up Fundraising, a reader-friendly, realistic, and practical playbook written by a richly experienced, highly literate fundraiser turned consultant, takes readers by the hand and leads them step-by-step through eminently doable ways of inspiring the greatest possible engagement of—and return from—their trustees. It will instantly become the gold-standard guide for building successful boards."

—Joel Fleishman Professor of Law and Public Policy and Director, The Foundation Research Program, Duke University