10 New Year's Resolutions for Nonprofit Board Members

By Gail Perry

Are you ready for 2015? And … is your board ready?

This is the time when we all step back and make our resolutions. Here are some great New Year’s Resolutions for your board members!

1. I will have a bias toward action
Knowing that my organization needs more than talk out of board members, I will focus on positive actions that I can take. I refuse to be one of those board members who thinks his or her job is simply to come to meetings and just offer an opinion.

I will ask the staff members what they need our board members to actually do this month, this quarter, this year. I will put my money where my mouth is and support my nonprofit.

Taking action will be more fun and create much better results!

2. I resolve to understand the numbers
I promise to spend some time understanding our finances. I want to learn more about where the money really goes.

I’m interested in learning about my organization’s fundraising plan and our funding model. I want to know more about my role as a fiduciary guardian of our nonprofit.

3. I will encourage everyone to think big
I know that we are not going to change the world, save the environment, feed the hungry, change our community, by thinking small. So I will think big.

I understand that there is great power in a big, wildly exciting vision because a big vision will help attract people — and resources — to our cause.

Like Donald Trump said: “If you are going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big!”

4. I will support our fundraising program
Knowing that fundraising is not just about asking for money, I want to understand my various fundraising responsibilities as a board member. I’ll do what I can to help bring in resources.

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Gail Perry Author's page Gail believes in parties first, rabble-rousing second, and having fun while changing the world. Gail Perry CFRE is an international fundraising coach, speaker, trainer and thought-leader. She is a leader in a new breed of fundraisers who are on the cutting edge of fundraising today. Her Fired-Up Fundraising approach, developed over the past 25 years as a nonprofit philanthropy expert, has helped organizations raise hundreds of millions in gifts. Gail's practical and refreshing approach to raising money in today's world is based on the very latest innovative fundraising strategies. An inspirational and popular speaker, she leads energizing fundraising workshops and board retreats around the globe. She particularly enjoys working with nonprofit board members, introducing them to a new perspective on fundraising and ways they can be successful at it. Gail's book, Fired-Up Fundraising, has been called the "gold standard guide to building successful fundraising boards." Gail got her start in fundraising at Duke University, and then went on to lead fundraising at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can read Gail's weekly blogs at FiredUpFundraising.com, and also find her provocative articles at FundraisingSuccess, Guidestar, and Capital Campaign Magic.