Recruit Fundraising-Focused Board Members
The 2017 calendar year is well underway. I cannot believe we are quickly approaching the one-third mark of the year. Many nonprofits are just finding their calendar year groove, while others are either at their half-way point or three-quarter mark. Regardless of where you are in the fiscal year, you should be constantly looking for new volunteers and potential board members. These individuals, if chosen correctly, can bring much needed new contacts, finances and open doors for future possibilities to your organization. These individuals are also hard to find with a constant focus on fundraising.
Here are three major trends in nonprofit in 2017 via Forbes:
• Humanize your marketing for improving engagement with audiences and donors.
• Use mobile technology to simplify donations and provide new social media platforms for engagement.
• Seek fresh perspectives and a human connection by looking year-round for board members who can provide fundraising and networking expertise.
You may want to recruit board members with fundraising expertise, but not know how to do it correctly. According to Carol Weisman, people join boards for a variety of reasons. To get the right people in the boardroom, you need a recruiting plan targeting individuals who will help you achieve your goals.
Weisman’s nine tips are:
- Start with a clear fundraising strategy and recruit board members who coincide with your plan.
- Have a letter of commitment that clearly outlines expectations.
- Choose your nominating committee wisely.
- Never be afraid to cold call a community leader.
- Create a list of potential board members and keep it going year-round.
- Recruit a diverse board.
- Do not make deals.
- Promise and deliver on fundraising training.
- Clearly define fundraising.
Where do you find potential board members with talents in the fundraising arena? GuideStar had their readers in the profession share several ideas for finding these important individuals:
Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.
He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.
He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a master’s degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville.
Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. He has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.
