How can you get your board to fundraise?

Farra Trompeter: Welcome to the Smart Communications Podcast. This is Farra Trompeter, co-director and worker-owner at Big Duck. In today’s episode, we’re going to ask the question: How can you get your board to fundraise? And this is a question I’m often asked, or have asked when I’ve been on boards or a consultant to boards, and I’m delighted to be joined by Amber Hamilton, who will help us answer it. Let me tell you a little bit about Amber. Amber Hamilton uses she/her pronouns and is the founder of Fig Leaf Development, a fractional fundraising firm that partners with social impact organizations and the foundations that support them to build their capacity to raise money. She brings over 15 years of development leadership experience, specializing in helping early to mid-stage organizations strengthen their development functions through strategic planning, board development, and talent support. Most recently, she served as founding chief external officer at Beyond100K, where she led the organization’s rebrand and public launch at the Clinton Global Initiative Summit, and previously held founding development roles at OneGoal and Teach for America. Amber, welcome to the show.

Amber Hamilton: Hi, Farra, thanks so much for having me.

Farra Trompeter: Well, I want to start with the reason behind this topic, just to set the stage for our listeners. What do you see as some of the common challenges that arise when staff members, nonprofits, et cetera, are trying to get board members to fundraise?

Amber Hamilton: I think the first challenge that arises is unclear expectations. So someone refers somebody that they think is amazing, who should really get to know the organization, and they have, let’s say, potentially a lot of capacity, or they seem like somebody who has a lot of connections. And you meet with them, you feel a synergy with them, but you are afraid to be clear about what you need as an organization, in order to hit your goals. And so you may overlook some flags that exist along the way. Or you may hear some things from folks who are interested, and say, “You know what, though, they’re willing to raise their hand, they’re willing to volunteer, so I’m just going to say yes and have them come,” but you don’t tell them, “When you join my board, I need you to help me raise $15,000 from your community. I need you to help me get a corporate sponsorship from your company.” You know, just really clear expectations for what’s expected, I think, is the first challenge. So people come in, and they don’t know exactly what their role is.

Amber Hamilton: And then I think the other challenge that arises with trying to get board members to fundraise is actually fear. Fear can make people freeze, almost. And a lot of folks have anxiety around money, and so that anxiety around money can actually sort of stop them from feeling comfortable with fundraising. And I think a lot of times, board members associate fundraising only with asking other people for money. And I think that is actually a misconception around what a board member’s role can be in helping an organization to bring money in. There are actually many different ways that you can help your organization fundraise without calling your friend and saying, “Can you give $5,000?” Which can feel uncomfortable. I think for many, many folks. There are those rare board members who are really bold and confident who do that, but I think for other folks, they need to know that there are other ways to help get towards those dollars. And there are.

Farra Trompeter: Yeah. Well, let’s definitely come back to that point in a moment. I want to just, you know, have people get to know you and get your perspective a little bit more on the different ways that this shows up. So, I know you’ve held a few different positions; head of development in nonprofits, a board member, a consultant, and all of those likely take a different view or have a different view on how nonprofits can get board members to cultivate donors. Let’s just first start by that internal staff person. What has worked when you have, you know, been in charge or worked on development roles in organizations? How have you been able to see staff get board members to raise money?

Amber Hamilton: So again, I’m going to go back to clear expectations upfront about what you need. And that’s not just even in the kind of onboarding or the dating process with a board member. It’s also once people come in. You need to, I say like best practice at the beginning of each fiscal year, be really clear about what the organization’s goals are. And I would say separate those organizational goals into board goals that ladder up so they can see, “Oh, here’s what the organization needs to deliver on their mission. Here’s what I need to do or what we collectively need to do to help chip away at that.” And so being really clear about what those are gives people clarity and direction, and it helps them to start to see roles for themselves in helping you get to those goals. So that’s really effective.

Amber Hamilton: You also have to, like, check back in on those things with people. So, you know, to have these great goals at the beginning of the year, but then I’ve seen organizations kind of shy away from the accountability, and accountability is important. We all need accountability, you know, and so, “Hey, this is where we are, this is what’s happened so far,” is really helpful. You also have to be relational. It’s important to have a good relationship with your board members, to know them as individuals, to know what motivates them. I’m on the board at two different organizations. One is my high school, and the reason why I’m there is because I had such an incredible experience, and I want to stay connected, and I want to give back to this school that gave so much to me. That gives me a sense of purpose, and it gives me a sense of community. And so if you know that about me, then that gives you an opportunity to better understand how to, like, motivate me to get things done on behalf of the organization.

Amber Hamilton: And it also just, again, is more personal. It doesn’t feel transactional, which I think is also really important. You don’t want to be treating your board members in an extractive, transactional way. They’re people. They’re people who care, who are volunteering their time to be supportive because they want to. And so you have to like think about it that way. Give people options so they can be successful. So, you know, to decide everyone has just kind of one role within an organization, or one way to be helpful, is really limiting. We all have different strengths. We have some areas where we may feel nervous, and you know, you can help kind of push people in places where they’re nervous. But I actually think maybe first lean into their strengths, and if you are clear about expectations on the front end when you’re recruiting folks, and you are really doing a good job of understanding what they can bring, then hopefully that misalignment doesn’t exist when you’re asking for things.

Amber Hamilton: But I know sometimes we started in one place, and we’re trying to course correct in the middle, giving options is really helpful. And then you’ve got to celebrate people, even if it’s small stuff. And particularly with fundraising, I have heard so many times board members say, “Oh well, you know, I only could get a few friends to give, you know, $50 or $100. I know that’s not much.” That’s great. They took the time and the effort to ask people. People are going to give what they give. They put themselves out there, and it’s still progress for the organization. So make sure you’re celebrating the big things and the small things along the way. That’s really important.

Farra Trompeter: That’s helpful. Thank you. And I appreciate the sort of consistency of the advice. Now, let’s consider the board member perspective from when you’ve been on boards or when you’ve seen other boards working well and other board members sort of coaching from within. Are there things that you’ve done to get fellow board members to participate in fundraising, or you’ve seen that have been particularly helpful to engage you as a board member in a way that maybe the development team or the executive director has engaged you to be someone who helps bring in funds to the organization?

Amber Hamilton: Yeah, I think having a very clear ask helps a lot. So I don’t love being asked, “Well, who do you know? Who could you possibly know?” (1) I have my own business, I have three children, you know, I’m the busy person, and I want to be helpful, but I may not have the time to sit and really like excavate my network. And so having a clear ask, and honestly, I really appreciate, and this might be the development person in me, I appreciate that someone’s done a little bit of research first, like “It seems like you know so and so,” right? Because that’s what I do in my job. So that, I find to be really helpful. Also, my high school board it’s an alumni board position. They ask us to do so much. So much more than the, like, fiduciary board that I sit on, which I just find really interesting.

Amber Hamilton: And honestly, they just tell us what to do. They’re really clear about, “If you don’t respond in 48 hours, I’m going to nag you, nag you, nag you.” I mean, maybe it’s a lot, but it does work because there’s just like a fearlessness to the accountability, and they are really clear, “Hey, I need you to email your class. You know, we have an appeal; here are the email addresses. Please send it out by this date.” It started off that way. And so, you know, people sometimes miss deadlines, but, like, ultimately, things get done.

Farra Trompeter: Well, and it sounds like they’re doing a good job of reminding you. They make it easy.

Amber Hamilton: Yeah, they do. They remind you a lot. So, you know, there’s someone internally who is really managing us to make sure we’re getting things done, and there’s, it’s already written, right? Like “Here’s the names, here are the email addresses. So literally open the spreadsheet, copy them over, send the email. You know, that type of thing.” That just makes it more manageable, and we report out on our things in the board meeting. So if you didn’t do your stuff, you don’t look great, you know.

Farra Trompeter: A little public shaming goes a long way.

Amber Hamilton: Well, I mean, nobody’s shaming you. If you’re someone who has a degree of, you know, if you really feel personal responsibility, you’re sort of like, “Oh yeah, I didn’t get this. I’m going to get it done after this.” You know? And then I also think it’s helpful to make sure your board members know each other. It’s fun to be at the meeting. You have a friend, I say like, accountability buddy. But really, when you have someone else that you connect with on the board, I think you’re more likely to be engaged and stay active. And so, just making sure you’re creating a culture and opportunity for people to connect matters a lot, too, because it takes a lot of your time, and you really are volunteering to be there.

Farra Trompeter: Yeah. I want to get back into sort of other ways that people can support an organization beyond just calling your friend and asking for, you know, $10,000, whatever it might be. You know, I know that some board members are brought onto organizations for their lived experience or for their direct connection to the mission. Some are brought on for particular skill sets, some for their own personal wealth, and some for all of those reasons and more. And considering that there are people out there who have different access to financial resources of their own or in their network, and others who may or may not be engaged in the work, what do you think about mandatory give/get policies, and also feel free in this answer to also share about other ways people can engage.

Amber Hamilton: So, I am a believer in the mandatory give/get with an asterisk. I think that everyone who’s on the board should give something. That could be $10. It’s another way to just show your commitment to the organization. It’s also helpful, you know, sometimes foundations will ask, you know, “What percentage of your board gives?” And so even if you don’t have a lot of financial resources to give, you know, usually everyone has $10 that they could give to something. And so it’s just, to me, it’s also just like a show of support and faith in the organization. So I do think they’re important to have, for us to all kind of put some skin in the game, if you will.

Amber Hamilton: That said, I mean, when I was at OneGoal, I remember we were building our board, and I was in New York; there was a Chicago region and a Houston region. And as we were thinking about who we should bring on, I was looking at how successful they were with their fundraising and how much their board members were contributing. And I realized there was almost like a secret sauce to, you know, the mix. Not, no one had a board where everyone was contributing at the give/get level. There was a percentage of board members who were contributing above, some who were giving at the level, and some who were maybe giving $100. And those were often the folks who had the lived experience, or you know, who were like working in a college or university. And so I think, again, if you are really clear about what you need and what your board can give, and everyone’s role doesn’t have to be exactly the same. You just need to make sure that you’re mapping towards meeting the outcomes that you have overall, from a fundraising perspective, since that’s what we’re talking about, but also in the other areas that are going to help the organization. So yes, everyone should give, but not everyone needs to give you $10,000 or find $10,000 because they may be giving you that in other ways.

Farra Trompeter: Yeah, I’ve been on boards where I’ve donated my time as an in-kind support, and there’s a value to that if I’m doing for them what I do professionally. And that is one way I’ve been able to contribute. So, I think it is helpful to think about alternatives beyond just a check or an online donation with lots of zeroes to it.

Amber Hamilton: Exactly.

Farra Trompeter: Let’s imagine I’m on the development team of a nonprofit and I’ve been asked to shift my board to help us raise more money. What are some specific steps a nonprofit staff person can take to understand and really build from what they have?

Amber Hamilton: So you’re going to say, “Amber, you’re kind of saying some of the same things over and over again.” But to me, I actually think development, fundraising, board management: the steps are simple. People are complex, but the foundational things I think are important, in order to get where you need to be. I’ll start with saying, I think if you are noticing that your board is not meeting your needs as an organization, I would take time to meet with people one-on-one and to almost like restart, if you will. Build with them. Like, understand “Why did you join? What excites you?” You know, I raised my hand to join the boards that I do because I wanted to give something back. I wanted to be a part of the community. I wanted to contribute in some way.

Amber Hamilton: And I think there are rare instances where people join a board just because they want their name to be associated with an organization. That happens. Hopefully, they’re writing you a $100,000 check alongside that, and you know, just take it and be happy. But I think most people are doing it because they have a desire to give. And the thing that I have found frustrating sometimes in board experiences is when I don’t feel like my gift, you know, that I could give, is being leveraged. And so you might find that some of the disengagement is because people feel like they’re not really helpful or making much of a difference. And so when you start to feel bad about what you are doing, some people, like, fade away. You know, who wants to volunteer in something where you’re like, “I’m here for two hours every other month, sitting quietly. I’m not activated. I’m not giving what I thought I was going to give.” So I think that’s a really important place to start is to understand that.

Amber Hamilton: And that’ll start to help you diagnose whether there’s like a theme across the board in general, or if it’s more individual. Sometimes, when it’s more individual, people maybe need to be moved along. If there’s, you know, if you’d like, you’ve tried all of the steps, and that’s okay too. Please again, have clear goals so people can see themselves in them and track to them. And then the thing that I think is really important that I do in my board trainings and conversations with board members is help people see that there are many different entry points to help an organization fundraise.

Amber Hamilton: And so I have five that I think of. One is to be an investor. So everyone, to my point about the gift, get/give something to the organization. $5. If you have $10,000, great, but, like, just put some financial skin in the game. It’s also helpful to the organization from a fundraising perspective externally, to show that. Some people are cultivators. They’re the folks who, you know, will kind of behind the scenes talk up your organization. You know, you’re always top of mind. My example that I tell people is like: If you’re going to lunch with your friends and they’re like, “What’s happening in your world right now?” And you talk about your kids, you talk about your job, you know, you talk about your wife. Should you also maybe not share, like “I went to this mentorship day at a high school because of the board that I sit on, and I talked to this one young lady who told me she sells flowers and she wants to be an entrepreneur and have her own floral shop. And I just really loved hearing about…” You know, like make it a natural part of your life, because that also doesn’t feel transactional. That’s real. You’re just sharing an experience. That does mean as a board member, you have to be proximate and actually engage with the organization. But that allows you to be a natural cultivator as opposed to the awkward, “Hey Farra, could you reach out to your friend and ask her if she’ll meet with me for coffee?” I just feel like that’s awkward. So instead, it’s like, weave us into your life in the ways that make most sense. Keep us top of mind, which also means be engaged with the org.

Amber Hamilton: Some people are connectors; they’re the types of folks who are, you know, always at the event and the party, and they’re actually happy to, “Hey, sure, I’ll intro you to so and so.” Right? And that’s a way that helps the organization raise money. Each new relationship meeting does eventually lead towards helping you reach your goals.

Amber Hamilton: So that could be your role as a fundraiser on the org. You could also be that board member who has no shame and loves asking people for money, is like, “I’m going to ask you. If you say “No,” I’m not offended, you know, but I think this is great. Give!” And then there are some people who are more advisors. Maybe they have the lived experience, or you know, they’re like the HR person, and they’re giving you a lot of wisdom to help the organization meet other goals. You know, I try to tell board members, like, definitely invest in some way, and then at least pick one other thing that you feel like is a natural strength of yours and make it your commitment to lean into that this year. Align it to one of the goals you see and help and help make progress towards that, so you don’t have to do all of these things.

Amber Hamilton: You know, I’ll even say, “Which of these scares you?” And people will say, “Oh, fundraising,” you know, and it’s like, “Okay, well, you know, you don’t have to be the one who’s necessarily, you know, doing the one-to-one direct, but if you are a beautiful connector, can you commit to putting me in touch with three people this year? Or can you invite me to the next big event that you’re going to as your guest? And I can do that work!” Because I also think it’s the organization’s responsibility to really be the ones, it’s like “You tee it up for me, warm it up, and then I can ask people. Because that’s actually my job.”

Farra Trompeter: Yeah, I like that. And I just want to recap those five roles because I haven’t heard them before, and I really appreciate it. So investor, cultivator, connector, fundraiser, and advisor. That’s really helpful. Just sticking with the practical advice here, what tools do boards need so they feel engaged and equipped to represent the organization, ask for support, and be all of those things? Be that investor, cultivator, connector, fundraiser, and advisor. Or advisor, I should say. We said you don’t have to be all of them.

Amber Hamilton: You don’t, yeah, it’s too much,

Farra Trompeter: You know, it’s too much. Too much. But yeah. What are some hands-on tools that you find that really help boards do their job, along with, as you said, the organization doing their job as well?

Amber Hamilton: I mean, one’s not a tool. If you’re going to be on a board, please go to at least one thing that the organization is hosting a year. Really, I would say maybe you know, two if you can, because that’s going to give you the spark. It’s going to help you stay connected, it’s going to help you have relevant things to share. And honestly, I think the connection piece is the thing that matters most. And you don’t get that at a board meeting. You can run an incredible board meeting, and I think that’s a hard thing to replicate. So please, please commit to actually taking the time to go to some sort of programmatic something during the year so that you stay connected to the mission of the organization. I think that’s honestly the most powerful. But, you know, organizations, what we can provide to board members, people do need messaging, you know, and that can look like a one-pager.

Amber Hamilton: I think it’s interesting that people still want them, but I think you do have to give board members what they ask for. And some folks, you know, we’re cross-generational. Some folks still do really find a lot of value in those and do pass those along. But either way, they give you bite-sized language that allows you to stay on message for the organization, and that’s helpful. Stories, right? Like, make sure they know what’s happening, they know about the wins and the progress. I do, again, come back to like actually spending time with programmatic things as opposed to maybe expecting the organization to give you stories. Because sometimes that can be a little extractive when you’re like telling a story secondhand or thirdhand about somebody. I think the other thing is making sure that board members, you’re meeting with them and you’re giving them the opportunity to tell you what they’re excited about. And you’re connecting that back to the goals. So you’re fulfilling their desire to lean into their purpose within the community. And you’re also creating the space for them to see, “Oh, okay, well I’m interested in this thing. Is this helpful? Or not?” Right? And then I might be, “Oh, okay, well it’s like a passion side project, but I also need to connect that to something that’s going to help you all get where you want to be,” because I think, I hope, you know, anyone who’s on your board really does want you to win. They want your community of people that the organization supports to be successful.

Farra Trompeter: Yeah, that’s great advice. I like all of those ideas. And you know, before we go, I’m going to throw out a whole other topic that I think is related but is also part of what you do. I know you do a lot of work to navigate power dynamics in philanthropy, which can also come up with board members. And I’m curious, what are some policies and practices that can help create boundaries and also make sure to honor staff, particularly fundraisers of color, in navigating the predominantly white field of philanthropy?

Amber Hamilton: Yeah, I think that it really starts at the beginning, if it’s possible, which is to really get to know the people you’re bringing into your organization. So, you know, at the beginning of the conversation that we had, I talked about making sure that you are almost like interviewing the board member along the way and not just saying, “Oh, this person could write a big check. Let’s say yes to them.” You want to make sure that they understand the organization, that they align with the organization’s values, before you bring someone in, because it’s not just staff, although it’s you, it’s staff members, it’s also like you want to have somebody representing your organization who represents your organization’s values. So I would start there.

Amber Hamilton: But if you did that or you didn’t do that, and you find yourself in a position where there are some power dynamics or some, like, racial dynamics that are at play, which I have seen happen quite a bit, other things that I think are helpful are validating the experience of staff members. Let’s say the executive director is white, or there’s a white board member, and you have a black female head of development, and there’s been some microaggressions that are at play. I think, you know, the executive director to say, “I heard that… you know, if you want to talk. I’m validating that what happened in this meeting we both experienced.” I’ve actually had that with an ED that I’m really close with before. We were in a meeting with a funder, and it just went really off the rails, and we walked out of there, and she was like, “Are you okay? That was crazy. I heard it too. Here’s what I would do next. Let me know if you want to meet with this person again.” You know, it was just like, I felt seen, and that mattered, and I felt like my feelings in that situation mattered. So when things like that happen, I think that is really important.

Amber Hamilton: I also think if you’re leading an organization and you’re experiencing those dynamics, there are spaces that are created to be able to come together with other leaders and talk about what you’re experiencing with that. So, I actually led a board conversation with leaders of color around the racial dynamics at A Better Chicago Foundation. And like we really got into how challenging that can be and even just having that space to be with each other and say, “Yeah, my board chair is constantly undermining me and trying to tell me, you know, what he thinks he’s never even been in this community,” you know what I mean? Like, just to be able to have a space for that can also be really helpful. And then, you know, the real thing is I think you have to hold bad behavior to account and remember that you might say, “Oh, this is just touching me, you know, but the money is really helpful for the community or for the mission that I’m serving.” Things tend to have a trickle-down effect, and also your piece and space and your ability to do the work matter just as much. And so I do think you have to have conversations with folks and also set a line in the sand around what goes across a boundary, and then stick with that so that you can maintain your peace.

Farra Trompeter: I appreciate all that. I also think about how if an organization has done some work to articulate their values, those are values that shouldn’t just be alive with staff. They should be alive in the board, reflected in board meetings, and used to help navigate moments like some of what can come up with boards, or like you said, with donors or funders.

Amber Hamilton: Exactly. So true.

Farra Trompeter: Yeah. Well, there’s so much more we could talk about, but I want to be mindful of everyone’s time out there. So if you’re listening and you’d like to learn more about Amber’s work to help organizations fundraise effectively, go to FigLeafDevelopment.com. You can also connect with Amber on LinkedIn, where she’s Amber Buck Hamilton. We will link to all of this in the show notes at bigduck.com/insights. But before we go, Amber, anything else you want to share that we haven’t covered, or you want to reiterate for our listeners out there?

Amber Hamilton: I think the main thing is just remember that board members, you know, they say yes because they want to be a part of something purposeful and purpose-driven. And so, you know, sometimes misalignment happens, but I think coming back to that piece of like humanity and heart is really helpful in moments of frustration to help you push through and figure out how to get to a good place.

Farra Trompeter: I love that. Well, thank you, Amber, and thank you all for listening, and have a great day.

Amber Hamilton: Thanks for having me.