Fired-Up Fundraising

Praise for Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action "e;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."e; Charles F. (Chic) Dambach President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding Former Senior Consultant, BoardSource "e;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."e; Mal Warwick author of How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters "e;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."e; 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) "e;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."e; Joel Fleishman Professor of Law and Public Policy and Director, The Foundation Research Program, Duke University

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 xvAcknowledgments xxiIntroduction xxiiiChapter 1 An Understandable Problem 1What Is Keeping Board Members Away from Fundraising? 1What Do Board Members Want, Anyway? 3The Best Dream Team Board Members 8The Right Roles for Board and Staf f 10Does the Board or the Staf f Do the Fundraising? 11The Reality of Board Members and Fundraising 14The Mistakes We Make with Our Board Members and Fundraising15Mission Possible--A Better Way! 19Chapter 2 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step One: FOCUS on theMission 23Creating Sustained Change: The Challenge 24Step One: Focus on the Mission to Inspire Board Members 28Emphasize Outcomes and Results instead of Process 30Give Board Members Substantive Work 32Create Meaningful Board Meetings 33Ways to Liven UpYour Board Meetings--and Your Board 36Let the Board Members Do the Talking 38Energize Meetings with Mission Moments 39Have Some Fun! 44Your Role in Gently Leading Your Board 46Chapter 3 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Two: INSPIRE YourBoard Members with a New Philosophy of Fundraising 49Fundraising Is Changing the World for the Better 49Board Members' Myths and Problems with Fundraising 51Proud to Be a Fundraiser! 55Get Everybody on Your Bandwagon 57Get Your Board Busy Raising Friends 58Fundraising Need Not Be Scary: Deal with Their Fears Directly59A Conversation about Discomfort with Fundraising 61Fear of Fundraising Exercise 63The Joy of Giving 65Why Do People Give? Lessons for Board Members 68Fundraising Is Full of Power 71The Power of Being a Volunteer 74Expect Abundance, Not Scarcity 77Chapter 4 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Three: READY YourBoard with the Right Tools and Skills 83Fundraising from the Donor's Point of View: What DonorsWant 84Take the Emphasis Away from Soliciting 90The Act of Soliciting Is One Tiny Instant in the Cycle! 93Board Members as Ambassadors to Cultivate Major Gifts 97How to Make Use of a Lucky Moment: Teaching the Elevator Speech101Chapter 5 Passion-Driven Fundraising Step Four: ENGAGE YourBoard Members in Your Fundraising Plan 111FriendRaising Builds Social Capital 112Board Members as "Sneezers,"Advocates Who Spread theWord Wherever They Go 115Spreading the Word by Mail 117Advice Visits: Searching for Hidden Gold 119Gathering Friends with Small Socials 124Mission-Focused Tours Illustrate Your GoodWork 132Board Members in Action: Success Stories 137Chapter 6 Create a Dream Team Board and Set Your Board Up toWin! 143What Do We Really Want for Our Organizations? 143Enlisting New Dream Team Board Members 145Set Up a Governance Committee to Keep Your Board on Track150A Dream Team Board: Who Do You Want? 154Use a Big Request to Enlist Board Members 157xii contentsLet's Agree on Fundraising Activities for Every BoardMember 160Welcome New Board Members into the "Club" 167How to Get to Know Your Board Members 171Self-Assessments Keep Everyone Focused 174Make Sure All the Board Members Give 176Seven Rules for Successfully Soliciting Your Board 179Set Your Board Members Up to Win 188How to Organize for Fundraising Results 191A Board "Leadership Team" Creates Results 195References and Recommended Reading 201Books That Focus on the Bigger Picture ofTransformation, Organizational Change, and . . . 202Articles 202Donor Commitment Form 203AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standardsof Professional Practice 205AFP Donor Bill of Rights 206Index 207