If you have a lot of experience dealing with nonprofit board members, you probably know you often have to poke and prod them to get them to raise money. Many of them like to claim that fundraising is not a part of the job description.

Luckily for you, there are plenty of effective ways to get your board to raise money. In “Nonprofit Management 101,” Bob Zimmerman wrote that one of the best ways is to create an organizational culture that encourages fundraising. He wrote that the first step to doing this is to realize that the board’s reluctance to fundraise is not the fault of individual board members. Instead, it lies with organizational cultures that:

• Do not let board members know that fundraising is one of their responsibilities;
• Do not train the board in successful fundraising techniques; and,
• Do not recruit new members that have experience with giving and fundraising.

Zimmerman also writes that you must get board members to realize that fundraising doesn’t equate to begging; using words like “contribution” and “donation” distract from the real goal of getting donors to invest in successful programs. You should also remember to remind your board of its four fundraising responsibilities:

• To make a financial contribution to the nonprofit that represents a “capacity” gift;
• To solicit friends, relatives, and colleagues for contributions;
• When recruiting new board members, include fundraising skills to the list of considerations; and,
• To oversee the nonprofit’s fundraising activities.

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