Tag Archives: Fundraising Committee

How Many Donors Does Your Nonprofit Need? Look at Your Solicitor Pool

Solicitor Pool

If you are considering how many solicitors you need, you probably don’t have enough. You are probably relying on the Executive Director, a development staff member or two, and/or a few key board members. And, maybe that has worked for the past few years – Executive Directors can be incredibly effective fundraisers. But you may be only one resignation away from a dramatic decline. It is time to increase your solicitor pool.

In the same way you don’t want to be over-reliant on a few major donors, you don’t want to put all of your solicitations in too few hands.

How do you expand your solicitor pool?

  1. Look at your staff. Who would you trust to represent you in a meeting? Not sure if Jennifer is ready? Bring her along as a second solicitor during a few meetings with longtime donors. Make it clear, ahead of time, the role she will play and where she can strategically add to the conversation. Please don’t have her sitting and observing the whole time – that will not test her skills, it make everyone feel uncomfortable, and leave the donor(s) wondering why Jennifer was there at all.
  2. Ask your board members if they will help. Ask them one-on-one, not in a group setting. Don’t assume they will say no. And encourage people to get involved at any level that will be helpful to you.
    1. Some people might be willing to solicit, if trained.
    2. Others might be willing to help you set up appointments (often time consuming for the solicitor) and join in if someone else will make the ask. Overtime, that might change, but for the moment you will have someone helping you with the initial, time-consuming piece of an ask.
    3. Another few might be willing to ask at a small group event. Encourage your board to get involved with fundraising any way they choose.
  3. Invite committee members to participate. Obviously, the first place to start is the development committee. But, someone who understands the finances might be willing to help with a fact driven ask. And a person who is focused on funding for a particular program might be willing to ask individuals to support it. *
  4. Talk to your donors. Longtime supporters might be willing to ask others to join them with their own gift – especially if they already know them. Those cocktail party conversations might provide more connections and donations than you expected.

*Only encourage funding for a program that is an organizational priority. Creating a program because you received funding is a slippery slope that often leaves you in debt. Get in touch if you want to learn more about how I learned this the hard way.

Want to read more about increasing your donor base?

Working in a Committee | Nonprofit Board Volunteering

,Agreement in nonprofit committee imageIf you are involved in a nonprofit, as staff, board member or volunteer, you are probably working in a committee, or three.  And whether you spend your time on an executive committee, building committee, development committee or nominating/governance committee you are sitting with other people thinking the same thing you are: 1 – how can we achieve our goals and 2 – what is the least amount of time I can spend on this committee.

This is not to say that everyone is trying to rush through each meeting.  People are happier sitting on a committee when they feel efficient and effective.

What can you do to assure efficiency and efficacy on your board committees?

  1. Have an agenda for each and every meeting.  Even the smallest meeting can get off track unless you remind everyone why they are there.
  2. Prepare and send materials ahead of time. We’ve said it beforem, and we say it again (and again). Sending documents ahead of time – at least a few days and up to a week – allows participants the opportunity to read and consider the information prior to the meeting. In other words, you can move forward instead of wasting half of each meeting having everyone read the materials and get up to speed.
  3. Unless you are a tight timekeeper and consistent taskmaster, allow some give in your schedule. Whether you do this by providing for a “new business” section at the end of a meeting or giving afew agenda items an extra five minutes is up to you. But, if you want to end on time, pad the agenda a bit.
  4. Start and end on time. If people are consistently walking into a meeting that has started, they will start coming earlier. Avoid the extra conversations that happen with each new arrival. If the meetings consistently run over the stated end time without valid reasons, people will take it to mean that the committee chair does not value their time and leave with a less than positive experience.
  5. Evaluate each meeting:
    • Did we start and end on time?
    • Were we accomplish what we planned to achieve?
    • Did everyone participate and have an opportunity to be heard?
  6. Ask for input.  Once a year, ask the board/committee to submit–in writing–what they think the goals should be for the upcoming year.  This will create interesting dialogue and ensure everyone has mutual goals. Why should it be in writing?  Not everyone feels comfortable making a verbal stand. And, asking for their thoughts in writing encourages each person to think about their response instead of giving off-the-cuff remarks.
  7. Remember to look for new members on a regular basis. As the years go by, it is easy to say, “These five people on this committee work.” But, new energy will ensure new thinking and help get committees out of a rut – even if they didn’t know they were in one.

Once you establish some of these “best practices” into your routine, they will become second nature to your organization. And it will make committee members feel like they are helping the success of the organization. And that is always a good feeling.