Your Board is the leadership of your organization. And 100% Board giving is a MUST!
This means that every one of your Board members must make a financial gift to your organization. Doesn’t matter how much they give, although I would hope that they would make a meaningful gift.
It’s not enough that they give their time. That’s wonderful if they volunteer. But they must support the organization monetarily.
I can’t tell you how many donors I’ve heard of that want to know how many of your Board members have made a gift. Donors are much more savvy today than ever before. They want to know why they should give if your leaders don’t.
If you don’t have 100% Board giving, get started on it today.
Bravo, Sandy! This is SO important for a strong non-profit. You are exactly right about donors looking to the leadership of the organization and their giving habits. I believe it should almost be a requirement of all board members that they MUST be a donor. It doesn’t matter the amount (but really nice large gifts are great) as long as everyone gives.
The old idea of being on this board and that board is out the door and boards should be made up of connected, supportive and passionate DONORS!!!
We’re idiots. We started a non-profit to accomplish something without a clue about how the non-profit industry works. Our board is impossible–we haven’t been able to get them to meet for almost a year. A couple have donated generously, the others ignore us. Fortunately, two have resigned so that we get closer to being able to put together a quorum among the active members. And we have lined up some who are passionate to come on to the board. But it has been one of our biggest hurdles.
Perhaps counseling should be required before incorporating as a non-profit!
Jeane, I’m so sorry to hear about your trials. Unfortunately, it’s a story I hear about a lot – Boards who don’t show up for meetings and don’t pull their weight.
Maybe there should be some kind of counseling or licensing people should go through before agreeing to being on a Board!
–Sandy